[romufc]

ETH speaks glowingly of Ronaldo. So there is that.

Actually, that is false. ETH talks about Ronaldo's career glowingly. Are you able to show me a transcript where ETH says he is in the right places, the goals are going to come like he has with Bruno?

He has with Antony too.

He has also in the past said, losing Martial is a blow to how he wants to play, which is a direct indication that Ronaldo isnt first choice.

 

[Santoryo]

I don't see such praise for Fred, Ronaldo, Shaw, Maguire?

Not sure if you're being disingenuous or you genuinely haven't seen Ten Hag heaps praise on Ronaldo constantly. Same was for Maguire until he eventually dropped him.

 

[Rozay]

Not sure if you're being disingenuous or you genuinely haven't seen Ten Hag heaps praise on Ronaldo constantly. Same was for Maguire until he eventually dropped him.

Even still for Maguire after he has dropped him.

It’s a ridiculous argument anyway, as I said before - the final stages of any such debate. The discussion is almost totally pointless once it reaches that point. What does it mean if Ten Hag comes out and praises Fred in response to a question on his performance on Sunday? Does it mean a performance you initially thought was bad, was now good because the manager didn’t seem angry about it? Or perhaps it was determined to be a good performance by default simply because default simply because the manager picked him in the first place?

 

[romufc]

Not sure if you're being disingenuous or you genuinely haven't seen Ten Hag heaps praise on Ronaldo constantly. Same was for Maguire until he eventually dropped him.

Yes, his professionalism, his career. Read what he has said about Bruno on and off the field.

No one is questioning Ronaldo's goal scoring ability, we all know its there, which is what Ten Hag is saying.

So Maguire was dropped, Ronaldo has been dropped and Bruno is... promoted to Captain.

 

[mav_9me]

Haven't followed the thread.

I love Bruno, but I've a feeling if ETH is here beyond 2 seasons, Bruno won't be first choice or will be sold.

 

[arthurka]

4:45 is criminal

This is becoming a huge problem for us, Dalot, Anthony and Bruno are all always looking for Ronaldo.
The sooner he leaves the better he is like the band aid that did it´s part and is now stuck in the wound and waiting to be brutally torn off.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

4:45 is criminal

Is it? I mean, we surely have to see the pass/play up to Bruno and everyone’s body positions before claiming such a thing.
A still image can lead to very very big misinterpretations.

 

[youngrell]

There's surely a long process of replacing far inferior players in the team, particularly in and around Bruno's position, before we get to the point where we are actively looking to sell him.

There seems to be some sort of minority of supporters who actively want him to perform badly rather than improve to help the team, for reasons I can only assume are close to 'I told you so'.

For me, a lot of his problems stem from partnerships around him, that's not to blame other players for his poor performances, but there's a gulf in how well he plays with and without Ronaldo for instance. Martial seems to bring out the best in him, as did Mata on occasions. You wouldn't continue to pick two centre backs or two midfielders together who do not compliment each other, so hopefully soon we won't have to persist with a 9 and 10 who don't.

 

[Santoryo]

Yes, his professionalism, his career. Read what he has said about Bruno on and off the field.

No one is questioning Ronaldo's goal scoring ability, we all know its there, which is what Ten Hag is saying.

So Maguire was dropped, Ronaldo has been dropped and Bruno is... promoted to Captain.

Well with Maguire there are alternatives in Martinez and Varane. Ronaldo was also dropped initially but luckily for him there aren't many choices at CF with Martial torrid injury record so far this season, so he's found himself into the fold.

There aren't many choices to replace Bruno given the likes of Fred are far worse, so naturally he remains a mainstay. Bruno hasn't been good this season and if there were options waiting on the wing, he'd have been dropped. Just look at how Ronaldo is back in the fold despite being utterly terrible because we don't have much options at CF.

The best way to judge if Ten Hag really likes Bruno is after a second or third window. If he hasn't been replaced or pushed to the bench by then, we can definitely say Ten Hag likes him but as of right now it's a matter of him working with what he's got which doesn't necessarily mean Bruno has been good.

