Nani

RedSky said:
Nani was a triffic player. One of my favourite players during that era.
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I'll never understand you guys...
I disliked him as much as i dislike Fellaini now, and yes, I'm being serious. :lol:
Hated seeing him in our starting lineup.

This video sums him up as football player for me, worst decision making in the history of football, probably.

 
Nani was incredible for us for about 18 months, had Nani not been sent off against Madrid in 2013 we could have gone on to win the CL that year as we set up well for the competition.

He scored some cracking goals and was absolutely unplayable for the second half of 2012 and 2013. Nani at his worst however was absolute garbage and unfortunately LVG wanted to play the percentages, whereas SAF was more willing to take a risk in 1/2 positions as he was confident in the abilities of the rest of his team.
 
I was sad to see him go. Still think we should have kept him. Could have used him on the right wing on quite a few occasions.

His United career was pretty good, but it should have been better. He was the ultimate confidence player who was best when he didn't overthink anything. :p
 
Grylte said:
I'll never understand you guys...
I disliked him as much as i dislike Fellaini now, and yes, I'm being serious. :lol:
Hated seeing him in our starting lineup.

This video sums him up as football player for me, worst decision making in the history of football, probably.

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Isn't it really weird how player with worst decision making in football history is still in top50 on all time PL assist list, despite playing less in PL than majority of players ahead of him on the list?
 
Amar__ said:
Isn't it really weird how player with worst decision making in football history is still in top50 on all time PL assist list, despite playing less in PL than majority of players ahead of him on the list?
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It definitely is.
Remember how frustrating it was to watch him shoot from 30 yards, when they were 4v3 defenders.
Or trying to dribble when he had teammates open in shooting positions.
Bet he could easily have doubled his assist numbers, had his head been as good as his skills. He definitiely had the skills to be a top player, but not the head.
 
Grylte said:
I'll never understand you guys...
I disliked him as much as i dislike Fellaini now, and yes, I'm being serious. :lol:
Hated seeing him in our starting lineup.

This video sums him up as football player for me, worst decision making in the history of football, probably.

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Despite the fact Nani was onside and the ball was already over the line........
 
Grylte said:
It definitely is.
Remember how frustrating it was to watch him shoot from 30 yards, when they were 4v3 defenders.
Or trying to dribble when he had teammates open in shooting positions.
Bet he could easily have doubled his assist numbers, had his head been as good as his skills. He definitiely had the skills to be a top player, but not the head.
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There's your problem with Nani, people always had too big expectations from him, not even Messi could have those numbers.
 
Amar__ said:
There's your problem with Nani, people always had too big expectations from him, not even Messi could have those numbers.
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Exactly. Expectations were always bafflingly high for Nani.
 
BringNaniBack said:
Despite the fact Nani was onside and the ball was already over the line........
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Starkie_1 said:
Was about to say exactly the same thing
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Was ruled out for offside, and he stole a teammate's goal.
He didn't have to touch it at all, that the ref did a mistake, is irrelevant.

Amar__ said:
There's your problem with Nani, people always had too big expectations from him, not even Messi could have those numbers.
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Has absolutely nothing to do with expectations, I knew nothing about him before we signed him, so i had aproxomately 0 expectations.
It is what i saw when i watched him play. He was very inconsistent, and it was frustrating to watch.... unless you loved him, and thought it was ok, as long as he did some stepovers now and then.
 
Grylte said:
It definitely is.
Remember how frustrating it was to watch him shoot from 30 yards, when they were 4v3 defenders.
Or trying to dribble when he had teammates open in shooting positions.
Bet he could easily have doubled his assist numbers, had his head been as good as his skills. He definitiely had the skills to be a top player, but not the head.
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Yes, he made the (apparently) wrong decisions at times, but he also created and scored goals out of nowhere by doing the exact same things people commonly criticized him for. When it was 0-0 and the team was playing shit there was no player I wanted subbed on more than Nani, he wouldn't rest until we got a goal even if he got zilch support from the others. When you have the skills to beat 2-3 players or score from range at the slightest opening, the options on the pitch are much greater for you than for a more limited player. Taking the simplest route is not always the most effective one when you need to break down a stubborn defense, you need a bit of flair and unpredictability and that's what Nani provided.
 
Hullyback said:
Rose tinted specs are great.

