The flack Nani gets is ridiculous sometimes. People seem to refuse to acknowledge the sheer lack of football he has played over the last year, Any footballer will tell you touch is the first thing to go and last thing to come back when you've not played competitively for an extended period. As highlighted in previous games ball retention isn't exactly a major priority for players of Nanis ilk, Robben, Rinaldo, Messi aren't known for their keep it simple style. Yes his short passing was poor but that will return after note regular football.
Luis Nani | 2013/14 Performances
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Agreed. I am sure Nani will have a better allround game against Ghana.
I am not sure if mentioned before but Nani's goal was not as simple as people think. A lot of shots within the box have been blocked by goalkeepers but Nani did a hesitation move causing Howard to go to ground before slotting the ball into the net
Based on this WC this would count for pretty much every United player so far.
Thought he was Portugals best player again. Wasteful but making things happen
This game pretty much summed Nani up.
I'd rather that than the rubbish Young and Valencia serve us.
He was 6 yards out with all the time in the world.
It was exactly as simple as some people think.
Didn't say anything about the others, I just noted that his performance was his career in a nutshell.
Fair enough.
He's bloody brilliant when given an extended run in the team. He's a player who needs an extended run of games to gain confidence that the manager won't drop him and that's when he keeps his game simple and just produces for the team. Dropping him in and out of the team makes him try to do too much and his game suffers, it's no coincidence that his best spell with us was when he practically played every game during that stretch and he looked like a top 5 player in the league during that run.
That's the Nani we need and hopefully LVG will be able to get those performances out of him, we'll be dangerous with Nani in that sort of form.
That's the Nani we need and hopefully LVG will be able to get those performances out of him, we'll be dangerous with Nani in that sort of form.
I still believe in Nani. I think LVG will get the best out of him.
I'm sure some people here think LVG will change the climate in Manchester. Warm and sunny days ahead. We apparently also don't need signings as LVG will sort out every player.
And there we go again. It is IMPOSSIBLE to critique Nani without this argument cropping up.
I wonder if Nani wasn't in the United team now, let say maybe he is in Porto, how many of us here will actually say 'LVG, Sign him up'
Well that's the thing. He is in the Man United team and there's hardly a cry of 'sign him up' from very many places at all. There was the suggestion of interest from Juve that never materialised. It's a circle not yet squared for me, how this 'on his day world class' player has impressed seemingly neither of the two club managers who see him in training each week, nor is he apparently a very much sought after player elsewhere. It always seemed at odds this reality some paint of Nani and how much interest he generates elsewhere.
It's almost if the description tag of "Less bollocks than Young" isn't doing much for his appeal. Who knew?
To be honest, I don't think he will ever be a top team regular. It seems like his feet are much faster than his brain. It's a shame, because I really thought that with age he will improve his decision making.
Well considering lots of people want us to sign Carvalho without actually seeing him play, i'd say a few.
We know Nani and Valencia can produce the required football for a Manchester United footballer. We haven't ever really seen Young perform at United, a few glimpses of form here and there and that's it.
As for Nanis Portugal performance, I really thought he'd be worse than he was. From 1st Jan 2014, Nani played 133mins of football for United in all competitions. If you include International games and combine the totals it comes to 421mins. He's simply not played enough to get his match sharpness back and he's always been a bit slow and rusty when coming back from long periods out. He showed glimpses of the old Nani in there, but the guy this needs regular football with no injuries to return to his old self. Whether he will get that at United is a different matter, personally I'd always hold onto Nani (as long as he's happy) simply because if we can get him back to his 10-11/11-12 form he'd be one of the best wingers in Europe again. He's also a big game player and those are pretty rare.
The inconsistency criticism annoys me. He doesn't get enough games to be inconsistent. 14 starts over 2 years, and he's inconsistent because he didn't score and assist 10 goals in those games, and every time he gives the ball away it's a brainfart or whatever people like to call it. He played as expected, some good and some bad, and for a player who has hardly been on the pitch in 2014 what else do you really expect to see? His touch was way off in the first half an hour and even though he scored he was quite bad, but afterwards he looked dangerous. Put in some brilliant crosses in the 2nd half but of course nobody was in the right areas.
