Nani - make or break time for him

Ronaldo had at least 2 seasons when he was similarly frustrating, and despite his obvious skill it was far from clear that he would become the effective talent he now is.

I am not suggesting that Nani has anywhere near as much natural talent as Ronaldo, but it is clear that he has a number of the qualities required to make it at a high level, and it is possible that with good coaching and man management, he could in time become a highly effective player for us.

Originally Posted by PaulParkersPubes

I've made no secret of the fact that I've never rated Nani. He's quick yes, has a decent shot on him and can show glimpses of skill but these are all attributes that I would expect of any player playing in the premier league.

It's brain and first touch which separate the good players from the poor ones. Sadly Nani has neither for me. Plus he has got no bottle at all and is quite possibly the biggest @#%&! of all time. Roy Cropper could kick his face in.

As most are saying, it's mainly his decision making. He's technically gifted (although I think he's deceptively slow. He hardly ever breezes past someone. Tends to 'work' his way past players. Squirming and twisting, a little like Park).
It doesn't matter how good someone is, if they don't make the right decisions in the final third then they'll always come up short.

However, he has had his moments this season and has improved on last year. He's getting games and considering how bad he was last season, I'd say any degree of progress this early in the season should be taken positively. I do think he'll get better the more he plays and there's plenty of games and competition for places on the horizon.

I actually thought nani will come good this season. But after last 2 matches I have given up. its £#%&!ing frustrating.

90% of the time he £#%&!s up and its not funny. he doesn't do the simplest of things. if he had rolled the ball to berbatov yesterday he would have been one on one with goalkeeper. instead he just went on and completely £#%&!ed up the move. I actually appreciated that rooney controlled himself and didn't just hammer nani.

berbatov and rooney's reaction yesterday was looking like ruud's reaction to ronaldo. ruud was quickly shipped off since we knew how good was ronaldo. nani will be shipped off this time around.

in fact if this form continues, I can see him being £#%&!ed off in january to spain.

Originally Posted by dunk

I said something similar during the game on Saturday, if one of our wingers deserves some criticism, it's Valencia imo, for all the reasons you have given. As has been mentioned by others, looks shit scared atm, just keeps doing the same thing, badly. Shame he didn't score on Satruday, could've been a big help if he had.

I've got no problem with Nani. Working far harder this year and is never scared of trying things. Yes his final ball is a bit hit and miss, but think back to all the wide players we have had at OT over the years and at some point their decision making/final ball has been questioned, in all cases. Nani will be a very good player for us.

It was Nani's hard work and threat whilst on the pitch that made sure there was space for Giggs when he came on on Saturday.

people talk about having an 'out and out winger'. i personal cant think of an out and out winger who is highly rated and plays at a top club. most are wide players who can play as forwards etc.(nani, ronaldo, ribery, arshavin etc)
the out and out wingers of the game are downing and young!

i like nani and the fact he at least tries to make something happen. his decision making can improve but look at his goals and assists this season. impressive.

I also think we get the best out of him when he plays and STAYS on the right. He never seems to play as well when starting on the left and then getting moved about.

Originally Posted by marlo

people talk about having an 'out and out winger'. i personal cant think of an out and out winger who is highly rated and plays at a top club. most are wide players who can play as forwards etc.(nani, ronaldo, ribery, arshavin etc)
the out and out wingers of the game are downing and young!

i like nani and the fact he at least tries to make something happen. his decision making can improve but look at his goals and assists this season. impressive.

At the moment, he's quite a fragile confidence player. When he's feeling nervous, it comes across in his decision making. It's a pretty small problem to have at his age and shouldn't be too difficult to iron out given experience and more time to develop. When you've got a player with the ability he has, I don't think you make any rash decisions about cutting your loses. I'd be surprised if Fergie shared the 'make or break' viewpoint at this moment in time. He's not even 23 yet.

Berbatov is shit.

I think this may be his last season, he'll have two years left on his contract at the end of it.

He got into numerous good positions on Saturday and his ball in was £#%&!ing woeful.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

At the moment, he's quite a fragile confidence player. When he's feeling nervous, it comes across in his decision making. It's a pretty small problem to have at his age and shouldn't be too difficult to iron out given experience and more time to develop. When you've got a player with the ability he has, I don't think you make any rash decisions about cutting your loses. I'd be surprised if Fergie shared the 'make or break' viewpoint at this moment in time. He's not even 23 yet.

people love to get on nanis back.

wish all our wingers were judged on the same critirea.

thats tosic, nani, park and valencia.

all judged on the same attributes and their productiveness measured in goals and assists!

I think he gets more criticism because he has so much ability and just doesn't make the best use of it. That's something that may come over time and with increased maturity. But it may also be something he never gets out of his game like Quaresma for one.

I think one of the greatest skills to have in football is an appreciation for the movement and positioning of other players - i.e. vision. Scholes has this in abundance and can pick out a striker's run or switch flanks like a little £#%&!ing genius. Most of us can only dream of this ability. Nani is an excellent prospect but needs to gain in confidence and widen his vision of the game. At the moment you'll see him make an exciting run but then hesitate as he needs to assess his next move, by the time he's done this its too late.

