Luis Nani | 2012/13 Performances

[I'm always right]

Dunno about that, he was there to deal with Alves and Nani wouldn't have offered the same protection. It was Valencia and Park that surprised me, thought Nani could have had a real go at Abidal.

Well, he was there to a defensive Job and press higher up the pitch and give protection to Evra against Alves. Nani in that role would have made very little sense.

Not too forget he was playing on the left too.

We played a shitter player in his place and went with 2 hard workers with zero flair, and next to zero ability in tight spaces on the wings, it worked out fecking shite.

You need ability on the ball vs. Barca when you get it. Nani getting overlooked for these 2 in Europe's biggest game was a huge error imo that backfired massively. SAF completely got our tactics wrong that night, his wingers, his midfield and Hernandez up front were all wrong.

 

[I'm always right]

And Valencia has been as great as Nani in terms of assists/Stats

Not true. Nani has better stats than Valencia since Valencia joined the club.

You are making it sound as if they are some sort of very inferior players to Nani.

I didn't make it sound like that, but for the record Valencia is inferior. Rooney isn't of course. And I don't buy this idea that Nani offers no workrate or commitment when he's off form, I've watched Valencia off form all season and an off form Nani offers at least as much as that.

 

[Theon]

We played a shitter player in his place and went with 2 hard workers with zero flair, and next to zero ability in tight spaces on the wings, it worked out fecking shite.

You need ability on the ball vs. Barca when you get it. Nani getting overlooked for these 2 in Europe's biggest game was a huge error imo that backfired massively. SAF completely got our tactics wrong that night, his wingers, his midfield and Hernandez up front were all wrong.

Ayee, that's pretty much exactly what I said. Playing Valencia and Park was a mistake and Nani should have gone up against Abidal...

Where I disagree is you suggesting Park was the one to be dropped, makes no fecking sense. If you're going to go with one hard working winger then it is obvious to put him on the left against Alves, not on the right with Abidal.

 

[I'm always right]

Yeah maybe Theon, it's certainly a good point, I just think Valencia was in decent form and probably deserved to play. Whichever way you look at it, leaving out our best outlet for beating players in tight spaces against Barcelona was a huge mistake by SAF.

I can definitely imagine that being dropped for that still really hurts, especially as he was dropped for inferior players. And that's always been Nani's problem here and the reason he's no doubt unsure about a new contract, he just doesn't get much leeway from SAF, I don't believe the boss has full faith in him and he probably doesn't either.

Someone asked the other day why he seems more consistent with Portugal than United and my answer was that he possibly feels more comfortable there and know that he's a main man, a definite starter, whereas here he feels he's just an off game or two away from being dropped. Hell, if it's a tough away game he might still be dropped even if in good form cause SAF prefers a Valencia, Young or Park to "keep it tight".

 

[Theon]

Yeah no question with hindsight it was awful, such a shite game. To be fair though it was always going to be beyond difficult so who knows what would have happened with Nani starting. Valencia just didn't have the beating of Abidal and that was always going to be our main outlet, along with maybe a through ball for Hernandez but that was never going to occur more than once or twice.

When you think of it like that Nani really had to start, Park offers workrate but limited inspiration and Hernandez isn't a technical player who was going to dribble Macherano and Pique.. It really was all about that right wing.

Yeah agree with the rest, made a similar comment on the last page about Fergie not trusting him. It's always a feeling I've had beyond merely selections, it's wierd.

 

[Cevno]

Not true. Nani has better stats than Valencia since Valencia joined the club.

I didn't make it sound like that, but for the record Valencia is inferior. Rooney isn't of course.

This is based on ?

Valencia is inferior in a attacking sense but gives a more rounded game yep but even in chance created numbers before this season Valencia created one every 33 minutes while Nani did 34.

While in terms of assist to game ratio Valencia had 1:3.7 and Nani had 1:3.5 assist to game Ratio since 2009 when Valencia came here.

Pretty comparable all round and especially more considering the job Valencia has to do in big games some times and the fact that he has also filled in at RB on occasions.

