[afatzp]

I think Ole gives Bruno the free role to make his judgement and play where he believes would most help the team. Then we gradually find Bruno now playing like his role in Sporting: try a killer pass whenever he has the ball , or run behind the defense to poach goals. That's how he got the crazy stats. Because of this setup, United now is more like Sporting as well, everything down to Bruno's performance, good or bad, and could not dominate in big games , as good team would target Bruno to cancel him. There is a reason Sporting win title right after Bruno left. You can't win a title with a one-man team.

Overall, Bruno's top class weapon is his passing , he can pass balls anywhere he wants within 40 meters. All other attributes are not outstanding or limited, especially his dribbling, speed and strength. His best position would be more a deep lying playmaker like Scholes, instead of now the No. 10 or False 9 role. I do hope Ole can realize it sooner and make him play there.

The other thing Bruno concerns me is that he too often exaggerate the contact and lie down trying to get the whistle. Now fans have back to stadiums and refs also loosen the rules a bit, and he would not get the favorable ruling like last season. After all, it just not something the local fans would appreciate. there were just too many times I yelled in heart " man , just get the f**k up and continue. it's no big deal " . Personally, I don't like to see it from Bruno and I do hope Ole could mention it with him.

 

[LoneStar]

Certainly be interesting how he's handled once Ronaldo comes in. We'll be severely imbalanced if he doesn't drop back with Ronaldo upfront. He should play the role of a creator more than a finisher, given our lack of midfield talent.

 

[roonster09]

Agree, been seeing this image circulating since last night. He saw the space and trusted Pogba to deliver the ball in behind, I do not see why that could not be a viable option.

Exactly, it worked so many times. He scored offside goal, he got one v one where he failed to pass the ball to Cavani, scored vs leeds and many times he got in great position.

If you check the pass map, it's so obvious that he plays in attacking mid position. It's odd that images are used to somehow conclude we play 4-2-4 when you can see individual players heat map, pass map, team's pass map which says we don't.

 

[dabeast]

Bruno is a great passer and has good tenacity. He would be a great, Pirlo/Scholes-type, No. 6. Unfortunately, his goals will make him unshiftable.

 

[darioterios]

Exactly, it worked so many times. He scored offside goal, he got one v one where he failed to pass the ball to Cavani, scored vs leeds and many times he got in great position.

If you check the pass map, it's so obvious that he plays in attacking mid position. It's odd that images are used to somehow conclude we play 4-2-4 when you can see individual players heat map, pass map, team's pass map which says we don't.

I am never a fan of using a static image of one single isolated incident to generalise a conclusion.

 

[roonster09]

Bruno is a great passer and has good tenacity. He would be a great, Pirlo/Scholes-type, No. 6. Unfortunately, his goals will make him unshiftable.

He isn't consistently good passer to play like Pirlo/Scholes. He is very good passer in final third but his short passing and even long passing is inconsistent. On top of that, players like Scholes, Xavi, Pirlo were always on the move, not sprints but on the move. They were available for the pass more often than not.

 

[Oldyella]

Bruno is a great passer and has good tenacity. He would be a great, Pirlo/Scholes-type, No. 6. Unfortunately, his goals will make him unshiftable.

No chance. Loses the ball far too much with sloppy passing. Yes he can ping a great through ball now and then but he's not a great metronome passer, which is what we need in midfield.

 

[roonster09]

Anyone ever said that Gundogan plays as second striker? There are some interesting pass maps with Gundogan occupying more advanced positions than Bruno (maybe same too) and Grealish is much higher. Haven't seen anyone saying they play as strikers.

 

[Jeppers7]

I don’t think the fact he’s making runs in behind on its own is an issue. As has been said he scored vs Leeds in the same manner and wasted two chances yesterday by going too early and with a poor touch…but the tactic in itself isn’t an issue. With regards the freeze frames the issue is he doesn’t need to be there at that point, the attackers are in position. He could give us a different option by dropping into the space and make us less predictable.

It’s a real worry in general how poorly set up we are with the players we now have. Asking Ronaldo to come into this set up seems embarrassing to me, so it’s on Ole to sort this mess out but Bruno is part of the problem regardless of his stats and his personal performances over the past six months have been as wildly inconsistent as any player I can remember. It’s ridiculous that some posters try to paper over yesterday’s performance by pointing out three moments in a game, one which was offside, one which he wasted a brilliant pass from a teammate with a poor touch ruining the opportunity and one flick out to the wing.

