I think the best players are those who has a feel of the climate in a match. That greater understanding that would have led Nani yesterday, for instance, to try and keep possession better instead of waste it trying difficult passes. Because that's what we needed in the match, a foothold, someone who could keep the ball and calm us down.
Nani has the ability to be our outlet in matches like this, he's very hard to get the ball off and he's got the technical ability to get us out of a tight spot, but he lacks the footballing brain to do so.
The best is obviously to strike a balance between trying audacious stuff, and keeping it simple. This is a hard thing to do though, even for experienced central midfielders like Carrick whose job this is in every match.
Nani is at his best when we're on the front foot and he doesn't have to think about how his actions will affect the flow of the match. He probably is a bit too flash in matches like Liverpool away, when not on top of his game.
I would probably say Valencia's got the balance better, but he could do with a bit of arrogance and belief in his own ability as well to be even better. Him trying the audacious a bit more often would actually be a good thing.