Nani, Bale, Tottenham and Manchester United
I’ve said this before, but it is worth repeating - Tottenham have brought in an excellent talent in Gareth Bale, and they’ve got him at the right price as well.
Now the rumour-mill has gone into overdrive with papers suggesting that Nani is also headed towards White Hart Lane, with the Spurs set to pull off another transfer coup.
Let’s look at this rationally, shall we?
One, I don’t understand why Manchester United didn’t move for Bale. My only guess is that United would not have given him regular football, at least in the first season and that put off any pre-contractual talks.
Is Bale better than Evra? There’s a good chance he is as good, and at 17, he’s bound to keep improving (he’ll be 18 by August, I think).
5m for a left-back, when you already have 3 others, may be considered too Chelsea-esque but in my view 2 of our 3 left-backs (Evra and Silvestre) should be sold this summer and if you keep that in mind then bringing in Bale would have been a very good idea.
I sure as hell hope that in the long-run Ferguson got this one right, because United definitely should have acquired Bale.
Two, I don’t see how the Bale / Nani situations are related, and why the media are spinning them as such. It makes little sense for Nani to leave a club with Champions league opportunities and go play for a club that only has an outside chance of playing in the Champions League - it’s a demotion, and once again if you go by the player’s comments then Nani to Tottenham seems unlikely.
However, Manchester United may not have Nani at the top winger on their list. And with the new ‘contract’ still unconfirmed, there’s enough evidence to suggest that at the moment the Nani situation is pretty open.
We can speculate and punt all we want, but ultimately it depends on Ferguson - and we’re all waiting for him to make his bloody move.
Transfer season is never fun 
Get off your high horse! Spurs are a club moving forward rapidly and would be one of the most attractive propositions for any player. Not only are we based in london (and not sh1tty manchester) but we have a young talented squad with great team spirit and huge potential for next season and beyond. How on earth is nani moving from sporting lisbon to spurs a step down? Sporting Lisbon are probably about the 3rd best team in a very average league. Spurs are the 5th best in the best league in the world!
You seem to think playing champs league is the be all and end all, well its not! Sp Lisbon got knocked out at the group stage in 4th, spurs were unlucky not to get to the uefa cup semis and final.
Youre article is elitist rubbish! Bale came to us because he can see the potential in our club. We are on the up!
As a Spurs fan, I agree with your analysis of the Nani situation. However, I think Ferguson likes to feel that the price is right when he buys what he considers to be unproven talent and so that could be the delay, and he may be outbid, whatever the player wants. Also, I think you really need a proven goal-scorer to provide more focus for the work of Ronaldo and Rooney as you don’t do so well against defensive sides like Chelsea. Berbatov would have been great for you, but he’s staying with us, and with a few more sensible signings we can turn that “outside chance” of CL qualification into a reality
Why do you think Evra should be sold? And Bale isn’t Evra’s equal yet, especially defensively.
Bale is naive defensively, no doubt he’ll improve this as he gets older but he got found out a few times in the Championship and I think that will happen more in the Prem.
In regards to Nani, from what I’ve seen, there is as much chance he’ll be the next Richardson as the next Ronaldo, he’s a gamble for sure.
I wouldn’t want Bale and Nani starting on the left for United at their current levels of skill. Nani running into dead ends, loosing the ball and never tracking back, with Bale having to cope with Nani’s mistakes? No thanks, spurs are welcome to them both, they’ll get ripped a new a**ehole.
Don’t forget we also have the much lorded Brazilian twins coming next year. If SAF sees them as a long term part of his plans, why would he buy the likes of Bale and Richards?
Ahmed I think you’ve lost your marbles on this article. You are correct in saying bale has great potnital. He is a good free-kick taker and is sn attacking full-back but isn’t great defensively. Comparing him to Evra is ludicrous, at LB I would compare him to Richardson who has never done a bad job defensively.
We have Evra,Heinze and Silvestre, but we also have O’shea and Richardson so there is no need to buy Bale, especially as our best LB, Evra, is 25(maybe 26). He has at least 5 years in the first teams and wil also get better and I believe in that timescale, Evra will still be better then Bale.