You get what I meant mate, in the first game he had 5 successful dribbles which is is a level pretty much only Messi and Ribery can hold regularly. For a dribbling winger who was their biggest threat against Germany, who also had those dribbling statistics we must be very pleased for our United player who is playing against the odds here after not getting much game time lately. Whether he is 39 or 19 does not change whether he had a good performance or not.
The only player we have who makes 5 dribbles, is the most threatening player in his team but still gets heavily criticized. He had good decision making in that game too and rarely lost possession. In the last game his passing was a bit off, but it seems pointless to overly focus on that when Nani was yet again Portugal's probably best player.
Why not be happy that one of our players is performing well and producing goals, especially when he has been getting so little time lately. If Young suddenly became England's main star who performed better than Ronaldo I would be absolutely stoked for him and for United. The lower you rated Nani before, the happier you should be that he is producing.
Maybe the inconsistency led to him getting 14 starts over 2 years?
You are really biased mate for not liking him, it really pours out of of you that you try to find any criticism you can out of thin air whatever the discussion is. Of course his weakest part is consistency, but it is a completely irrelevant fact here. Every player in the world will be MORE inconsistent if you never get to play.
While that's true, there's a solid argument that all of our fecking wingers have been inconsistent over the past two years. Valencia and Young have been putting in the most consistently shit crosses I've ever seen at a top club.
On that basis, Nani should have been given more opportunity's, regardless of his own inconsistencies IMO.
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it's not hard to criticise a player to whom the most positive thing you can say about him is "Valencia is shit", which crops up two or three times a bloody page!
Don't you ever think about WHY a player rarely gets to play? It's as if people thnk he's being dropped because he's bullied or something. It's performances in matchs and training that dictates who plays. The wish seems to be that Nani is immune from this formula and that he misses out due to some personal animosity between him and successive managers.
You could say the exact same thing about the people banging on about his lack of consistency, which our other wingers apparently have in abundance.
At least the nonsense Plugsy's been spouting in this thread since he joined is consistent, anyway.
Our other wingers that people fall over themselves, desperately trying to rubbish in order to make Nani seem just a little bit better? Are these the wingers you're referring to that people claim have consistency 'in abundance'?
He was 'injured' the majority of the past 2 years, although I think he was frozen out by Sir Alex because of contractual issues. It says a lot that despite all his injuries and supposed poor form, Sir Alex saw fit to start him against Real Madrid and it nearly paid off if it wasn't for the monumental feck up by the referee.
Ah the cavalry. Nani gets criticism "Young's shit" Cina arrives. The world turns.
A lot of people here during the game were rightly critical of huge elements of his game last night and relayed that to what we've seen in recent years. I guess it was a good job for them they managed to sneak in while the Nani defence army were distracted.
Yes, you have said this in this thread you dislike him, think he is inconsistent and whatnot. So why the feck would you come here after he against the odds actually outperforms Ronaldo in the World Cup and is his teams best player? To point out that when he returns to United he will be shit again? It is really petty to not be able to be happy for Uniteds second best player of the World Cup. We don't have a lot of happiness in terms of the WC, but our second best player we decide should be hated on instead of being happy for him?
Whether you want Nani sold or that he stays, him performing in the World Cup is a huge deal for United and absolutely brilliant for us. You seem like a kid who has decided he dislikes someone and you stick with it no matter what. Any criticism is good, the less rational the better.
Nobody is trying to rubbish our other wingers, I'm simply making a point that Nani, despite his obvious inconsistencies, should have still been given a feck load more games than he's been given over these past two years. It's not a total mystery why he hasn't been played more of course, but considering our other wingers performances, it's still worth a very solid argument. Rather you rate Nani or not doesn't erase the fact that he's deserved to be frozen out at the expense of two wingers that have been seriously under performing. Well in Valencia's case, anyway.