 

[Rozay]

There's surely a long process of replacing far inferior players in the team, particularly in and around Bruno's position, before we get to the point where we are actively looking to sell him.

There seems to be some sort of minority of supporters who actively want him to perform badly rather than improve to help the team, for reasons I can only assume are close to 'I told you so'.

For me, a lot of his problems stem from partnerships around him, that's not to blame other players for his poor performances, but there's a gulf in how well he plays with and without Ronaldo for instance. Martial seems to bring out the best in him, as did Mata on occasions. You wouldn't continue to pick two centre backs or two midfielders together who do not compliment each other, so hopefully soon we won't have to persist with a 9 and 10 who don't.

For me, I don’t think he’s the worst player that we have by any stretch, but I do think he’s the most important to replace. I don’t see any point in saying he can be replaced last because if you want to go off in a certain direction in building a team, you don’t head off down the opposite road to do so, with your grand plan being to make a U-turn once you get to the end.

We have worse players than Bruno that can be upgraded essentially for a better version of themselves like Dalot - or other underperformers like Shaw and Rashford. Once Bruno is out of the team, my guess os that you look for a different profile of player altogether, which means it makes little sense to build a team that plays in a way that facilitates a player with a ‘particular set of skills’ that you may not want as a foundation of your final approach. With a player like Rashford - you want a 20 goal, right-footed LWF who is fast, dynamic, makes runs in behind and scores. Whatever anyone thinks of Rashford’s form, he is at least the right profile, and if you ultimately think he isn’t good enough - then you ship him out and get a Rafael Leao or even an Mbappé if you can. It’s not like we currently have Mata there but want a Leao.

Bruno isn’t actually, generally speaking, bad at what HE does. The problem is what he doesn’t do. He needs to go. Him being replaced is an inevitability, certainly if we want to become successful again. The longer we deliberate and mitigate about that decision, the longer it will take for us to get our shit together, because there is a glass ceiling on any team playing ‘Bruno-ball’, no matter what else you do with the team.

 

[romufc]

Well with Maguire there are alternatives in Martinez and Varane. Ronaldo was also dropped initially but luckily for him there aren't many choices at CF with Martial torrid injury record so far this season, so he's found himself into the fold.

There aren't many choices to replace Bruno given the likes of Fred are far worse, so naturally he remains a mainstay. Bruno hasn't been good this season and if there were options waiting on the wing, he'd have been dropped. Just look at how Ronaldo is back in the fold despite being utterly terrible because we don't have much options at CF.

The best way to judge if Ten Hag really likes Bruno is after a second or third window. If he hasn't been replaced or pushed to the bench by then, we can definitely say Ten Hag likes him but as of right now it's a matter of him working with what he's got which doesn't necessarily mean Bruno has been good.

I agree that on the principle of what you have said. My issue is not about in the future Ten Hag might replace him or not.

Currently, the way some people are going on about its his fault we dont win, he cant fit a Ten Hag system, He is the worst player in our team... If any of these were true, he would be dropped in favour of Donny, a player Ten Hag has worked with.

We say there are no alteratives but Ten Hag doesn't mind playing McTominay, so he could easily have gone Casemiro, McTominay, Eriksen.

This idea that some fans have that Bruno is the biggest problem is far fetched.

 

[mav_9me]

I agree that on the principle of what you have said. My issue is not about in the future Ten Hag might replace him or not.

Currently, the way some people are going on about its his fault we dont win, he cant fit a Ten Hag system, He is the worst player in our team... If any of these were true, he would be dropped in favour of Donny, a player Ten Hag has worked with.

We say there are no alteratives but Ten Hag doesn't mind playing McTominay, so he could easily have gone Casemiro, McTominay, Eriksen.

This idea that some fans have that Bruno is the biggest problem is far fetched.

