True - and I stopped counting how many times he saved our asses. The myth of his inconsistancy is not really true anymore
Luis Nani | 2010/11 Performances
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glad a number of you think Nani was stellar.
Probably my expectations were a lot higher after those early months.
and Hectic, I am convinced Nani would have started ahead of Valencia in his favoured position on the right if he had been in been in better form.
Probably my expectations were a lot higher after those early months.
and Hectic, I am convinced Nani would have started ahead of Valencia in his favoured position on the right if he had been in been in better form.
He carried on the form from his early months though?
I'm not so sure, I think we thought we needed Valencia to contain them down that side, provide more cover as well as added discipline. But, we will never know so I suppose that side of it is irrelevant.
I'm not so sure, I think we thought we needed Valencia to contain them down that side, provide more cover as well as added discipline. But, we will never know so I suppose that side of it is irrelevant.
Will have to watch that from home Steve. Thanks 
Looks like Nani had a kickabout with some lucky chaps in Singapore
Nani's photo "Just went to Adidas in Singap..." on WhoSay
Nani's photo "Just went to Adidas in Singap..." on WhoSay
Jesus, I was just at that place over the weekend.
Keep your fecking hands off...
Meaningless spaculation & shit stirring by the press, he's ours and we want him at United for many years to come...
Meaningless spaculation & shit stirring by the press, he's ours and we want him at United for many years to come...
he already stated he is staying, fecking press-monger just shut it, its getting old and tiresome...
God, I hate this shit.
That quote is weeks old.
Why have people now decided he's a defensive liability to play?
More and more I'm hearing from various pundits and journos that SAF won't hesitate to move him on because he's defensively lazy.
This is entirely untrue, and by his own admission it was him focusing on that side of his game that allowed him to become the more complete player he is today.
More and more I'm hearing from various pundits and journos that SAF won't hesitate to move him on because he's defensively lazy.
This is entirely untrue, and by his own admission it was him focusing on that side of his game that allowed him to become the more complete player he is today.
Exactly. Not to mention he's probably our 2nd most unpredictable attacking threat, Fergie will be sure not to sacrifice that, sure, he might not play him in certain games, but he won't be keen to move him.
because fergie dropped him for barca because of that.
not saying it's right, nani should've started.
Nani should have started and his work rate is actually pretty good for a wing-forward, always have been
Valencia's workrate is better, as is Park's. That's why Nani wasn't played. I'm not saying Nani's hasn't improved, but it's not as good as Valencia or Park's workrate.
nani's gap in workrate is made up for being lightyears ahead on the ball.
grafters won't stop barca, you need quality as well.
But he wanted grafters on the wings, to counteract their attacking full-backs, which was completely understandable. Anyone who actually reasonably thought about it knew that Valencia would play.
Think the call was closer than we think.Valencia's workrate and skill won over Nani's undoubted ability on both flanks but only just, and his late season form was the deciding factor
There was nothing stopping him playing over Park either though.
Rightly or wrong, Ferguson went with Valencia and Park. I was pretty sure that he would beforehand.
No. Fregie dropped him because he had been playing poorly in the weeks leading up the final.
If Nani had come into that game in the same kind of form he was for most of the season he'd have been one of the first names on the team-sheet. It was the right decision not to start him. A decision based purely on form.
I think that Nani was dropped for tactical reasons and not more. Park/Valencia cover more inches of pitch then him making them more adequate to mark Messi-Pedro and disrupt Barca's nearly perfect delivery of the ball.
There's not really that much of a gap in work rate.
Nani works very hard off the ball since he's arrived at Olf Trafford.
He was still playing other big games though Pogue, just not the 3 Chelsea games, the 1st leg at Schalke and the final as I recall.
He wasn't dropped due to his form (which did drop, no doubt), he was dropped because Valencia and Park are superior defensively to him and we were playing a 2 man midfield with a 37 year old in it.
Simples.
I said this fecking yonks ago in this thread.
Indeed.
What "other big games" did we play in the closing weeks of the season?
Obviously, Park and Valencia couldn't start every single game but they started all the key ones, on merit.
It's no big deal, though. Players get dropped for poor form all the time. For some reason, people get absurdly defensive whenever Nani is discussed. It's odd.
You have more or less named all of the big games in the closing weeks of the season with the exception of the Arsenal game.
Valencia started over Nani in the final because he was in better form and the eleven picked looked our best side going into the final on account of the CL displays and the Chelsea match so it was a combination of both. Valencia deserved his spot in the final on the strength of the battering he gave Cole alone in all honesty.
Aye, it's bollox that Nani can't defend or doesn't work hard. When he was on top of his game we never looked vulnerable defending down his side of the pitch.
Obviously, it was his work in the final third that most caught they eye but the improvement in his defensive nous was one of the major pluses from his season as a whole.
Problem was that Valencia wasnt exactly setting things alight neither in the closing weeks of the season. Just that Nani's form might have been even worse.
Hindsight is always a wonderful thing I know but I don't think Nani could have done any worse than Valencia. He was awful against Barca.
The least important competition out of the three we were competing for in the closing stages last season.
Yeah, the FINAL. He was always going to start the final based on the fact that that exact lineup had worked against Chelsea and a very shit Schalke team. But he started to play ahead of Nani in the games because he's better defensively and our midfield wasn't the strongest (though I'm sure people will come along and argue that of course).
You asked for big games Pogue. We played our best players in that against massive rivals in a derby. Always looking for a way out.
Huh? He was one of the stand-out players in the closing weeks of the season. His form coming into the CL final was excellent.
If he hadn't been in such good form, Fergie would have probably stuck with Nani.
Personally I see it as poor form brought on through injury, rather than poor form through Nani sizzling it out, which I think is why people get a bit defensive. It was a lapse in form brought about from an injury, that he didn't recover from in time, as oppose to him just playing badly in games. There is a difference, whether that's the case or not I can't say, but I think it's the reason people object to the statement above.
I don't think it's that odd in pointing out the distinction, if you believe it to be the case, given one suggests he couldn't do much, or anything about it, the other says he lacked the form at a crucial stage, which could be down to any number of reasons, fatigue, mentality etc, but it's more in his hands.
I think we should have started Nani for the final, but Valencia had been excellent in the build up to that match, he was a starter for sure. Do you not remember how ridiculously good he came back as, and that we were all a bit surprised by how consistent and on point he was, after such a lengthy spell out?
You asked for big games Pogue. We played our best players in that against massive rivals in a derby. Always looking for a way out.
A "way out"? Eh?
Happy to agree to disagree but I'm amazed anyone can think Valencia didn't get got the nod over Nani in key games during the closing weeks of the season on the basis of their respective form. It was just so obvious. Like I said, though, some people get so defensive where Nani is concerned they lose the ability to think logically. Strange.
Actually I didn't, which is a bit shock horror for me because he's a better player than Valencia and I rather like the chap.
Though of course hindsight is a big thing, and he did do more in 20 minutes than Valencia in the entire game.
There's all sorts of reasons for a dip in form and, yes, the injury would certainly be an obvious cause. What I'm a bit bemused about is the way it's now being claimed that the dip in form didn't exist, or that Valencia wasn't being picked ahead of him on merit. Very strange bit of revisionism.
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