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Well technically I actually share your views in some ways:
It's just that unlike you I haven't been spending the last 8/9 months going into the thread of a player I don't like and spouting the same nonsensical tripe about them over and over and over again.
I thought Nani wasn't great last night, in fact, I've barely defended him on here at all this last season because it's been pointless doing so. I'd say since you joined, you've probably posted about him a lot more than I have.
It's not just me, as I said last night there was an abundance of reasonable criticism for his performance. Predictably now the cavalry have arrived it's back to slagging off Young and Valencia and dismissing any criticism of his game whatsoever. As if nobody else in the world except the small, and admirably dedicated, Nani defence league here, is entitled to any other opinion.
And it does get a bit rich and tiresome when the number one defence of Nani is apparently how shit someone else is, yet at the same time any criticism of him is dismissed as unfair hatred. Valencia and Young are repeatedly used as whipping boys to make Nani look good, often by the same people who then turn around and pretend to be aghast that anyone would seek critique the performance of any United player. As if flogging the other two is fine, but critiquing Nani is abhorrent.
You're completely wrong. Rubbishing other wingers is what this thread is based upon. It's a point made often multiple times a page. Let's not pretend it doesn't happen. I don't expect much of a hearing now, as the thread has returned to normal and anyone daring to voice any contrary opinion is likely now scared off.
We go from most posters being critical, to suddenly everyone agog that anyone ever doubts his ability. The day shift must have started. As night follows day, criticism of Nani is followed by:
"He's better than Young"
You see less hysterical reaction to mild criticism than if someone tweets that they think One Direction are shit. Fortress Nani thread. I'm quite sure no other player threads are like this and criticism of players is hardly something rare around these parts. This is the only thread where it's literally impossible to debate him as anyone who critiques in any way is hounded.
You know what would really be bizarre? if there were posters claiming that Januzaj didn't merit more opportunities than Nani. Not a winger that was shamefully unproductive and as a whole, pretty pointless in the majority of his outings.
He still has a serious problem with moving targets. Always gives a pass to a player on the move to where they were standing, not infront of them. The cause of most of the time he gives the ball away.
Touch was atrocious last night, and i always thought his first touch was his best quality.
Touch was atrocious last night, and i always thought his first touch was his best quality.
Nani still looks devoid of all confidence to me. I think the last two years have taken a lot out of him mentally. It wouldn't surprise me if van Gaal tries to sort that out, I do think he will resurrect the United careers of one or two players. But at the moment, I think a sale and fresh start is still the best way to go for all parties.
Nani is an annoying one sometimes (or lately a lot of times). Does the hard stuff right, and fails to do the easiest.
Beat 2 defenders and give an amazing long shot to create a threat? no problem.
Pass a ball over 5 meters into the foot of a team member? Now thats a problem.
On the other hand, scored a goal had a great strike on the post and pretty much could have been motm if that went in. Thats the type of player Nani is. He can play pretty bad and still win the match for you.
Whilst United atm relies on "i worked hard, played pretty good, but don't have any final product" players. Which is where i take a Nani who actually does something useful once a match any day.
Beat 2 defenders and give an amazing long shot to create a threat? no problem.
Pass a ball over 5 meters into the foot of a team member? Now thats a problem.
On the other hand, scored a goal had a great strike on the post and pretty much could have been motm if that went in. Thats the type of player Nani is. He can play pretty bad and still win the match for you.
Whilst United atm relies on "i worked hard, played pretty good, but don't have any final product" players. Which is where i take a Nani who actually does something useful once a match any day.
It was a typical Nani performance as dangerous to the opposition as he is for his own team. He's such a threat going forward as he can really do it all. But just as in many other games he gave away the ball in really bad positions which gave the opponents several oppurtunities to counter-attack. In tight games like yesterday you really can't afford that.
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