I think we will see how much ETH truly likes Bruno when we have another proper CM like say FDJ, will he then play FDJ and Casemiro with Eriksen at 10 or Bruno at 10. I have a feeling he would prefer Eriksen. I think we will know in 2 yrs.

 

[youngrell]

For me, I don’t think he’s the worst player that we have by any stretch, but I do think he’s the most important to replace. I don’t see any point in saying he can be replaced last because if you want to go off in a certain direction in building a team, you don’t head off down the opposite road to do so, with your grand plan being to make a U-turn once you get to the end.

We have worse players than Bruno that can be upgraded essentially for a better version of themselves like Dalot - or other underperformers like Shaw and Rashford. Once Bruno is out of the team, my guess os that you look for a different profile of player altogether, which means it makes little sense to build a team that plays in a way that facilitates a player with a ‘particular set of skills’ that you may not want as a foundation of your final approach. With a player like Rashford - you want a 20 goal, right-footed LWF who is fast, dynamic, makes runs in behind and scores. Whatever anyone thinks of Rashford’s form, he is at least the right profile, and if you ultimately think he isn’t good enough - then you ship him out and get a Rafael Leao or even an Mbappé if you can. It’s not like we currently have Mata there but want a Leao.

Bruno isn’t actually, generally speaking, bad at what HE does. The problem is what he doesn’t do. He needs to go. Him being replaced is an inevitability, certainly if we want to become successful again. The longer we deliberate and mitigate about that decision, the longer it will take for us to get our shit together, because there is a glass ceiling on any team playing ‘Bruno-ball’, no matter what else you do with the team.

You make some good points, many of which I agree with but I would point out that if anyone of our current underperforming midfielders can improve to the required level, then Bruno is it, because he's the only one (outside of Eriksen) that has shown it previously. You may think he's incapable of change or improvement, but I disagree.

He's a bit of a conundrum because when you see some of (the ridiculous stuff) that he does, you think he cannot have much footballing intelligence, but then most of the good stuff he does, very few players are capable of so he clearly does. I'm hopeful the manager can shape him into a better player that works better for us, whether he remains as important is another matter, it's just that the other players we need to upgrade have nowhere near the ceiling he does so I am not so eager to see him leave.

 

[Jeppers7]

Is it? I mean, we surely have to see the pass/play up to Bruno and everyone’s body positions before claiming such a thing.
A still image can lead to very very big misinterpretations.

It’s actually worse when you watch the build up. Sancho literally opens up a huge channel for Bruno to slip him in by making his run to the right as Bruno picks the ball up. For a 10 who’s playing well it would be a bad decision, for one who has been poor for years it’s about par for the course.

 

[Canagel]

There's surely a long process of replacing far inferior players in the team, particularly in and around Bruno's position, before we get to the point where we are actively looking to sell him.

There seems to be some sort of minority of supporters who actively want him to perform badly rather than improve to help the team, for reasons I can only assume are close to 'I told you so'.

For me, a lot of his problems stem from partnerships around him, that's not to blame other players for his poor performances, but there's a gulf in how well he plays with and without Ronaldo for instance. Martial seems to bring out the best in him, as did Mata on occasions. You wouldn't continue to pick two centre backs or two midfielders together who do not compliment each other, so hopefully soon we won't have to persist with a 9 and 10 who don't.

This Ronaldo excuse is tiring. This is how he was playing before we signed him btw.


It has nothing to with the players around him or the supporters. We told you he was poor over 2 years ago but you ignored us in favor of manipulated G/A stats. now its about us actively wanting him to play badly?? No sir, the truth is some of us are able to make certain judgements early yet when everything some of us said comes to fruition you guys act like its our fault he turned out like this.

And supporters getting off his case wont suddenly give him more ability. All im seeing right now is fans going from excuse to excuse to justify his level because they are struggling to come to the terms he isnt as good as they thought he was. Its better to let go, people make misjudgements on players all the time. When you are wrong about something you accept you were wrong and move on.

