NANI'S EITHER BRAVE OR FLIPPING STUPID

YOU know, I didn't think Nani had it in him.

Be honest, you look at him on the pitch and you don't automatically think, 'There's a brave boy'.

But he's obviously got a bit of balls about him, why else would he be determined to wind up Sir Alex Ferguson?

Admittedly, he's done it from the safety of the Portugal camp while Fergie had his mind on an FA disciplinary charge but, even so, it takes some guts to slag off The Boss.

Guts or absolute stupidity.

Somebody might want to whisper the words 'Jaap' and 'Stam' to Nani just to remind him what a world of pain he might have unleashed when he gets back to Manchester.

Now I'm sure Nani's agent or representative is going to come out with the old line that everything he's said has been lost in translation.

Yeah, we know. Portuguese player goes back to Portugal, speaks Portuguese to a Portuguese paper, canes his manager and somehow he's been mis-translated by the time it gets back to England.

Perhaps if it had been the odd line, I might have bought that. But Nani's basically written a book where he gives Fergie a cart-load because he doesn't think he's being handled properly.

He reckons that even when he has a brilliant game, he's always likely to be dropped.

Not only is Nani brave, he's also got a brilliant memory because - like most United fans I guess - I can't recall him EVER having a brilliant game.

Yes, I've seen him do his best Cristiano Ronaldo impression, taking all the free-kicks and set-pieces, standing like Ronaldo over the ball.

Then I seem to remember the ball sailing into the crowd behind the goal or well wide of the mark, his team-mates turning away in frustration and Sir Alex chalking up another reason why it's so easy to drop him.

It's a shame because Nani's got everything going for him. Old Trafford loves a winger, from Stevie Coppell, through Lee Sharpe, Andrei Kanchelskis, Ryan Giggs and Ronaldo, the fans all love to see a wideman in full flow.

Nani, though, hasn't cracked it. He's spent two years sitting behind Ronaldo, waiting for his chance but every time Fergie's put faith in him, he's flopped.

I'm betting he's one of those who sulks on the training pitch, too. Every time he's overlooked or left out, the chin will sink further into his chest, the shoulders will droop and it will be obvious he's got the raving hump.

Fair enough, nobody expects him to be delirious about not playing but there are ways and means of going about it.

Giggsy still believes he can play every game but the manager doesn't. Fair enough, it's Fergie's call, Giggsy just goes about proving to The Boss he might be wrong by his attitude, performance and character.

If that's not enough, then there's little more he can do. Nani, though, seems to think there's some God-given right that he plays whatever - and, if he doesn't, then it's purely Ferguson trying to rile him or mishandling him.

I'm loathe to criticise players because we've all been where Nani is but the moment he broke the code, which says everything stays in-house, he lost any sympathy I might have had.

He should shut his mouth, look around at brilliant professionals like Giggs and the way they handle disappointment and get on with convincing Fergie.

Although I think it might just be too late for that now.

• MY VIEW OF THIERRY HENRY HAS BEEN SHATTERED

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