When fit, Evra has been brilliant this season and rightly IMO made the Premiership team of the year. He has pace, strong in the tackle, good offensively and is very good defensively too. Despite his height, he wins aerial challenges with his strength and quite rightly retained his position considering his excellent form. I can see Heinze leaving as he knows at this stage of his career he will need first team football and Richardson may leave.
Silvestre has stated he has no desire to leave so we will likely have Silvestre,O’she and Evra next season so I don’t see any reason to strengthen the defence. The only signings we need are a winger and a striker with Saha leaving. Saha, although good, is too much of a liability andwe need a world class striker to replace him. Smith, Rossi, Solskjaer and Dong will be decent squad players so 2 players and 1 or 2 out and that will complete our squad I feel.
nick makes a good point there…
If we really want magic on the left wing, why don’t we make a fresh approach for Ronaldinho? Speculation would have you believe he’s headed for AC Milan, but if Barca are really ready to let him go, wouldn’t Sir Alex Ferguson be exactly the right man to whip him into shape?
As for Bale and Nani, I just don’t know. I saw Bale play a few times this season and he’s very promising. Maybe it’s for the best that Tottenham bought him. We tend to pick the ones that turn out well off of them anyway (Sheri, Carrick and maybe Berbatov?).
Nani I’ve never seen. Is he REALLY that good? He costs a lot, so it would seem that United might as well go for a proven winger. That said - there really isn’t a lot of fresh young wing talent these days… I agree with Nick - it’d be a huge pricetag for a player that might turn out to be a Richardson.
but, who are the brazillian twins? and did you not mean bale and nani? not bale and richards? - (the very last sentence)
Ahmed, will Evra NEVER convince you that he’s actually quite good? He’s currently better than Heinze…
Fabio and Rafiel Silva, there the LB and RB for the Brazilian under 17 squad, one is the captain. There touted as the next Cafu and Carlos. I meant if they are as good as people say why would united go for Bale for the LB pos and Richards as Neville’s replacement on the right.
I’ve read reports that Sporting Lisbons fans find it amusing that there is so much Interest in England for Nani. He has talent but is far from the finished article.
Spurs are good value for money going forward, I;m a fan of how they try and play their football, problem is they leak goals, I can’t see Nani and Bale helping that situation, in the short term at least.
You know what will happen!
Next season united will be bidding crazy money for Bale after realising what they’ve missed out on in a similair fashion to berbatov.
I love comments about Spurs like ‘they leak goals’ as some kind of perpetual truth. The fact is that most of your defence spent a significant proportion of the season injured you’d ‘leak’ goals too.
Watch Spurs with a fully fit King and Dawson and you’ll see very little ‘leakage’…
hey nick…i think u seriously got that wrong mate…..nani IS the next ronaldo..he’s probably even better!!!! and he most certainly ISNT richardson….!!!!
Suraj you really think Nani is better then Ronaldo? Bold claim mate, the Sporting matches I’ve seen this season havn’t filled me with confidence over him, he seems to run into many dead ends and his final product is eratic, his tracking back is limited as well. Theres no doubt he has talent, and maybe saying he could be the next Richardson is a little harsh on the lad!! But I do think the figures quoted are too much for someone who is going to need a few seasons in the prem before we see if he will realise his potential.
It’s a little odd claiming that someone is probably even better than Ronaldo, when Ronaldo is one of maybe 3 to contend for best player in the world this year (don’t see Nani close to that poll).
I’ve said it many times before…I don’t think United are after Nani at all.
Im a United fan, im disapointed we didnt get Bale but glad too because hopefully Evans will get his chance in the first team and he has impressed me with his displays and it has saved us 10m also.
and as mentioned earlier we have the brazilian twins coming in the near future.
Nope, I still don’t rate Evra guys - and the simple reason for that is that he’s defensively weak. He is often out of position and puts pressure on team-mates because of small mistakes. If he was a brilliant attacker I’d give him some leeway but all he does is run really fast.