This season Valencia has been pretty poor and so has Nani before the last 2 games, but let's not forget Valencia can be pretty good too and was Player of the year last year even for us coming back from a long term injury.

 

[I'm always right]

Why you skipping out goals Cevno?

goals are pretty important in the stats you originally mentioned. I'm not getting into a huge debate here, Nani stats are simply better, plenty better.

 

[Cevno]

Yeah maybe Theon, it's certainly a good point, I just think Valencia was in decent form and probably deserved to play. Whichever way you look at it, leaving out our best outlet for beating players in tight spaces against Barcelona was a huge mistake by SAF.

I can definitely imagine that being dropped for that still really hurts, especially as he was dropped for inferior players. And that's always been Nani's problem here and the reason he's no doubt unsure about a new contract, he just doesn't get much leeway from SAF, I don't believe the boss has full faith in him and he probably doesn't either.

Someone asked the other day why he seems more consistent with Portugal than United and my answer was that he possibly feels more comfortable there and know that he's a main man, a definite starter, whereas here he feels he's just an off game or two away from being dropped. Hell, if it's a tough away game he might still be dropped even if in good form cause SAF prefers a Valencia, Young or Park to "keep it tight".

Yeah no question with hindsight it was awful, such a shite game. To be fair though it was always going to be beyond difficult so who knows what would have happened with Nani starting. Valencia just didn't have the beating of Abidal and that was always going to be our main outlet, along with maybe a through ball for Hernandez but that was never going to occur more than once or twice.

When you think of it like that Nani really had to start, Park offers workrate but limited inspiration and Hernandez isn't a technical player who was going to dribble Macherano and Pique.. It really was all about that right wing.

Well, there was a case for Dropping Valencia for Nani and a pretty good one at that, but our tactics were to press them high up the pitch and Valencia had to press Abidal in posession.

These tactics were all wrong and so was the personnel because we should have played more defensive and let them have the ball and the possession.

Valencia was himself that season coming back from long term layoff while Nani had gotten injured after which when he came back his form had dipped.

The final as someone said before is held in May not February sadly.

 

[Cevno]

Why you skipping out goals Cevno?

goals are pretty important in the stats you originally mentioned. I'm not getting into a huge debate here, Nani stats are simply better, plenty better.

Yeah, Nani scores 3 goals per season more. That makes the stats much better ? Valencia makes plenty more succcesful tackles than Nani and gives the ball away 7% less on average or something like that.

Nani as i said is better attacking wise but Valencia is no dud either. Plenty better he certainly isn't.

 

[Theon]

Pressing high against Barca is just mental IMO, just opens the pitch up by spreading your players out and they can pass through you. Milan nailed it by backing off to a point, keeping it tight, then pressing with intensity when Barca started to push up.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

Nani signing a new contract would be like a new signing because I have completely resigned myself to him leaving.

I too think he will still leave at the end of the season, but if he did stay what do we think... Nani and Welbeck the natural wide options next season with Zaha, Young, Valencia more rotation?

 

[KingEric7]

I was smashed by the second half and remember very little of it, but I think had we not played that XI that had got us to that stage in both competitions - a team that had been in such quality form and one that had really clicked as a unit - we still would've got dicked on and people would've perhaps slammed Fergie for changing a winning formula. Very much agree with the idea that playing more players that are comfortable in possession against a team like that is the way to go, but at the same time how a team operates as a unit is highly influential in contributing to this also.

I think that's why that 10/11 team was such a strange team in ways during the back end of that season. The line up on paper looked an absolute nightmare as far as ball retention goes when you consider that it had Park, Valencia, Giggs and Hernandez in a single line up, but every player was on form and looking good as part of a unit. It was pretty much the direct opposite of the situation that we're in now, whereby we can field Van Persie, Cleverley and Kagawa (as well as Rooney and Carrick) all at once and still not keep a hold of a game for more than 10 minutes at a time. I think what this shows is that whilst ball players are hugely influential as far as playing controlled football against top teams goes, it is at the very least as important to have a set of players playing as a unit as it is to have individuals comfortable in possession. It really is very interesting comparing the team we have and the football we've been playing this season against that of the 10/11 season, and it's definitely made me re-think a lot about how important mentality is as well as attributes when it comes to finding a balanced team that plays good, possession-based football. This last year or so it's seemed like we've been punished the second we've let our guard down tactically (hence the crazy importance of Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley at this moment in time), where as back then we were dominating matches whilst having at least 3 players in midfield and one up front who on paper were really not the sort of players you'd associate with possession football.

