I wish he was doing better, but I'm not going to bash him.
What I read is that his riding style is not suited to the new 800cc bike. Nicky was a dirt tracker and his style was more aggressive of backing and sliding it in and powering off the corner, something that he could get away with on the 990cc bike.
The 800's seem to reward riders that maintain higher and more consistent corner speeds due to their lighter weight and slightly lesser HP. Something that guys coming off the 250's not too long ago seem to do well with (i.e. Stoner, Pedrobot).