But regarding everything else - yes, Nani has been hyped beyond proportion, so 20m is definitely not worth it (Ronaldo came for 12m, Nani is worth less). Bale, I think should have been brought in, with Heinze taking back his first spot.
I wana know wat ur smokin ahmed bt wher can i get sum?
riite, i rele dont understand ur point abowt y nani wld wana move to a smaler club in Tottenham.. Sporting are not a bigger club than Tottenham. Tottenham play in a far, far stronger league. Tottenham attract bigger attendances, despite playing in a smaller stadium. As and when Tottenham redevelop White Hart Lane or move to a new stadium, the gap in attendances will be even larger. Tottenham have won more trophies in Europe than Sporting - the only competitive arena in which the two can be compared. Tottenham have massively higher revenues than Sporting. So i think you will find that it would be a positive move for Nani to move to Tottenham…
also. i wana point owt that Bale is a bloody good signing for us, not only coz of his obvious talent bt it proves that we have progressed as a club and are competing, and succeeding in places, with the big boys of the premiership.. same goes for our involvement with Nani..
COME ON YOU SPURS!!!
evra was one of our best players this season!! along with vidic and ronaldo. wot u talking bout ahmed?! better than heinze 2!!!
i think evra is very good player for united as he and the wingers always combine brilliantly on the wings with overlapping runs and have unlocked many defences doing this all season and this is why he has overtaken heinze as when heinze plays at LB he tends to come in to centrally and this has put united under pressure at times also ahmed refering to your point about nani was ronaldo not that player 3 years ago although nani he is not worth 20 million who in todays market actually goes for their proper value and imagine in 2 or 3 years time if we did not buy nani and he then a world class player would we not be peeved that we did not get him when we had the chance he may be like wayne rooney having an exessive fee of 28 million but would you exchange him for any of europes leading players now
also when did you ever see giggs or ronaldo track back is this fergie plays like this so that he has players who can hurt the opposition ready to take advantage so i think this will go in nanis favour
“It makes little sense for Nani to leave a club with Champions league opportunities and go play for a club that only has an outside chance of playing in the Champions League - it’s a demotion” Is that so? Is that what Dimitar Berbatov thought when he signed for us? I think not. I agree with a lot of the comments about how we may not be the top team but we are in the top league and to think it is a demotion is incorrect.
I agree with Ahmed on evra. I know he is a good “player” who charges down wings with pace, HOWEVER, he is a “defender”, and his defensive game is not great at all.
With regard to Evra it is an insult to say he should be sold along with Silvestre he has when fit been the best LB in the EPL this year. As for Bale I was a little dissapointed at first but do we really need him that much? In fact we don’t need him at all and it makes no sense to sign him when we have the Brazillian twins coming.
As for Nani i’m not sure about he is the player we need and he is nowhere near Ronaldo. I think United will be using a few stealth tactics in the transfer and that some of the stronger links may be put out by the club so they can concentrate on their real targets without interference from the media or other clubs. I would concentrate on the smaller links like the Brazilian Anderson at Porto who is ten times better than Nani and without doubt the next Ronahldinio. He can play on the left, right and through the middle is only 19 and certainly better than Ronaldo was at the same age.
Fergie said that he would be going about things quitely and I think the only strong link in the public eye that will take place is that of Hargreaves. I think the rest will be unexpected.
I’m going to go against the grain of fellow Spurs supporters, and agree that Nani coming to Spurs would be a demotion, of sorts. The fact is that the best players want to test themselves in the best competitions, and whilst the Portuguese league may be just-above-average, this very mediocrity heightens Nani’s chances of playing in the Champions League with his club. He knows that the chances of playing in the competition with Spurs are slender, no matter how much we are improving. I of course understand the attraction of our club - rapid improvement, a young and zealous squad, a good fan base, terrific location here in London - but I, for one, might well be inclined to hold out for a move to a bigger side, or to keep playing at my hometown club, in sunny Lisbon, also competing in the top European competitions.
