For some reason widely accepted as a good decision by LVG who looks less and less like he has any sort of clue by the week. Wasn't 'deadwood', neither were Evans, Welbeck or Rafael. Shambolic management.
Getting rid of Nani
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
I've always felt it was a bad move. Say what you want about Nani's time here (I thought he was excellent until injuries and Fergie's leaving derailed him,) but we have no one at right wing who comes close to offering what he does (in fact it's so dire now, I'd be tempted to put Valencia back there once he's healthy.) LVG's extreme squad-trimming, without adequate replacements in line (Nani, Hernandez, Di Maria,) has been a major blight on his time here.
Bollocks sale.
Van Gaals squad trimming and getting rid of players who would have been very useful to us this season like Nani and Hernandez without replacing them has left us in the position we are in. It's fair enough that we had a clear out as it was clearly required but the squad is too thin and we were always going to come in to trouble when our standard injury crisis hit as it does every season.
I think the general reasoning for letting Nani go for so cheap when he could have been very important for us was simply that Memphis was bought in and intended to be a regular starter. That clearly hasn't worked out as he looks nowhere near ready to be our first choice winger, in time maybe but not now. Nani would have been able to get a fair amount of games and should have been treated better really.
It was always likely all Nani needed was a good run of games, his ability to take on players and score from midfield is something we have lacked massively this season so yes it has to be looked at as a mistake for selling him but I do completely understand why we did, it was just the wrong call. Maybe Giggs could have helped Van Gaal see players like Nani and Hernandez who were bought by the greatest manager of all time for a reason, probably shouldn't be sold when we are needing goals and trying to battle on all fronts.
I think the general reasoning for letting Nani go for so cheap when he could have been very important for us was simply that Memphis was bought in and intended to be a regular starter. That clearly hasn't worked out as he looks nowhere near ready to be our first choice winger, in time maybe but not now. Nani would have been able to get a fair amount of games and should have been treated better really.
It was always likely all Nani needed was a good run of games, his ability to take on players and score from midfield is something we have lacked massively this season so yes it has to be looked at as a mistake for selling him but I do completely understand why we did, it was just the wrong call. Maybe Giggs could have helped Van Gaal see players like Nani and Hernandez who were bought by the greatest manager of all time for a reason, probably shouldn't be sold when we are needing goals and trying to battle on all fronts.
Spot on, then you remember that since losing Vidic, Rio and Evans we have signed one centre half, Rojo, and we do not even trust him with the role! In attack, like you said, we have got rid of Hernandez, Welbeck, Van Persie, Nani and Di Maria just for the addition of Martial and Memphis. Rooney's decline effectively means that we have lost a player too. Incompetence and lack of foresight all round.
Was dead agsinst it and he would join our side now as the most unpredictable and skilful plsyer in the squad - would have offered us much better balance than Lingard on the right
I think this as much an example of Glazer cost cutting as Van Gaal misjudgement
I think this as much an example of Glazer cost cutting as Van Gaal misjudgement
Let's not get all revisionist here. Nani was awful for the majority of his spell here and massively inconsistent.
There's a reason he is now playing in Turkey and none of the top clubs in Europe have picked him up.
There's a reason he is now playing in Turkey and none of the top clubs in Europe have picked him up.
He was always our best right winger but fans did not want him around for various reasons. Most preferred a consistent and defensively solid Valencia, LVG did the right thing for the player.
We hounded him out and now we trying to blame it on whoever. He is a winger and wingers are inconsistent, all the reason they get substituted more than anyone else because they have a smaller space to operate in. They can't move away from their position to get a foothold when things are not going well without disrupting the whole team.
We are doing the same to the replacements as well now. I used to enjoy watching the lad, whilst Id be sat there thinking he doing alright the reaction around me was different.
Not forgetting we also labelled him stupid.
We hounded him out and now we trying to blame it on whoever. He is a winger and wingers are inconsistent, all the reason they get substituted more than anyone else because they have a smaller space to operate in. They can't move away from their position to get a foothold when things are not going well without disrupting the whole team.
We are doing the same to the replacements as well now. I used to enjoy watching the lad, whilst Id be sat there thinking he doing alright the reaction around me was different.
Not forgetting we also labelled him stupid.
Unlike who (winger not wide forward) ?
If memory serves me right even Ronaldo was inconsistent till SAF moved him further up the pitch. Also Nani had his best performances for United in the forward role like all so called wingers.
Wh...what? How? Have you seen the crazy money we splashed out in other areas of the team?
Totally agree and the same goes for Rafael. The mistake being was not replacing them with better players. Darmain and Depay have been brutal this season and Lingard is a mile of the standard we need.
Totally agree, he was terrible. A show pony with no end product and as you say, playing in Turkey proves it.
Granted, Depay has been brutal, but Nani is not the answer.
As for posters questioning the sale of Wellbeck too.... Come on, £16m for him is the best but of business LVG ever done. How has he been doing for Arsenal?!? He's a striker that doesn't score goals.