 

[lawliet354]

Look at our attacking midfielder during our buildup. It must be a sickness. Wont offer himself for a fecking pass. This has been the case since last season and Ole still wont make any adjustments. Roy keane should be calling this out instead of chatting shite about Fred and Pogba.

Agree, been seeing this image circulating since last night. He saw the space and trusted Pogba to deliver the ball in behind, I do not see why that could not be a viable option.

I think the problem is, when the no.10 makes a run behind, usually it's because the striker drop deeps thus creating space behind them because the CB is attracted to the striker. While in that picture, 4/5 player all makes the same run, no one are prepared to comes for the 2nd ball which might happened if the CB cleared the ball towards the middle, it also created very big hole in the middle of the park, making the team vulnerable to counter attack

Exactly, it worked so many times. He scored offside goal, he got one v one where he failed to pass the ball to Cavani, scored vs leeds and many times he got in great position.

If you check the pass map, it's so obvious that he plays in attacking mid position. It's odd that images are used to somehow conclude we play 4-2-4 when you can see individual players heat map, pass map, team's pass map which says we don't.

Completely different situation vs Leeds, just look at this and compared the positioning of the striker (Greenwood), the point is why would the no.10 makes those run when all 3 other players already do the same. Vs Leeds it's clear that Bruno makes the run while Greenwood drops deep, this was an excellent play by Bruno & Greenwood & Lindelof. The other one though, is a very poor play no matter how we look at, not exactly Bruno's fault alone though.

 

[darioterios]

I think the problem is, when the no.10 makes a run behind, usually it's because the striker drop deeps thus creating space behind them because the CB is attracted to the striker. While in that picture, 4/5 player all makes the same run, no one are prepared to comes for the 2nd ball which might happened if the CB cleared the ball towards the middle, it also created very big hole in the middle of the park, making the team vulnerable to counter attack



Completely different situation vs Leeds, just look at this and compared the positioning of the striker (Greenwood), the point is why would the no.10 makes those run when all 3 other players already do the same. Vs Leeds it's clear that Bruno makes the run while Greenwood drops deep, this was an excellent play by Bruno & Greenwood & Lindelof. The other one though, is a very poor play no matter how we look at, not exactly Bruno's fault alone though.

Because Pogba could spray the passes from anywhere, the two pivots could sit deep just ahead of the defense and therefore help prevent counterattacks, also that is where the addition of Varane provides value, I believe that is the thinking behind it. Several times Bruno looked to run in behind anticipating a first time pass from Pogba in the match.

 

[roonster09]

Completely different situation vs Leeds, just look at this and compared the positioning of the striker (Greenwood), the point is why would the no.10 makes those run when all 3 other players already do the same. Vs Leeds it's clear that Bruno makes the run while Greenwood drops deep, this was an excellent play by Bruno & Greenwood & Lindelof. The other one though, is a very poor play no matter how we look at, not exactly Bruno's fault alone though.

Because football is not a program which runs exactly like you have written. 10 won't make the run only when 9 drops deep, he also makes the run when he sees the player in possession is capable of picking him up. You have players who moves all over the pitch and in few instances you will end up with few players in same position.

So whose mistake is that now, Bruno's for making the run or the striker's for not dropping deep?

 

[horsechoker]

I would look at upgrading on him with someone more sensible.

It concerns me the way he plays, we don't need heroes we need someone with a good pass completion rate.

 

[lawliet354]

Because football is not a program which runs exactly like you have written. 10 won't make the run only when 9 drops deep, he also makes the run when he sees the player in possession is capable of picking him up. You have players who moves all over the pitch and in few instances you will end up with few players in same position.

So whose mistake is that now, Bruno's for making the run or the striker's for not dropping deep?

True, but football is also not a sport where you can freely leave your position constantly leaving the center of the park empty without consequences, when one space is empty, another one covered it, that's really basic. Most team/player will have awareness of the surrounding and makes different runs/play according to the teammates position. This play is not one's person fault as I mentioned earlier, it's a team's problem. In no way, no fecking way that all 4 forward plays making the exact same runs is the intended play, that's a feck up for sure

 

[DWelbz19]

Certainly be interesting how he's handled once Ronaldo comes in. We'll be severely imbalanced if he doesn't drop back with Ronaldo upfront. He should play the role of a creator more than a finisher, given our lack of midfield talent.