I remember clearly before he left he was lambasted almost weekly by United fans, lazy, inconsistent, wasteful. You were glad to see the back of him. Rival fans wanted him to stay :D
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Without being inflammatory had he joined Liverpool he'd of been your best winger since Mcmanaman
 
Akshay said:
Yes, he made the (apparently) wrong decisions at times, but he also created and scored goals out of nowhere by doing the exact same things people commonly criticized him for. When it was 0-0 and the team was playing shit there was no player I wanted subbed on more than Nani, he wouldn't rest until we got a goal even if he got zilch support from the others. When you have the skills to beat 2-3 players or score from range at the slightest opening, the options on the pitch are much greater for you than for a more limited player. Taking the simplest route is not always the most effective one when you need to break down a stubborn defense, you need a bit of flair and unpredictability and that's what Nani provided.
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You know me well enough to know we'll never agree, Mr. Towel :)
yeah, he had flair, and he could dribble. He could also shoot really hard, but his aim was like me trying to hit those things in the urinal when drunk... :)
 
I liked nani and many of the other players LVG sold but getting rid of these players were an important part of our recent success and future.

As others said here, nani would try to shoot from long distance when we had higher numbers against defence, Hernandez couldn't make a single pass to retain possession.

We might have got ridden of match winners; but what we got in return was players who did the basics right and can play in a team.

A fully functional team is what I feel we have now - with match winners & goals coming from players that can have gotten the best out off-if the rest of the team know hpw to do it. Players like ppgba and lukaku will thrive on an actual team behind them.
 
Grylte said:
Was ruled out for offside, and he stole a teammate's goal.
He didn't have to touch it at all, that the ref did a mistake, is irrelevant.



Has absolutely nothing to do with expectations, I knew nothing about him before we signed him, so i had aproxomately 0 expectations.
It is what i saw when i watched him play. He was very inconsistent, and it was frustrating to watch.... unless you loved him, and thought it was ok, as long as he did some stepovers now and then.
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The ref making a mistake is completely relevant as the goal would have stood if he hadn't made that mistake and no one would be ranting about Nani for costing the team a goal.
 
Was easily Portugal's best player during the Euros. Great player.
 
Home&Away said:
I liked nani and many of the other players LVG sold but getting rid of these players were an important part of our recent success and future.

As others said here, nani would try to shoot from long distance when we had higher numbers against defence, Hernandez couldn't make a single pass to retain possession.

We might have got ridden of match winners; but what we got in return was players who did the basics right and can play in a team.

A fully functional team is what I feel we have now - with match winners & goals coming from players that can have gotten the best out off-if the rest of the team know hpw to do it. Players like ppgba and lukaku will thrive on an actual team behind them.
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Eh? Nani would be great on this team. Someone who can consistently beat players on the wing and stretch defenses.
 
BringNaniBack said:
The ref making a mistake is completely relevant as the goal would have stood if he hadn't made that mistake and no one would be ranting about Nani for costing the team a goal.
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Ronaldo would :)
 
adexkola said:
Eh? Nani would be great on this team. Someone who can consistently beat players on the wing and stretch defenses.
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'Consistently'? Nah. That's not a word I would use when describing Nani. He could go from looking like a world class player to looking like a competition winner in the same game.

He frustrated the hell out of me and I was glad to see the back of him.
 
The Bloody-Nine said:
'Consistently'? Nah. That's not a word I would use when describing Nani. He could go from looking like a world class player to looking like a competition winner in the same game.

He frustrated the hell out of me and I was glad to see the back of him.
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His inconsistency was overstated. At his supposed worst he brought things to the team that few others have.

It's a matter of perspective of course, but when you look at his numbers (cue "feck stats, watch the game", as if stats aren't objective info gleaned from games watched by drunk and subjective fans), they're up there. Doesn't give the inconsistent narrative too much credence... imagine if he was actually "consistent".
 
Incredible on his day. His day wasn't often enough though and if he wanted first team football then he was right to move on.

Having said that, we've missed a player just like him pretty much ever since he left.
 
adexkola said:
His inconsistency was overstated. At his supposed worst he brought things to the team that few others have.

