He did fine and will only get better with more game-time. Nani offers attributes that nobody else can and SAF starting him in a match of this importance can only be a good sign, regarding his future here.
Luis Nani | 2012/13 Performances
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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.
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Give him more games and he will come good. Still a bit rusty
Thought he was brilliant in the first half hour and Fulham couldn't cope with him, all of our play went through him and Rooney. After that he faded a little, still created chances though and was great on the ball. Having him there causes the opposition to double team him, something none of our other wingers really make the opposition do. Hope he stays fit now.
Also I thought he linked up really well with van Persie and it'll only get better.
Also I thought he linked up really well with van Persie and it'll only get better.
Thought he had a good first half, went off a bit in the second but no more than anyone else, really showed again how much he can bring, linked up well, beat people with ease, just needs to get some more sharpness back.
The ESPN commentary was pretty standard stuff, only commentate on things that support a clichéd view on someone, ignored any good things he did and criticised his ball in regardless of how hard it was. At least they didn't call him lazy though.
The ESPN commentary was pretty standard stuff, only commentate on things that support a clichéd view on someone, ignored any good things he did and criticised his ball in regardless of how hard it was. At least they didn't call him lazy though.
He is still feelling his way into things. He had an okay first half. Valencia again was dreadful.
decent performance. Enough to start the next game. He was part of some very good attacking moves. He brings a lot to our link up due to his qualities. Early on in the first half, he had a pass fired to him by Rooney, controlled it with ease, then passed it on to Valencia to keep the attack going.
Faded in the second half but it was another encouraging performance from him.
Faded in the second half but it was another encouraging performance from him.
He was very good, up until the final ball usually. He put is some good crosses and was linked up excellently on the edge of the box but on the flip side some of his crosses were shocking. That's what sticks in people's heads.
The thing that annoys me about this "final ball" criticism is the fact that the only time his final ball is consistently below par is when he's forced to hit it on his weaker foot. Crossing's a difficult skill to master and very few are actually any good with their weaker foot. On the right wing he can whip it in without hesitation and 7/10 crosses will be hit into a great area.
That is a fair point. The one where he tried stand it up at the back post was completely the right idea, but it's much more difficult to do on his weaker side.
He faded in the second but I think he was our best player along with Rooney in the first. Good link up play and creating stuff. Even in the second he was helping out a lot defensively even when he was below par going forward. I'd like to see him as our first choice winger now.
One of our best players, should be first choice now
When Young comes back, I think that himself and Nani should be our primary wingers. Young wasn't half as bad as Valencia currently is, before he got injured.
Looked very sharp in the first half, along with most of the team. Provided the threat from the left and linked up well when he drifted inside. Personally i prefer a winger with a goal threat. Awesome hairstyle too.
so much better to see him back in the lineup, not scared to try a dribble, try something with flair.
Feeling his way back in and shortly should be back to full speed.
Feeling his way back in and shortly should be back to full speed.
The 1-2 he played with van persie when getting into the box was absolutely beautiful, he is 1 of our only players that trusts RVP to hold the ball up and give it back, and their understanding is only just starting really.
Cant wait to see Kagawa involved with Nani too, their play together will be brilliant.
Cant wait to see Kagawa involved with Nani too, their play together will be brilliant.
Played well - deserves to keep his place in all the upcoming games.
very improved performance.
this. the only thing lacking is the final ball. although he could easily got a couple of assists over the last 2 games if we are luckier infront of goal.
I thought most of his crossing was fine today, varied it which is great. Fulham did get bodies back to defend crosses well though.
he played well enough to merit his place on the team. valencia was poor again. he setup a couple of absolute sitters which our strikers missed. looked confident at the start of the game and took on players. he also got stuck in and done the defensive work too!
He had some bright and inventive moments mixed him with some sloppy deliveries, playing his way into form. I'd like to see Nani on the right and Welbeck on the left against Everton.
Should have had 2 assists, at least, in the last 2 matches. Was a solid performance yesterday, showing signs of regaining some good form.
6.5 or 7/10 sounds about right!
6.5 or 7/10 sounds about right!
That time when Rafa was forced to clear the ball off the line came from a corner due to Nani's lax defending. Let Emanuelson run completely free and couldn't get back in time to put any pressure on the ball. Another time he let Ruiz just run off the back of him and again no pressure on the ball and Evans had to head the ball over his own bar from just a few yards out.
He works harder than most wingers defensively but he's still caught out far more often than our other wingers.
Forgot how much I missed this guy.
He was good enough, but as usual haters gonna hate.
Nani tracks back but he doesn't get stuck in as much. Funny that when his performance began to fade he was less aggressive in his defending.
Vey good first half. Shit second. Done more than enough to earn a start again next week.
Do you really think Nani was better than Valencia yesterday? For the record Valencia didn't have the best of games obviously.
Bloody hell this time round I was sure I'd get a fair judgement of his play.
Do you really think Nani was better than Valencia yesterday? For the record Valencia didn't have the best of games obviously.
Bloody hell this time round I was sure I'd get a fair judgement of his play.