Ahmed, you quite clearly know nothing about football. Evra has proved he is SUPERB defensively and when caught upfront, shows remarkable pace to get back. I remeber that game against Villa when Agbonlahor was on a good run, but Evra just put him in his pocket. I have no doubt he was the best in the Prem and come next season I am sure he will only establish that status further
Ahmed, that’s a very poor dhout on Evra. From the Utd games I’ve watched in the last year (maybe 2 dozen or so), I’d rate him as one of the best left backs worldwide, based on form. No way can you compare Bale, who has never played in the top league, and clearly would not get into the Utd 16 man squad.
I’m a Spurs fan, and very happy we’ve got him, and hope he works out in the future, but based on last seasons performances, would not be unhappy with Lee starting in that position (possibly with Bale in front of him on the wing - less responsibility for the lad). I just hope we can have a fit Ledley, who will undoubtably cut back on both the “leakage” and his sidekick’s positional errors.
(shout)
first of all, zed, do NOT compare berbatov’s move. he came from Bayer Leverkusen who were 5th in the german league i.e. they too were in the UEFA cup, it was a sideways move. sporting lisbon on the other hand (and everyone seems to have gotten their facts wrong!) are SECOND in the portuguese league this season ONE point behind the champions porto!! you have to think, would he leave behind the opportunity to win major trophies just to play at a club with a larger revenues (in a league with other clubs who have larger revenues still!!)
now, if nani is going to leave his boyhood club (which, by the way, isnt doing that badly) he will want a move up. tottenham can at best be considered a move sideways (and even thats pushing it!). that said, i’d rather not have him at man utd, not for the price thats been quoted. i’d rather that we find someone from within and develop some of the young talent we have here (welbeck was praised in another article).
as for the evra issue, i have to admit, i’m not a big fan, sure he has his moments, but the fact that he makes some mistakes and is caught upfront often troubles me. teams with more accomplished wingers than agbonlahor can really hurt us down that left side.
Ahmed i think your views are very biased. Why should’nt Nani go to spurs? Because Man.U. have had a lot success in recent years every other team must just not to even try and build their own team. Spurs have every right to go for nani and i think he will a be a success.Spurs are on the up and will challenge the likes of Man.U,Arsenal,Chelsea and Liverpool.
The fact remains, Sam g, that Berbatov was at Leverkusen in 2002 when they finished 2nd in the league and got to the Champions’ League Final, and in 2004 when they finished 3rd in the league, topping a 2004/2005 Champions’ League group with Real Madrid in it and losing out to the eventual winners Liverpool. Once reaching the stage of CL most teams feel it is within them to do it again, and whilst Leverkusen may have finished 5th Berbatov still knew that the chance of CL with Leverkusen was more possible than it was with Spurs, but he forsook this to play for a promising team in the better league.
Fergie doesn’t buy players. He gives Gill a list of players he would like, then Gill makes the decision on how much to bid for these players. Obviously SAF must have some input, but it’s Gill’s move, not SAF’s.
I have to agree with the first few comments (they were the only ones I’ve read). This article was very elitest in tone and you make Spurs sound like they are some club attempting to break into Europe by spending money, like Portsmouth or Villa, not a club that has finished fifth twice and purchased wisely.
For full disclosure, I’d a Yid.
As a Manchester United fan, i would really see their transfer target gets to the club. Hargreaves is “confirm” to go to Manchester United after a long bid for him. He may not have the attacking powerness, but he provides crucial defensive tackles or even spray good passes to the strikers providing Manchester United to have a good attacking and denfencive player in the mould of Keane. Nani will be good because he can take up the place left by Giggs in a few years time. A striker would be needed as Manchester United left only Ole, Wayne, Rossi and smith as real goal poacher. Smith have not regain his form after suffering a horrifying injury against liverpool but have just scored for England. This shows that Smith is going to reach his best form for both Manchester United and England. It will help Manchester to retain their EPL trophy. A striker that will help are Huntelaar, Tevez, Klose or Alves. They are strikers that can help Manchester to retain the tittle. I strongly recommand Tevez and Huntelaar. They showed great pace and good finishing touch. Most crucially, they have not reached their peak yet. They are still young and fresh. Bale is a defender that the Top 4 Clubs set sight on. he has long shooting skills and is overall a great player to have. Finally, i would want to state how the team is going to be like next season.