I’ve got a pessimistic feeling that the two won’t gel well at all. Both are shot hogs and aren’t really foil for each other stylistically.

 

[Ayoba]

It was a problem with Portugal during the Euros. He was far too high, so they played him slightly deeper than he normally would play in a midfield 3 but I don't think it worked out and he was dropped for their remaining 2 games.

 

[LoneStar]

I’ve got a pessimistic feeling that the two won’t gel well at all. Both are shot hogs and aren’t really foil for each other stylistically.

I hope Ole gives him a more specific role and that he changes his game a bit, along with the coaches changing our tactics.

I'm sure he'll be okay, cause it's CR7. But I'm not sure if our coaching team has the ability to make it work.

 

[roonster09]

True, but football is also not a sport where you can freely leave your position constantly leaving the center of the park empty without consequences, when one space is empty, another one covered it, that's really basic. Most team/player will have awareness of the surrounding and makes different runs/play according to the teammates position. This play is not one's person fault as I mentioned earlier, it's a team's problem. In no way, no fecking way that all 4 forward plays making the exact same runs is the intended play, that's a feck up for sure

Yes but you can't always wait for the player to make your move. For example, lets assume Varane has possession and he is trying to play the Lindelof pass, should he wait for 9 to drop deep who isn't neither making the run nor dropping deep, or should the 10 sense the chance and make the run?

It's not a black or white scenario and I don't even see anything wrong with 4 players occupying the gaps between 5 defenders, also if you see that video, all the players made the move when Pogba was about to play the pass over the defense.

Maguire had the ball, they didn't make the run. He passed the ball to Fred and no one made the run. Fred passed the ball to Pogba, Pogba then pushed the ball and was ready for the long pass, that moment everyone started to make the run. Pogba either tried to find Sancho (which makes less sense) or Shaw (which makes sense), execution was bad. Had he found Shaw, Shaw would have had 4 players attacking the box.

What people don't see is, when we had the ball at center of the pitch, Wolves pushed high and there wasn't meaningful space to do anything. Also before that move started, Sancho dropped deep and was available for pass, he wasn't picked.

 

[spiriticon]

If he plays this far forward in the next game despite being a 10 and not a 9, he's going to get a dressing down from Cristiano Ronaldo for cramping his space.

 

[YouOnlyLiveTwice]

I think Bruno and Ronaldo is a match made in heaven. Bruno with his passing/crossing into the box and Ronaldo's runs is a guarantee for goals.

Can't wait to see them play together for United.

 

[E-mal]

It was a problem with Portugal during the Euros. He was far too high, so they played him slightly deeper than he normally would play in a midfield 3 but I don't think it worked out and he was dropped for their remaining 2 games.

He doesnt have the ability to play deeper, he is too impatient and wasteful to play deeper hence why he didnt do it.

 

[lost7]

Some of the comments here are just absurd. He didn't play well yesterday, but even so he almost scored a goal (ruled out because he was fractionally offside) and then put Greenwood 1 on 1 with an amazing backheel. Those runs he makes are an excellent weapon (there was another moment in the second half where he miscontrolled the long ball from Pogba, otherwise he would have been through again) as he can basically change the game in an instant.

I do think he will have to adapt his play a little once Ronaldo slots in the number 9 position and focus around being the creator more than the finisher, but reading things like "we need to upgrade him with someone more sensible" is straight up nonsense

 

[mancan92]

There is no way Bruno can play like he currently does when Ronaldo is in the team. He would be taking up all of his space. Ole needs to reign it in

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Some of the comments here are just absurd. He didn't play well yesterday, but even so he almost scored a goal (ruled out because he was fractionally offside) and then put Greenwood 1 on 1 with an amazing backheel. Those runs he makes are an excellent weapon (there was another moment in the second half where he miscontrolled the long ball from Pogba, otherwise he would have been through again) as he can basically change the game in an instant.

I do think he will have to adapt his play a little once Ronaldo slots in the number 9 position and focus around being the creator more than the finisher, but reading things like "we need to upgrade him with someone more sensible" is straight up nonsense

Yeah those comments are dumb, but I also don't love defending players just because they finally popped up with an assist/goal in a game where the bigger picture was poor. The shape of the team when he plays that high has been a problem that crops up for over a year now and every time people note that our 2 holding midfielders are swamped and the only gameplan is going for killer balls in behind because there's no one to drag out the opposing line.

