You can and I didn't say he's a poor technician. The best ball strikers are often midrange technicians. Batistuta, Lampard, Icardi, Gerrard, Trezeguet, Bale and Shearer can attest to that. Often the best technicians are mediocre at striking the ball. Iniesta, Modric, Mayer, Wilshere, Kovacic, Turan, David Silva and Xavi can attest to that.
His first touch is everything but spotless and his ball manipulation is nothing to write home about. For fans that have had the pleasure to see Cantona, Nani, Berbatov and Scholes I'm surprised any united fan would find Cristiano to being an elite technician.