I don't think it's make or break this season but he'll need to show improvement.

Originally Posted by Gakbu

I think one of the greatest skills to have in football is an appreciation for the movement and positioning of other players - i.e. vision. Scholes has this in abundance and can pick out a striker's run or switch flanks like a little £#%&!ing genius. Most of us can only dream of this ability. Nani is an excellent prospect but needs to gain in confidence and widen his vision of the game. At the moment you'll see him make an exciting run but then hesitate as he needs to assess his next move, by the time he's done this its too late.

I don't think it's make or break this season but he'll need to show improvement.

You do wonder if the best thing would be to give him a run in the side over half a dozen or so league games and see how he does. He was playing well (Wigan, Arsenal) before being left out against Spurs and City, and perhaps his confidence has taken a knock again. I get the feeling he doesn't feel he has the complete faith of the manager/coaching staff. I think sometimes, when players get to this age, there's only so much longer you can £#%&! about with them. I'd like to see Fergie be a bit more persistent with him and give him an extended run.

Both Nani & Anderson have come in for some stick (particuarly in the Press) but my gut feeling is that Anderson is going to make it & will be a great player for United. He just has 'something' ...an extra bit of confidence & a great appreciation of the game. I know he was poor last season, culminating in that Rome shocker, but I 'believe in him'

Nani on the other hand, I think will come up short. I don't dislike the lad at all & I think he has a bit of quality, but we can & probably will do better for the left wing position.

Wouldn't bother me one bit if he never wore the shirt again.

Has the talent, just not the footballing brain.

I hope someone will repost this in a couple years time to prove me wrong.

Originally Posted by Tronics

who remembers when we had to play Fletcher or Ole on the wings?

spurs away this month? not exactly eons ago.

when all our play concentrated on going through the middle? when we lack creativity and spark ?

that would be besiktas?

now we have a player in Nani who frustrates and excites in equal measures. a player that SAF on his own would have never signed.

great point. we all know fergie doesn't have a history of signing mercurial creative types or building teams with attacking wingers [/quote]

nani isn't united quality for many reasons imo, the most important of which is a complete lack of brains.

Originally Posted by dunk

I said something similar during the game on Saturday, if one of our wingers deserves some criticism, it's Valencia imo, for all the reasons you have given. As has been mentioned by others, looks shit scared atm, just keeps doing the same thing, badly. Shame he didn't score on Satruday, could've been a big help if he had.

valencia has had some excellent games for us already and has only been at the club for two minutes.

It was Nani's hard work and threat whilst on the pitch that made sure there was space for Giggs when he came on on Saturday.

that's just %@#$&!s. it was giggs' intelligence and experience that made space and the goal. it's not like nani had run the full back ragged ffs.



as i said, i can't see any particular progress with nani. the odd good game, occasionally a couple in a row, but nothing more. i think he's a mile off being united quality and i don't see any evidence that he's going to improve. as for getting dropped, there's a reason it happens: poor play.

fergie's knowledge of how to develop young talent is second to none and suggesting he's to blame for nani's inconsistency after nearly three years is just laughable tbph. 'he needs games' ffs. you think, what, fergie hasn't noticed? or is just being nasty and stopping nani from progressing?

nani's continuing lack of form is down to one person - himself. why people are so keen to make excuses for a player who has not been up to scratch for nearly three years is beyond me.

Ronaldo: I'm still a Manchester United fan

Cristiano Ronaldo still watches every Manchester United game on TV and has backed Nani to fill the void left by his Old Trafford exit.

Ronaldo revealed his affection for United, despite leaving for a world record fee of £80milion in the summer after six years under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson.

And World Player of the Year Ronaldo backed his compatriot Nani to flourish at United now the Portugal team-mates are no longer in direct competition for the same spot.

"Every time I can I try to watch United's games on television," said Ronaldo, who has created history at Real by scoring in his first four La Liga games.

"I still like to know what's happening at Old Trafford. And despite now being at Real, I'm always happy when I know when United have won.

"I've also seen that Nani is playing much more than he was last season when I was there. That's good for him and he will benefit from that.

"Now he has more opportunities to play, he will be able to show the fans just how a great player he is.

"We still speak regularly on the phone. And it's good to see United's fans are starting to appreciate him more and have been happy with his form up until now.

"Nani is an excellent player. There's a lot more to come from him and I'm sure that in a few years he will be amongst the best players in the world."

Nani impressed in United's 1-0 Carling Cup win over Wolves on Wednesday, but is likely to be back among the subs for tomorrow's Premier League trip to Stoke.

The 22-year-old started in United's 2-1 win over Arsenal but was dropped to the bench for last Sunday's Manchester derby and has yet to cement himself as a first-team regular.

Originally Posted by rubbernecker

"Nani is an excellent player. There's a lot more to come from him and I'm sure that in a few years he will be amongst the best players in the world."

ronaldo in nani to madrid hint?

Originally Posted by borsuk

ronaldo in nani to madrid hint?

By the time Nani is amongst the best in the world Ronaldo will be back wearing the number 7 at old trafford