The frustrating part for me is I've seen him play in a more conventional, connecting way but it's almost like a habit he has to shake.

 

[E-mal]

Yeah those comments are dumb, but I also don't love defending players just because they finally popped up with an assist/goal in a game where the bigger picture was poor. The shape of the team when he plays that high has been a problem that crops up for over a year now and every time people note that our 2 holding midfielders are swamped and the only gameplan is going for killer balls in behind because there's no one to drag out the opposing line.

The frustrating part for me is I've seen him play in a more conventional, connecting way but it's almost like a habit he has to shake.

That's what is obvious for everyone to see but as it is people are more keen on the goals and assists.
I'm sorry but I think he is selfish the way he plays or may be we dont have other players that make those runs.
The team need assistance in midfield and he leaves them isolated.
We simply cannot continue like this or else we loose control of midfield against any decent opponent.

 

[shamans]

I think Ole gives Bruno the free role to make his judgement and play where he believes would most help the team. Then we gradually find Bruno now playing like his role in Sporting: try a killer pass whenever he has the ball , or run behind the defense to poach goals. That's how he got the crazy stats. Because of this setup, United now is more like Sporting as well, everything down to Bruno's performance, good or bad, and could not dominate in big games , as good team would target Bruno to cancel him. There is a reason Sporting win title right after Bruno left. You can't win a title with a one-man team.

Overall, Bruno's top class weapon is his passing , he can pass balls anywhere he wants within 40 meters. All other attributes are not outstanding or limited, especially his dribbling, speed and strength. His best position would be more a deep lying playmaker like Scholes, instead of now the No. 10 or False 9 role. I do hope Ole can realize it sooner and make him play there.

The other thing Bruno concerns me is that he too often exaggerate the contact and lie down trying to get the whistle. Now fans have back to stadiums and refs also loosen the rules a bit, and he would not get the favorable ruling like last season. After all, it just not something the local fans would appreciate. there were just too many times I yelled in heart " man , just get the f**k up and continue. it's no big deal " . Personally, I don't like to see it from Bruno and I do hope Ole could mention it with him.

That would be a disaster. Scholes was a more than competent dribbler, especially in terms of ball retention. He was press resistant you couldn't get the ball off of him. He was also extremely accurate with his short and long passing. Bruno's short passing can be very, very wasteful and in a deep lying position that would be a disaster.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

Ronaldo is Bruno's real life idol...if he needs to be reigned in, he definitely will out of pure fanboyism.

That's the least of our worries.

 

[shamans]

Mentioned this in the matchday thread. Football has moved on from the 90s/00s but we haven't. I saw that line of forwards waiting for delivery and it was laughably bad. We need a proper coach.

there was a cross incoming from the looks of it people need to stop taking screenshots of matches to draw conclusions.

 

[izak]

I do think he will have to adapt his play a little once Ronaldo slots in the number 9 position and focus around being the creator more than the finisher, but reading things like "we need to upgrade him with someone more sensible" is straight up nonsense

The poster of that was being sarcastic, I'm sure he was because you don't replace Bruno for a player like Pedri who just passes the ball around.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

there was a cross incoming from the looks of it people need to stop taking screenshots of matches to draw conclusions.

We faced the same problem of struggling to get the ball to our attackers in both of our last two games. The screenshots are just a funny (and sadly real) representation of a genuine issue. If you came to the conclusion that we moved the ball around well then that's a worry.

 

[el3mel]

Ronaldo is Bruno's real life idol...if he needs to be reigned in, he definitely will out of pure fanboyism.

That's the least of our worries.

We're talking about their playstyle and how it'll work on the pitch.

Ronaldo will occupy center spaces and will demand all balls to be passed to him. The entire dynamics of the team will be to create chances for Ronaldo.

Bruno isn't really a number 10 on the pitch and actually gets forward a lot as a false 9 and he has been the main man of the attack. This won't be the case anymore.

I don't think Ronaldo will want to change his game to suit Bruno's forward runs. I can't see him drifting wide and focusing on creating for other players. If he stays central as expected then he'll occupy the same spaces that Bruno likes to get in.

Ultimately I think Bruno will need to change his game and drops a little bit deeper to be a number 10 rather than the weird false 9 he's playing in our system to accommodate Ronaldo, because Ronaldo isn't going to change his game to accommodate Bruno. No chance imo.