Valencia was decent I though, but nani was undoubtedly much better. Wingers should be judged on the chances they create and nani made loads in that first half. Valencia has hardly made a chance all season long. Nani on the whole was pretty good, and his trickery is really something we've missed all season long.
Also on people complaining about his defending.... Really? He tracks back constantly, and puts in an okay shift. He's not as good as Valencia or young defensively but why would he need to be? Since when do Manchester United pick wingers based on their defensive contribution, rather then their attacking contribution. Nani contributes so much more to our attack than any other wingers we have, and is probably our best option to have when we play on the break.
Do you really think Nani was better than Valencia yesterday?.
Strange use of houlier, I think the general consensus here is that Nani was better.
As I said in the Valencia thread though, I thought he did alright and I don't at all understand why he's getting slagged as "awful" etc. Nani on the other hand was much better than ok in that first half and pretty "meh" in the 2nd, although even in the second half he created 2 nice chances for RVP.
Wingers are judged on their all-round performances just like strikers are judged on their all-round performances - otherwise Hernández would've been starting over Welbeck last year because his goals record was better. If playing Nani leads to more chances for the opposition fullback and winger then of course that'll come into play when choosing who to start.
Do you really think Nani was better than Valencia yesterday? For the record Valencia didn't have the best of games obviously.
Bloody hell this time round I was sure I'd get a fair judgement of his play.
Nani takes more risks than Valencia and as result is less consistent but there's more room for something special coming off. Valencia on the other hand keeps things simple which results in him being consistent, making few mistakes but there's very little room to pull off something extraordinary. It's basically whichever style of play you prefer. In a game like yesterday where things are tight then you're better having a player like Nani on the pitch and that showed.
I honestly can't remember Valencia doing anything yesterday apart from a cross-field ball to Nani and a run just before he got brought off which we've been wanting from him all season. Nani on the other hand had a good linkup with van Persie and also put a ball on van Persies head. He beat his fullback far more but his end product was poor. The clue on who played better laid with who got taken off first.
Obviously, but wingers for a team like us should be more like nani rather then Valencia. As in a risk taker and one who is guaranteed to make chances and threaten the opposition rather then always choosing the safe pass back to Rafael or Carrick, but who is a decent defender. It's not like Valencia is miles better defensively either, and certainly not enough to justify him starting over nani, who's attacking contribution is miles better, in big games like the one against Madrid coming up.
Nani does his fair share defensively that it is a little pointless to say he needs to do more defensively IMO. He's not like what Ronaldo was, just waiting at the half way line not bothering to go back. If that was the case, then he'd need to be as talented as Ronaldo to justify that.
Also one more thing that nani makes the opposition do is because of how dangerous he is, the opposition almost always double team him like we saw against Fulham, leaving other players open. What other wingers do we have that causes the opponent to do that?
I agree with this, I don't know what is the problem, it's like he switches off at the moments.
I think it's funny that people have such strong convictions on the type of player a Manchester United player should be. "Yeah, ok, Carrick can make some passes and interceptions but if he isn't making barnstorming runs up the pitch every game like Keane/Ince then he's not a Manchester United midfielder. Doesn't matter how good he is at what he does, if he's not doing the things I want him to do then he's not good enough".
The player you're describing is an out-of-form Valencia. An in-form Valencia takes plenty of risks. Not as many as Nani but then the same applies to Beckham in relation to Giggs. In my view that kind of balance helps and having two Nani's wouldn't really benefit the team at all. Regardless, either Valencia takes more risks than you believe or the entire team completely disagree about what a "Manchester United winger should be" because they voted him player of the year last year, they obviously appreciated what he was contributing.
Nani was clearly superior to Valencia yesterday. Not that Valencia was shit, but he wasn't doing much of anything to scare Fulham's back line. Nani was punching holes.
He's not there quite yet, but Nani is taking the right road back to top form. Keep playing Nani for the time being. I say give Valencia a short break and go with Kagawa, making the proper adjustments in the formation.
He's not there quite yet, but Nani is taking the right road back to top form. Keep playing Nani for the time being. I say give Valencia a short break and go with Kagawa, making the proper adjustments in the formation.
Some people actually thought Nani had a worse game then Valencia?? Nani kept our attacks going and even when defenders doubled up on him looked to still go forward and caused problems. Valencia on the other hand stopped all flow down the right wing attacking wise. Only positive from Valencia's game was that he can hold the ball up in our own half under pressure. Though even then he never really looked to do anything attacking wise with it and we had generally had to wait for the ball to be switched over to the left for nani and evra to make the move go forward and look dangerous again
This.
Valencia only took a little step towards proper form, but I still reckon SAF will start him against Madrid for defensive reasons, and I don't think he'd be wrong to do so. Either way, Nani is the best and most in-form wide player, so he should be a definite starter.
Yeah he was clearly having more impact than Valencia, trying more things and it wasnt a surprise that Valencia went off. But still much to improve on for Nani to be anywhere near his best
Valencia can probably keep up with Ronaldo on a run, so it wouldn't be wrong to start him, as you say because of his defensive contributions. I would still want Nani on the left though. There will probably be more room for Valencia to run in against RM, as Ronaldo doesn't track back as much and they will be attacking, leaving them slightly vulnerable for a fast counter attack.
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