Going back to that game though and whether Nani should've been included, I think we were just fecked either way to be honest. It'll take a while before we see another team like that again in football, I imagine.

 

[Bebe]

That's a shame, but for the last couple of months of that season he wasn't in good form and wasn't a regular. You don't pick your team in May based on form in Ferbuary.

I don't disagree with you, he really had gone cold the last couple months of the season. However you could then ask why Valencia is starting ahead of him this year and particularly since Nani came back from injury. It's not like Tony has been in great form, or any kind of form really.

Ultimately SAF has his reasons for picking the lineups and I think his track record means he probably knows better than Nani who should be playing. But I do think there is an argument that Nani has been harshly treated by SAF, with regard to his treatment of the other players and Nani's clearly superior talent.

 

[Cold_Boy]

Isn't his agent Mendes?

 

[Ekeke]

Because they give solid workrate and commitment even when they are not performing.

And Valencia has been as great as Nani in terms of assists/Stats for us while Rooney is probably our best player alongside RVP and has proven it consistently over number of seasons.

You are making it sound as if they are some sort of very inferior players to Nani.

Nani works just as hard and has produced more than Valencia.

 

[kps88]

Nani works just as hard and has produced more than Valencia.

Obviously SAF disagrees.

 

[Platato]

Well at least we know where SAF stands on the contract situation. Looks like it will come down to regular football (apologies if it's been posted before):

Sir Alex wants Nani to sign

Sir Alex Ferguson has stated his desire to keep Nani at Manchester United and revealed talks are ongoing with the player’s agent.

Portuguese international Nani, whose contract expires at the end of next season, has been the subject of intense media speculation in recent months with many publications claiming the winger has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford, linking him with moves to various clubs in Europe.

However, when speaking during his weekly press conference at Carrington, the boss was quick to quash such rumours and claimed the 26-year-old is very much part of his plans for the future.

“We want to keep him, there's no doubt about that,” Sir Alex stated.

“He's capable of scoring incredible goals. His goal against Everton, when he dinked the keeper after playing a couple of one-twos, was incredible. And the goal against Tottenham the year before, where he dinked the goalkeeper after playing a one-two, was another one.

"The boy has an incredible talent for winning matches. He's one of the best match-winners in the game, and I include the whole of Europe in that.

“David Gill's been speaking to his agent for quite a few weeks. It's entirely up to the boy - he has a year and a half left. I think he wants guaranteed first-team football. He can guarantee himself that. Performances like the other night can guarantee that.

"We're trying our best to keep him because he's such a match-winner."

Nani has missed much of this season as a result of a hamstring injury and has only just returned to full fitness, most recently coming off the bench during Monday’s 2-1 win over Reading to score once and set up Javier Hernandez, earning ManUtd.com’s Man of the Match award as a result.

Now in rude health, the Portuguese winger has added to Sir Alex's already pounding selection headache with crucial matches in the title race, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League approaching – but as the boss admits, it's a welcome problem at this stage of the season.

“Nani was out with an injury for six weeks or more," said Sir Alex. "We sent him back to Portugal for treatment and tried to get the injury to settle. He's never really had an injury.

“Now he's back fit, training well, he's a consideration. There's no doubt about that. It gives me a headache because Antonio Valencia has been a fantastic player for us and I know Nani likes playing on the right.

"We like to play Nani on the left sometimes. We also have Ashley Young who can play on the left and we have Ryan Giggs who can play there if we want him to play in a different way.

"Our options are fantastic. I think that puts us in a strong position."

http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-F...ni-to-stay-at-manchester-united.aspx?pageNo=2

If Nani knows what's good for him, he'll stay.