 

[lex talionis]

I don't doubt Bruno will adapt his game to get the most of our Ronaldo.

 

[FerociousCorgis]

i

there was a cross incoming from the looks of it people need to stop taking screenshots of matches to draw conclusions.

it wasnt a cross it was a deep ball from midfield. I also remember the play pretty vividly because it looked hilarious. Saw it a couple times where the players just lined up and did this. For any objective fan it wasn't exactly a masterclass from Ole yesterday

 

[CG1010]

Amazing how much people can moan over one screenshot. And that too when Bruno scored a hattrick making runs like that, and he even got a great opportunity in the last match to score again. The problem is when Bruno is making a run behind, Sancho should be coming shorter etc. But they don't have that kind of rhythm yet. Which is obvious as they have hardly played together.

 

[CG1010]

We faced the same problem of struggling to get the ball to our attackers in both of our last two games. The screenshots are just a funny (and sadly real) representation of a genuine issue. If you came to the conclusion that we moved the ball around well then that's a worry.

Its not because of that particular "run" though by Bruno. Its because our midfielders are incapable of passing vertically through the lines. They either play out on the wings or hoof the ball (and hence the attackers waiting there). That's been true last season also but we only play good attacking football when our wing play, especially Shaw, are on song and are able to take the ball down to the attacking third.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Its not because of that particular "run" though by Bruno. Its because our midfielders are incapable of passing vertically through the lines. They either play out on the wings or hoof the ball (and hence the attackers waiting there). That's been true last season also but we only play good attacking football when our wing play, especially Shaw, are on song and are able to take the ball down to the attacking third.

If only it were that simple. It's a combination of a lack of ability and more importantly the tactical set up. There's a reason why teams with less ability manage to move it around better.

 

[CG1010]

If only it were that simple. It's a combination of a lack of ability and more importantly the tactical set up. There's a reason why teams with less ability manage to move it around better.

Are you talking about the last game or in general? Because we were 5th highest possession team in the PL last season behind only City, Brighton, Leeds and Liverpool and they are all deploying systems placing emphasis on possession whereas we don't (not sure about Brighton actually). So we do manage to move the ball better than most teams (there is a reason we were 2nd) but as I said most of our play happens through the wings and not the midfield. Now whether that is a conscious tactical set up or something we are doing more because of our midfielders not being upto it, is a very academic debate. But certainly the likes of Fred and Mctominay have stunk up passes through the lines mostly whenever they have attempted them.

 

[shamans]

We faced the same problem of struggling to get the ball to our attackers in both of our last two games. The screenshots are just a funny (and sadly real) representation of a genuine issue. If you came to the conclusion that we moved the ball around well then that's a worry.

No but you can find such screenshots from even the best teams. It's not as simple as making a run forward costing us.

 

[eire-red]

His strengths are also arguably his most frustrating traits, ironically enough.

At times, you're crying out for him to just hold onto the ball and let us string some passes together, instead of trying those percentage passes every time.

Wolves was the perfect example of this, especially in the first half when we were up against it.

Then again, he slipped James in behind, only for him to scuff his lines, and his touch was pure class to put Greenwood through right at the end of the first half as well.

That's what you get with him, moments of class and moments of seemingly carelessness. It can't come off all the time, but I still think the net positive he brings to the team way outweighs the frustrating moments he has.

 

[afatzp]

That would be a disaster. Scholes was a more than competent dribbler, especially in terms of ball retention. He was press resistant you couldn't get the ball off of him. He was also extremely accurate with his short and long passing. Bruno's short passing can be very, very wasteful and in a deep lying position that would be a disaster.

If you believe Bruno's short passing and ball retention are not good enough for a deep lying position, then he should be nowhere near the No. 10 role as that is the most space-tight area where you would need both to succeed.

Technique wise, Bruno is good at passing and that's his best attribute. His short pass accuracy rate can be much higher if he is instructed to play safer passes. That would be Ole's job to fine-tune the mentality but it shouldn't be something impossible to achieve.

Scholes was press-resistant because he predicts the ball movements and get into space ahead to receive balls and distribute out. He was not the type of Kovacic who can dribble out of pressing. Bruno also possesses the same football intelligence to predict and find space as well.

After Carrick retired, we have been suffering for missing this type of playmaker . That's actually the foundation of fluid game. That even does not require super talent player, Henderson at Liverpool just managed to become a qualified one. With Bruno's passing and his stamina , it's totally possible.