Nani was only good at pissing Rooney off during the match,dont have any regrets when it comes to players sold by LvG.
We basically sold Nani and Di Maria, loaned Januzaj and brought in Memphis. And now we're stuck with Lingard every game...
How has he been doing in Turkey ?
I have no issue with him being sold,should have happened long ago along with Anderson and a few others.
I have no issue with him being sold,should have happened long ago along with Anderson and a few others.
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His girlfriend i suppose
Rose tinted nani love. He was useless most of the time and covered this up with the occasional performance or screamer.
Bullshit.
LOL
Yeah that about sums it up nicely, and it's similar all around the team.
Piss poor squad management, which has cost us badly this season.
Nani was desperate to leave for first team football, he said so himself in an interview. Why would the club want to keep an underperforming player who didn't even want to stay? You could say the same for Rafael.
Of course any international calibre player wants to be playing regular football. The question then becomes why weren't the club able to offer it to him under Moyes and LVG? Maybe he wasn't good enough (I would strongly disagree) but we can then ask who is good enough to play the RW position in our squad?
Why move on a player/force him out of the club when that leaves you in a position whereby you have to shoe-horn Mata or Lingard in to the role?
If Nani had been assured he would be involved then I would suggest he would have stuck around, same goes for Hernandez. They were made aware that they were surplus to LVG's plans and then it becomes only natural for them to seek opportunities elsewhere.
LVG had basically decided the futures of Nani and Hernandez after his first month here. They were sent on loan soon after. Getting rid was the right decision on both. Its the lack of good replacements that is harming us not the decision to sell the said players.
I think the idea of his being awful is what's revisionist. He was, however, extremely injury-prone. And that, coupled with his high wages, is a major red flag. Still, anybody saying he wouldn't be an asset to our team now (somewhat damning with faint praise,) needs his/her head checked.
As with Di Maria, I can't really understand why the wishes of fickle footballers seem to come before the needs of the club. So Di Maria wouldn't have been happy here - who cares? I'd still rather see him coming on as an impact sub than Depay in his current form. Same with Nani: I'll take 90 minutes of mercurial Nani over the mediocrity that is Lingard (again, we can debate the wisdom about selling Nani all day; the decision not to replace him properly is what is truly head-scratching.)
Or the occasional player-of-the-year season...
Welbeck is the one sale I don't really question, as nearly everyone imagined Falcao would be an upgrade (can't really blame LVG for not seeing that coming.)
Jesus, we know things must be bad if we have fans longing for Nani to come back.
I'm just surprised so many posters on here are able to follow the Turkish league so closely. I assume he's tearing it up there, and on the verge of making a return to a real league at a top club.
We have Lingard starting on our right wing and people think getting rid of Nani for £5m was a good decision. Amazing.
Welbeck scoring a winner for Arsenal in the title race, what a useless squad option he'd have been.
Welbeck scoring a winner for Arsenal in the title race, what a useless squad option he'd have been
.Should have got more money for Nani, but he only looks a good option compared to how shit we are currently, Nani was dire.
Fact is United should have sold Nani and should have much better options and tactics to implement.
Fact is United should have sold Nani and should have much better options and tactics to implement.
We have Lingard starting on our right wing and people think getting rid of Nani for £5m was a good decision. Amazing.
Welbeck scoring a winner for Arsenal in the title race, what a useless squad option he'd have been
The same Welbeck who played his first game of the season?
Selling him wasn't the issue, the issue was not getting a proper right winger in meaning we've had Mata and fecking Lingard there.
Oi cut that out. Granted his last few seasons form was bad but that was only because he never got a sustained run in the first team (something I think Memphis is suffering from atm). When he was on form Nani was superb.
Was never keen on the idea of getting rid of Nani or Rafael. It sure looks like we could find a use for both of them right now aswell. Could Nani actually be worse than Memphis has been?
Don't tell me you buy into that "always the victim" crap, Pip? On his day he was excellent. Off it he was awful. He had far too many off days to be a top player. Simple as that.
I guess that would stand for our beloved Rooney then too?
Nani had oodles more talent than Memphis does I think. In fact he was so ridiculously talented that it's very frustrating he didn't become one of the best wingers out there, aside from that 12-18 month spell.
This is a Nani thread. Nothing to do with Rooney. Although seeing as you bring it up, Rooney should have been sold 3 years ago.
You're only remembering the bad though of which the final two seasons there was plenty of bad. Truth is, he was a big game player and would always turn up. He'd always put a shift in and at least keep going, his head would never drop. Sir Alex obviously trusted him enough to play him against Madrid in the CL tie which he was excellent until he was bizarrely sent off. He would walk into this team I honestly believe that. Our starting quality at the moment is really poor Carl.
Certainly think he was mis managed for a while though, but thats hardly a surprise given how many of our players were mis managed in Sir Alexs final season and the less we mention Daves handling of players the better.