 

[Cevno]

Nani works just as hard and has produced more than Valencia.

He doesn't which is why he was benched for not tracking back enough against Tottenham and Liverpool and then put in the doghouse. SAF also dissed him to try and send a message to him after the Carling cup game.

And as for producing more than Valencia. See the stats above.

 

[Platato]

It's overly simplistic to pin it down to not tracking back enough. Against Liverpool, he was just poor all around. Then he got injured and was out for some time. Do we really know why he was benched after Tottenham? Especially after scoring our first goal?

 

[finneh]

He doesn't which is why he was benched for not tracking back enough against Tottenham and Liverpool and then put in the doghouse. SAF also dissed him to try and send a message to him after the Carling cup game.

And as for producing more than Valencia. See the stats above.

Taking the three seasons where both were playing best Nani scores roughly 1 in 4.5, whereas Valencia scores roughly 1 in 6.5. In the Premier League Nani scored roughly 1 in 4, whereas Valencia 1 in 7 (20 vs 10 over 3 seasons).

Quite a huge difference I'd say. Especially since Nani's defensive work is underrated because it is less blood and thunder than Valencia's. For instance, Valencia often plays the ball backward putting our defence under pressure, but then often charges back to win the ball. Nani often provides an outlet that relieves pressure from defence merely by holding the ball up and beating his man.

 

[ItsEssexRob]

Taking the three seasons where both were playing best Nani scores roughly 1 in 4.5, whereas Valencia scores roughly 1 in 6.5. In the Premier League Nani scored roughly 1 in 4, whereas Valencia 1 in 7 (20 vs 10 over 3 seasons).

Quite a huge difference I'd say. Especially since Nani's defensive work is less blood and thunder than Valencia's. For instance, Valencia often plays the ball backward putting our defence under pressure, but then often charges back to win the ball. Nani often provides an outlet that relieves pressure from defence merely by holding the ball up and beating his man.

Up until this season where none of the wingers have been that great I can honestly say that in general Valencia was more feared on the team sheet than Nani by a lot of rival fans ( mostly Chelsea admittedly). Nani having obviously the greater goal threat himself but less all round game. ( No need to remind me of the screamer he scored against us).

What has happened to Tony I dont know, I thought he would kick on this season and be one of your star players.

 

[Cina]

Nice to hear Fergie saying that. Maybe the performance against Reading inspired it.

I'd say he's always wanted to keep Nani, why would he get rid of a (on his day) great winger who we basically trained up at this club, and splash out probably double what we'd get for him on another, possibly inferior winger? Makes no sense. Obviously there are just things behind the scenes that is blocking it from happening, and as a result Fergie just doesn't see the point in giving him as much game time.

By the way, up until this season, Nani was never really dropped because of having one bad game, and he was often picked ahead of other players on a very consistent basis. I'd say he displaced Valencia in the team more than vice-versa, and any time he was displaced was generally after he'd been injured or simply because Valencia was in better form. The only real time I can think of was in his absolute stinker against City, which he was picked in ahead of both Valencia and Young because of his previous two appearances since his return from injury!

 

[Shark]

Up until this season where none of the wingers have been that great I can honestly say that in general Valencia was more feared on the team sheet than Nani by a lot of rival fans ( mostly Chelsea admittedly). Nani having obviously the greater goal threat himself but less all round game. ( No need to remind me of the screamer he scored against us).

What has happened to Tony I dont know, I thought he would kick on this season and be one of your star players.

Nani has less all around game than Valencia in you're opinion? I have no idea how you would come to that conclusion. Even if you don't watch United that much.

 

[Cina]

Saying he has a lesser all around game is a strange thing. Tony is about as limited as a winger can get, he just does the limited things very, very well (when on form). Nani (when on form) has an impact all over. Better from distance, better finisher, more accurate crosses, better killer passes, better link up play.

Unless you mean when they're both off form in which case Valencia does offer more because he's better defensively.