Goalkeeper: Edwin Van Der Sar, Ben Foster, Thomas Kuszczak
Defenders: Gary Neville, Roi Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Evra, Bale, Brown, O’shea
Midfielders: Cristiano Ronaldo, Pual Scholes, Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Hargreaves, Nani, Fletcher, Park J.S
Strikers: Wayne Rooney, Rossi, Tevez, Ole, Smith, Alves
Thank You
Evra > Heinze!!
Nani and Bale can go to Tottenham..they wont come to united anyway coz they wont be guarenteed a spot in starting 11..
giggs has the left wing even tho now days he plays more central role behind rooney..after him we got park when he’s fit..
i would like to see quaresma at united although it may never happen..ronaldo and quaresma ripping up the defence would be great to see..
these are all my opinions..
hope sir alex brings in the right player.
peace out
I was in Portugal last week for a short holiday. Got talking to a Sporting fan. For him, and many other Sporting fans seemingly, Moutinho has been Sporting’s best player this season and not Nani. They also expect Nani to sign a new contract next week. Time will tell on that one though. Personally, I’d rather see Tevez arrive rather than Nani. He can play on the wing or up front and is a fantastic player.
Man Utd will probably buy 3 players this season and we all know that.But I do not agree with some of the names being circulated. According to me the following names would me more realistic (even if i may be wrong):
Holding Midfield: Hargreaves (Done)
Winger: Nani(?), Ribery(?), Simao(?), Malouda(?), Quaresma(?)
Striker: Huntelaar(?), Palladino(?), Quagliarella(?), Gudjohnsen(?), Torres(?)
From the above list i would prefer Hargreaves, Simao and Quagliarella (this guy is class)!
Zack, Bale has already moved to Spurs!
Was on holidays in Portugal last week. Got talking to a Sporting fan. He was saying that Moutinho was Sporting’s best player this year and not Nani, who has been very inconsistant. They expect Nani to sign the new contract next week. We’ll see if that happens or not! Personally, I’d prefer Tevez. He can play on the wing or up front. Quality player. If I were to dream of a 4-2-3-1 formation!
VDS/Foster
GNev Rio Vida Evra
Hargreaves Carrick/Scholes
Ronaldo Rooney Tevez
Eto’o
Apparently Queiroz and Gill have been spotted in Lisbon after a meeting with Ronaldo’s and Nani’s agent, Mendez…interesting.
Man.U buying Owen Hargreaves for 18 million is a waste of money . Hargreaves is not worth that much. Before the world cup when england were playing in the qualifyer’s hargreaves was a waste of space and touted for a move for 6 million, after the world cup his price went through the roof because he had a few good games.In the premiership hargreaves will be an ordinary player with nothing special ,but a big price tag.
Certainly you don’t know what you’re talking about. He’s a quality player.
The problem for him pre-world cup was that he was played as right full back because of injuries. He was the best replacement they had. Since the world cup - when fit - he’s played the DM in Bayern and been excellent.
About the price: Players moving from a major club to another are simply that expensive. First of all because they’re usually good players, and second of all because big clubs don’t have to sell and can force the price up.
Firstly Bale went to spurs because he could not be gauranteed regular football anywhere else. Secondly, no one know if Man Utd followed up there interest in the player. So the whole issue about spurs becoming an attraction does not hold water. Well i wonder what criteria is been used to determine which player is beter than the other. Evra is not bad defensively but is not as good as Heinze while Heinze is not as good as Evra when it comes to attacking. As for nani, it all depends on what united put on the table at the moment, united has the edge considering our relationship with sporting lisbon as well as the presence of ronaldo.
its ofical united have the best youngsters in the world ronaldo ronney anderson and nani rossi evans and pique and that to the two brazillian brothers we have in a few years to play left and right be back we r going to rule football for the next ten years
hey guys i just read that Man Utd has bought Anderson from FC Porto. I never seen him play. Could anyone of you tell me how good he is?
unsure of the two brazillians names but one of them is captian of one of the brazil youth teams and there are supposedly meant to have the potential to b the nxt cafu and carlos
WE HAVE GOT ANDERSON!!!!