 

[Borys]

We have worse players than Bruno that can be upgraded essentially for a better version of themselves like Dalot - or other underperformers like Shaw and Rashford. Once Bruno is out of the team, my guess os that you look for a different profile of player altogether, which means it makes little sense to build a team that plays in a way that facilitates a player with a ‘particular set of skills’ that you may not want as a foundation of your final approach. With a player like Rashford - you want a 20 goal, right-footed LWF who is fast, dynamic, makes runs in behind and scores. Whatever anyone thinks of Rashford’s form, he is at least the right profile, and if you ultimately think he isn’t good enough - then you ship him out and get a Rafael Leao or even an Mbappé if you can. It’s not like we currently have Mata there but want a Leao.

Exactly this. At the beginning I could clearly understand why ETH started with the same setup we used previously. It made sense to get some stability. But now I am getting a bit worried that we don't even try anything different. And we're actually struggling to create decent scoring chances - something that is actually his main job here.
The point is, the system we're using makes sense only if you have a really really good, dangerous and creative player in no10 position. There aren't many of those around and surely current version of Bruno isn't one. So this is a bit weird direction for the future.

This Ronaldo excuse is tiring. This is how he was playing before we signed him btw.




It has nothing to with the players around him or the supporters. We told you he was poor over 2 years ago but you ignored us in favor of manipulated G/A stats. now its about us actively wanting him to play badly?? No sir, the truth is some of us are able to make certain judgements early yet when everything some of us said comes to fruition you guys act like its our fault he turned out like this.


And supporters getting off his case wont suddenly give him more ability. All im seeing right now is fans going from excuse to excuse to justify his level because they are struggling to come to the terms he isnt as good as they thought he was. Its better to let go, people make misjudgements on players all the time. When you are wrong about something you accept you were wrong and move on.

Bruno forcing passes to Ronaldo is not an excuse, it's just over the last 2 years he has evolved into extreme version of himself. He always used to take a lot of high risk high reward passes, which was a bit cheap but effective tactics under Ole. Pass to Bruno would trigger the run of forwards. Even on this clip you shared it's clear he has some really good ideas, but the execution has to be perfect, otherwise you just lose the ball after ball. And that's what's happening on the clip.

Watching Bruno play I feel like every time he does something smart but simple causes him a lot of discomfort, because he has to fight the urge to go direct. Anyway, he will and should not be allowed to play that extreme way, since it's not effective at all. Be that because of poor execution, or forwards not making the right movement - I don't really care, this is not working, we need to find a different solution.
Not to mention 4231 with no10 is far away from what our squad is fit for.

 

[Renegade]

He needs to figure out how to play LW or F9 real quick.

 

[Strelok]

I think we will see how much ETH truly likes Bruno when we have another proper CM like say FDJ, will he then play FDJ and Casemiro with Eriksen at 10 or Bruno at 10. I have a feeling he would prefer Eriksen. I think we will know in 2 yrs.

In two years Eriksen will be 32 yo. Imo he's not fast or agile enough to play as a CAM at that age. My bet is we'll go 433. No more #10.

 

[NewYorkRed]

Even without Ronaldo in the team, his numbers have fallen off a cliff. I still do think he’s class but his production needs to go up. With his quality he should be getting 15 in the league easily. Maybe needs to stop the moaning a bit and focus more on his game.

 

[Desert Eagle]

Great posts by Rozay and Borys.

It makes little sense to build a team that plays in a way that facilitates a player with a ‘particular set of skills’ that you may not want as a foundation of your final approach.

 

[Greck]

This Ronaldo excuse is tiring. This is how he was playing before we signed him btw.


It has nothing to with the players around him or the supporters. We told you he was poor over 2 years ago but you ignored us in favor of manipulated G/A stats. now its about us actively wanting him to play badly?? No sir, the truth is some of us are able to make certain judgements early yet when everything some of us said comes to fruition you guys act like its our fault he turned out like this.