 

[#07]

Well at least we know where SAF stands on the contract situation. Looks like it will come down to regular football (apologies if it's been posted before):


If Nani knows what's good for him, he'll stay.

I'm happy to critique Nani as much as anyone else but I do have some sympathy for him on this after all other players, in much worse form, have gotten starts ahead of him this season even when he has been fit. Some part of him must be wondering am I really wanted here?

I think if Nani gets the run of games his showing on Monday against Reading warrants he will stay. My reading of the situation is that what Nani is after is some reassurance that the club see him as a key player and really want him to stay. If he gets this whole situation will disappear.

 

[Shark]

If that performance vs Reading doesn't warrant a start, well then he's surely wasting his time here.

 

[Cevno]

Nani has less all around game than Valencia in you're opinion? I have no idea how you would come to that conclusion. Even if you don't watch united that much.

Saying he has a lesser all around game is a strange thing. Tony is about as limited as a winger can get, he just does the limited things very, very well (when on form). Nani (when on form) has an impact all over. Better from distance, better finisher, more accurate crosses, better killer passes, better link up play.

Unless you mean when they're both off form in which case Valencia does offer more because he's better defensively.

Here's a post from the 2010/11 season when Nani was doing superbly on another forum -

This convo is almost a complete repeat of a convo that was had about Valencia last year. Pretty wierd, really. Granted Nani is not the Nani he was, but it does like Valencia linear play has been reduced to a degree of ineptitude when, in fact, the guy offers a lot outside of the productivity on his crosses.

I remembered these posts I made after the Chelsea game from last year in November:

I do feel when Valencia is considered, he has to be looked at outside of the individuality (him vs. <insert>) aspect to a degree. The guy make entire flanks work hard to stop him. I don't think there's really an appreciation of how much we [ab]used that to our advantage last season. It's very different to what Nani does where he mesmerizes and forces the opposition to cater for him but also allows for a more open battle down that flank. When the V-1000 patrols the right flank, you know that any wide man, be it a full-back, winger or wing-forward, is going to have to work, and work, and work some more to shake him off. This is not like the peskiness of a Park, who via sheer doggedness causes problems on the defensive end. This is a player who has enormous strength for his height and weight, more pace than practically any wide man in the PL (full distances - not a couple of tiny bursts ala Walcott/Lennon, full matches) and is easily top percentile for stamina. This guy is a wide players' worst nightmare because, for the most part, he's faster, stronger, more indefatigable and completely and utterly one-tracked in his objectives. He's called the V-1000 for a reason...

You've got to take into account these aspects when assessing Valencia, you have to. There isn't a side in the league who will fancy the battle or cards Valencia brings to the table. As a raw athlete opposing wide-men know it's a matter of time before they crack even if he does the same thing over and over and over....

To stop Valencia outright, teams have to accomodate his game from a tactical POV.. with the new and improved Rafael doubling up on that flank behind Valencia, there is an enormous measure of potentially shutting down the right side of the pitch for 3/4's of a game if not more with Valencia out there. Nani does not shut down a flank - he occupies it and comes to life in bursts, during that period of time between bursts there are windows for the opposition to exploit that simply do not exist with the one-track mind of Valencia allied to his athletic prowess. This makes Nani & Valencia two totally different propositions for the oppo, not one better than the other, imo.

With Valencia there is more likelihood of drawing out the full potential of Rafael - a genuine old-fashioned flank pairing is right there.. if one doesn't get you, the other will.. all the time with Valencia pushing and pusing the same drill until you succumb. Valencia also offers something none of our other flankers do: genuine, all-out width. He will not only stretch the field for his FB, but also the CM and forward on his side of the pitch. Tactically, you have to cater for that and you would see teams loading Valencia's flank with the spare man more often than they do to try and double up on Nani. If a guy is just going to burn you down the outside, you're going to need a man covering whilst you go to the ball. He offers us more than has been mentioned, especially from a tactical POV.

With Nani you have a match-winner and a complete wild card. He cannot extract the very best out of a FB by the very nature of his game and the maverick aspect of his personality. Nani doesn't look to forge anything with anyone, really, because he has the skills to do what he wants when he can get away with it.