WE HAVE GOT NANI!!!
WHAT YOU RECKON TO THAT AHMED!!!
ATTACK ATTACK
ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK
That’s freakin’ fantastic news. I’m particularly joyful about Anderson, but naturally Nani is interesting as well.
That’s how big clubs do business…and that’s how you catch your fans off guard. Definitely the most exiting transfer swoop this summer.
I know you all know it, but it looks so good in writing:
Rooney, Ronaldo, Rossi (who might be sold now, not sure), Anderson, Nani, Scholes and Giggs in attack. And then just sign the Hunter, and we’ll be all settled for a good number of years.
A great team in the making, and I’m pretty sure, Mourinho and the oh-so-ambitious Rafa Benitez are trying to pick up their jaws atm.
Anderson, Nani, Hargreaves - > what a statement from SAF, for next season and the long term future. But does this mean utd are not going for a striker because saf mentioned 3 summers targets. Im glad he has got these three but i hope its not the end of it. A striker would just top it off
Oh, and I forgot about Saha, who I think is awesome when fit.
Nick - you’re so right, we’re going to attack like crazy people.
I think we’ll sell Saha to be honest, no way we’re gunna spend all this money without recouping some of the cash. I just hope Rossi isn’t one of the players that gets the chop.
Bloody buzzin’!!!
Also does Hargreaves count as a signing from last season, if you know what I mean?
If the money was raised last season for him, and was left down the back of the Sofa till this season, maybe he doesnt count?
We wont be getting Eto’o or Torres or a ‘big’ striker though, I think thats certain.
I’m portuguese and i would like to tell all of those who think that’s a mistake to buy Nani, that you’re all wrong. Like Ronaldo he will have a not so good first season, but will became one of the best players in the world in two or three years. Manchester just made a great deal. I’m a Sporting Lisbon fan and i watched the guy every week since he arrived the first team (just one year ago), so i think i know what i’m, saying. I said the same thing after the first game Ronaldo made for Sporting and i was right. Oh, and Manchester bought Anderson as well, another marvellous young player. Altough i’m not a Man United supporter, i have to say that, with Nani, Ronaldo and Anderson, Manchester will have a dream team next year. Sorry if my english is not so good.
But neither of the new super talents are strikers, so if we do sell Saha, we’d still need to either sign someone else or blood Rossi seriously.
Anderson is a great forward though, perhaps:
VDS
Neville Rio Vida Evra
Hargreaves Carrick
Ronaldo Anderson/Scholes Giggs/Nani
Rooney/Rossi
(he doesn’t need blooding, he’s ready!!!!)
Check the bit of skill out in the beggining of this vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJe9JgzWv4E
Rossi may have been at OT for quite some time now, but he still needs to play regularly in England to get used to the game there. The same goes for the 2 new guys.
Oh and yeah…that’s not a bad move by Anderson.
Anderson is a strong lad so hopefully he’ll adapt quickly, I can see Nani taking a while, luckily we still have Giggs eh!
Anyways, I need some kip, great, great day for United, the futures bright, the futures Fergie.
Night all.
Nani in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZctR05iK6w
Hmmm…I’m a bit late to the party but god damn, it’s going to take some while to sink in
Nani is portuguese, not brasilian like some of you have said!
Nani is a excelente player, just like ronaldo! I’m Sporting Club fan and i say that you (Man.United) in a 1/2 max 3 years have the best wing in the world!!
Sorry if my english is a bit bad…
HOLY JESUS! wow, 2 great signings. I cant believe what i am seeing. WOW!
Just to clarify a few mistakes, Ferguson attempted signing Bale, he even got Giggs to talk to the lad but he chose another club and there is nothing that can be done about it. The comparisson between h im and Evra is just ridiculous because Evra is more experienced and honestly he’s probably the better player. THe defence is well sorted especially with the return of Gerard Pique who was brilliant in spain last season. We have so much to look forward to; Nani, Hargreaves, Anderson just to mention and the possible arrival of Carlos Tevez. Look forward to that and stop sulking about Bale, its not worth it,