And supporters getting off his case wont suddenly give him more ability. All im seeing right now is fans going from excuse to excuse to justify his level because they are struggling to come to the terms he isnt as good as they thought he was. Its better to let go, people make misjudgements on players all the time. When you are wrong about something you accept you were wrong and move on.

It's both tbh. Not the biggest fan of his playstyle but those things aren't at odds with each other at all. Even I can tell he's a far better player without bowing to Ronaldo. Antony who has more experience playing under Ten Hag turns to ashley young and ten hag's football turns to something tony pulis would be proud of. It's not a long term endorsement for Bruno but we also want to win games. I'd also rather separate them.

 

[Abraxas]

I think Bruno and Ronaldo has always looked a slightly awkward fit. Not just for us, but the times I've seen them for Portugal hasn't looked quite right, either. So that adds more credence to the idea it doesn't really work and it's not specific to Man Utd.

I think it's probably because Ronaldo is not a natural striker, he still likes to drop off and Bruno has this habit of playing incredibly high. It always seems like Ronaldo plays into Bruno's feeling that he's got to find the Hollywood pass every single time because we know Ronaldo has been a ruthless finisher. That's Bruno's tendency anyway but playing with a figure like Ronaldo seems to exacerbate it. But still, this is a natural tendency so it's not exactly Ronaldo's fault, Bruno has to take responsibility for this high risk style.

He's still a key man for us. His form needs to improve drastically. But I don't think the manager gives him the armband and plays him relentlessly for no reason. He still realises he's one of our most talented, hard working players. He's just quite the conundrum at the moment in terms of form and giving the ball away, but it's not clear we have better. Whether he's the ideal man for Ten Hag in his long term vision, I don't know.

 

[Swedish_Plumber]

Can’t remember the last game he really grabbed by the horns and dominated.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Can’t remember the last game he really grabbed by the horns and dominated.

Thanks.

 

[Swedish_Plumber]

Thanks.

He was fantastic. Need more of it!

 

[DWelbz19]

Much better tonight. Probably his best game in a long time

 

[Idxomer]

This is his best game in a United shirt.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Imagine watching that and complaining about him at half time as the problem keeping possession. @Rightnr

Some people man, they’ve decided before even a ball is kicked.

68 passes, 93% completion, 1 goal, brilliant at the press, massive contribution to first goal winning the ball high up.

Absolutely immense and is clearly listening to ETH and being much safer in possession than previous seasons.

 

[Jeppers7]

Gonna get in early…..Absolutely fecking brilliant performance even without the goal….topped off with a brilliant goal.

 

[avgp_1]

63/68 passes completed. Goal and won the ball for the opener. Top performance

 

[Marwood]

Brilliant game.

These characters saying Bruno's style stops you winning shown up again.

It's just a case of getting his best.

 

[Rozay]

In a game of about 6 MOTMs - he was standout as THE MOTM. Best performance in a long time, even before the goal. Excellent stuff.

 

[Rozay]

Brilliant game.

These characters saying Bruno's style stops you winning shown up again.

It's just a case of getting his best.

Yea, again and again isn’t it?

 

[Rightnr]

Imagine watching that and complaining about him at half time as the problem keeping possession. @Rightnr

Some people man, they’ve decided before even a ball is kicked.

68 passes, 93% completion.

Being good for one game out of 5 is not what a top class player is in my opinion.

But keep posting your stats

 

[Vidyoyo]

Fantastic tonight, had so much space but used it to great effect

 

[kouroux]

Gotta give credit when it's due. Truly amazing performance befitting of a Man Utd captain

 

[slored1]

Second half was his best performance after Leeds last year. Dominated the midfield, set the tone with his pressing. Immense.

 

[#07]

Rubbish again...

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Being good for one game out of 5 is not what a top class player is in my opinion.

But keep posting your stats

Keep complaining, even when we’re absolutely dominating Spurs, looks fun.

 

[Marwood]

Yea, again and again isn’t it?

You almost sound disappointed