It's a very different approach to wing-play, and as was mentioned, Valencia is the guy you put out there to stop the smaller teams from getting ideas of an open game, he's the one they can't kick or intimidate or get any change out of, whereas Nani's the guy who will probably score the winner or set up the winner against such sides whilst giving them the chance to spread their wings some.

In big games in the PL, the likes of Ashley Cole can be locked down and tied to solely defensive duties when Valencia fields... with Nani, he'll get chances to venture forward for varying reasons (Nani: drifitng, play-acting, not tracking back in the way someone like Park/Valencia would for just a few plays, etc) so it's a pick your poison in a direct head-to-head with both having pros and cons.

Valencia might drive us mad at times with that linearity on the offensive end, but most of his defensive work is not even considered - is there a winger in this league who tracks the flank for 90 minutes as relentlessly as Valencia? Nu-uh. That part of his game is simply taken for granted for the most part, not to mention the breathers he enables all on his side of the pitch to have - Fletcher would welcome him back with open arms, for example, and I would not be surprised to 'suddenly' see Fletcher come back to life with Valencia on his outside.

If Valencia comes back fit and firing, I don't think the manager would have any hesitation in putting him back on the right and Nani over to the left.

Explains the difference pretty well.

Nani has more significant upside easily too and more unpredictability but then he needs to make use of it and up his game consistently. For 2010/11 he was a regular for us when he was performing superbly and was probably the best winger in the league, but then he got injured against Liverpool and came back blowing hot and cold. And when he does that he gets frustrated and doesn't give as much discipline either.

Nani by now should have grabbed his opportunities by the scruff of the neck and advanced that conversation, but he hasn't. Then he would have had all the top clubs after him and us desperate to keep him with him cemented in the first team, but it's still excuses excuses excuses.... like with Ando but to a lesser extent.

 

[wonnie]

Nice to hear Fergie saying that. Maybe the performance against Reading inspired it.

I'd say he's always wanted to keep Nani, why would he get rid of a (on his day) great winger who we basically trained up at this club, and splash out probably double what we'd get for him on another, possibly inferior winger? Makes no sense. Obviously there are just things behind the scenes that is blocking it from happening, and as a result Fergie just doesn't see the point in giving him as much game time.

By the way, up until this season, Nani was never really dropped because of having one bad game, and he was often picked ahead of other players on a very consistent basis. I'd say he displaced Valencia in the team more than vice-versa, and any time he was displaced was generally after he'd been injured or simply because Valencia was in better form. The only real time I can think of was in his absolute stinker against City, which he was picked in ahead of both Valencia and Young because of his previous two appearances since his return from injury!

Agree with this. Prior to the second half of 09/10 he was a very frustrating player with the occasional moment of magic. Simply he put in 1 good performance for every 3 or 4 average performances (especially 08/09 I think).

Since then he has played the majority of our important games - I think at the back end of 10/11 when he was dropped for Chelsea? and Barca in the CL final was because the other two (Valencia and Park) were in such great form and Nani himself had a slight question mark hanging above him from that Carragher challenge.

Anyway Fergie has, really, stated the obvious and declared that Nani is one of the best matchwinners in Europe. But I'm still glad he's come out and said it and gives me some hope that he might stay.

We really deserve to see him play at his best alongside RvP, Rooney and Kagawa. It will be absolute sex.

 

[Amir]

Ultimately SAF has his reasons for picking the lineups and I think his track record means he probably knows better than Nani who should be playing. But I do think there is an argument that Nani has been harshly treated by SAF, with regard to his treatment of the other players and Nani's clearly superior talent.

If we're talking about recent weeks, then it's pretty obvious the contract is playing some part. Overall, I do take your point. Nani has been giving less leeway than other talented players we've had in the past. Why, I'm sure the manager knows.

You can bet your arse Rooney would've played in the same scenario.

And Nani was injured, rather than "not in good form". He's our best winger and should started that final for me.