It's a matter of perspective of course, but when you look at his numbers (cue "feck stats, watch the game", as if stats aren't objective info gleaned from games watched by drunk and subjective fans), they're up there. Doesn't give the inconsistent narrative too much credence... imagine if he was actually "consistent".
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He had a very good eighteen months or so and credit to him for that. Considering he was here for what, 7 or 8 years, that's not great.

What are his stats, out of interest? I assume you're referring to goals / assists?
 
Has he done anything of note at club level since leaving?
 
TheReligion said:
Without being inflammatory had he joined Liverpool he'd of been your best winger since Mcmanaman
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That's quite possibly true. Doesn't mean he was any good though. If I'd been eating beans on toast for a decade and someone gave me beans and sausages on toast, it wouldn't make it a gourmet meal. It's more of an indication on how Liverpool made poor signings in that era rather than the fact Nani was a good footballer.

Besides that I'd say Patrik Berger was a better winger than Nani, and he's post Macca. Could even give an argument for Luis Garcia despite him only being around a few seasons. Kewell without injuries plaguing him would have been undoubtedly better but you can't class Mr Fragile.
 
I saw this in the KdB thread:

Treble said:
Apparently, he has assisted goals at the best rate in PL history. It's not a purple patch as I myself suggested above in this thread.

Best assist-per-match rates in PL history

Player Matches (50+) Assists Assists per match

Kevin De Bruyne 71 31 0.44
Eric Cantona 156 56 0.36
Mesut Ozil 121 42 0.35
Cesc Fabregas 318 107 0.34
David Silva 227 70 0.31
Reyes 69 21 0.30
David Beckham 265 80 0.30
Dennis Bergkamp 315 94 0.30
Nani 147 43 0.29
Thierry Henry 258 74 0.29


City have in their midfield two assist machines.

Didn't expect Cantona to be so high. Nani too.
https://www.premierleague.com/news/488457
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Pretty impressive to be honest.
 
He is probably higher on the list if you count assist per minute too.
 
He always lived in the shadow of Ronaldo, even in the eyes of Fergie too.

It's a shame he wasn't a few years younger and joined us after Ronaldo left, I think he could have gone onto even better things with more love given to him.

Yes he was sometimes annoying but compare him to some of the dross we've had on the wings in the last few years, he will be head and shoulders over them. He was genuinely close to being world class that season, think it got ended when Carragher absolutely clobbered him? What a shame that was.
 
I always liked him when he was here. He can go from utterly brilliant to incredibly frustrating in minutes! I can easily list out my top 5 best and worst moments of Nani

Best:
  • His goal against Arsenal with that skill and chip.
  • Him showboating against Kolo Toure or was it Eboue?
  • His rocket against Chelsea
  • His goals against City in the community shield.
  • His goal against Spurs where he just rolls the goal kick into the net
Worst:
  • Him losing the ball to Chelsea in the dying minutes of the Carling cup game.
  • His red card after headbutting someone in 07/08 and then trying to act his way out of it.
  • His red card against Madrid although that wasn't his fault.
  • When he missed that penalty against Fulham which he was not supposed to take in the first place as Giggs was the designated taker.
  • When he canceled Ronaldo's goal against Spain
 
I'd take a prime Nani over any of Mkhitaryan, Mata or Lingard in a heartbeat. He was inconsistent but he was also capable of the extraordinary, I loved him.
 
So much revisionism for Nani.

He was a really good player for United, but like the team in the latter years, declining in form and probably confidence, and ultimately sold to let him get his mojo back (I think). He was unstoppable in one of the seasons where he almost single-handedly win the games for United (while Rooney - perhaps again behaved like spoilt child). My favourite goal was that solo goal (Goal no. 18 - Youtube: Didn't really show the earlier solo run from middle of the pitch before the goal though), but he scored plenty of thunderbastards as well.



A decent in-form Nani would be really useful in this season's United team at that RM/RW.

Definitely not a Depay. Depay did it for PSV, in Holland. Nani did it for United, for more than just a season.
 
I went to high school with an Arsenal fan, he claimed Walcott had more talent than Nani and was better. Nani was very underrated even among United fans, never mind oppositions fans.

Depay on the other hand was so much hyped, he was bound to flop. I remember a thread here comparing him and Sterling. It would be a fun read now. :lol:
 
I think people aren't ignoring the inherent inconsistencies of the winger position. I would take prime Nani ahead of every winger we have at our club right now.
 
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