No, Nani was injured during that season (the Liverpool injury most remembered, though he wasn't out for long), but came back way before the season ended. He just lost or didn't regain his form. Valencia was brilliant after his own return from injury, Park was a reasonable choice given our lightweight midfield. Both were very good in what was effectively the title winning match against Chelsea. They earned their place.

As for Rooney, I wouldn't put my house on it. If he was in crappy form and we had other strikers in top form, he'd have been left out.

 

[finneh]

Up until this season where none of the wingers have been that great I can honestly say that in general Valencia was more feared on the team sheet than Nani by a lot of rival fans ( mostly Chelsea admittedly). Nani having obviously the greater goal threat himself but less all round game. ( No need to remind me of the screamer he scored against us).

What has happened to Tony I dont know, I thought he would kick on this season and be one of your star players.

I'm very surprised at this to be honest.

Valencia was never going to "kick on" to be fair. He doesn't have the technical ability to perform better than his great form 09-10 or 11-12. Obviously it's more than infuriating that he has become infinitely worse.

 

[Wowi]

Saying he has a lesser all around game is a strange thing. Tony is about as limited as a winger can get, he just does the limited things very, very well (when on form). Nani (when on form) has an impact all over. Better from distance, better finisher, more accurate crosses, better killer passes, better link up play.

Unless you mean when they're both off form in which case Valencia does offer more because he's better defensively.

I'm not even sure that's the case on current form really. Valencia has been provided close to zero cover for Rafael at times and that was a big part of quite a few of the goals we conceded in the first half of the season. I certainly remember more than a few goals where I moaned about Valencia roaming around the halfway line while Rafael was trying to cover two players.

Anyway, on Nani. Glad to hear the club wants him to stay. Yes, he's an incredibly frustrating player at times, but he's also capable of sheer brilliance. He's exactly the sort of player people on here would be begging Fergie to sign if he wasn't here already. Cina summed it up nicely:

I'd say he's always wanted to keep Nani, why would he get rid of a (on his day) great winger who we basically trained up at this club, and splash out probably double what we'd get for him on another, possibly inferior winger? Makes no sense.

 

[noodlehair]

It doesn't really work saying "if you play well enough, you'll start", when the two people who've been playing ahead of you have been playing worse than you for the entire season and barely managed a decent performance between them.

 

[Maagge]

Please, please get him to sign that contract.
Either way to get him back on form in the run in would be amazing and help us a lot.

 

[Member 39557]

I'm very surprised at this to be honest.

Valencia was never going to "kick on" to be fair. He doesn't have the technical ability to perform better than his great form 09-10 or 11-12. Obviously it's more than infuriating that he has become infinitely worse.

Perhaps that number 7 weighs heavily on his shoulders?

 

[Top]

If Nani knows what's good for him, he'll stay.

Erm, it sounds like he knows exactly what's good for him: Being a regular starter on the right wing.

And at the moment he isn't guaranteed that here, thus staying wouldn't be what's best for him.

 

[Top]

Perhaps that number 7 weighs heavily on his shoulders?

He specifically asked for it himself, so I'd hope not.

 

[Red Devil 26]

It doesn't really work saying "if you play well enough, you'll start", when the two people who've been playing ahead of you have been playing worse than you for the entire season and barely managed a decent performance between them.

Couldn't agree more. Must be infuriating from Nani's perspective to witness such double standards.

 

[kouroux]

Come Nani, wise up now !

 

[Hectic]

It doesn't really work saying "if you play well enough, you'll start", when the two people who've been playing ahead of you have been playing worse than you for the entire season and barely managed a decent performance between them.

Yeah I don't get it either, how is it giving him a problem at all? You're talking about Giggs, Valencia and Young, but Nani is better then all of them, even form wise, despite playing half the games and being injured for a long spell. It's like the most straight forward decision there can be.

 

[Shark]

It doesn't really work saying "if you play well enough, you'll start", when the two people who've been playing ahead of you have been playing worse than you for the entire season and barely managed a decent performance between them.

I completely agree with this. Nani is in a very worrying situation whatever way you look at it. It's difficult not to take his side IMO.