[Grand Vizier]

There’s a strange implication that if we bench him or remove him from the side we would be entirely bereft of any sort of creativity and the squad would cease to stop scoring goals. (We don’t really score any with him anyway, but that’s another point)

As your post alludes to — it never works like that in practice, and other players pick up the vacant traits in a players absence.

I think that implication is based on our performances without Bruno against Palace where we lost 4-0 against Palace and 1-0 against Arsenal, but to me, that argument makes little sense and don't see how that applies now.

1) Our centre back pairing were Jonny Evans and Casemiro, AWB was playing left back, McTominay was the #10 against Arsenal, and we were playing Antony and a bad-form Garnacho on the wings against Palace.

2) Shaw and Martinez were out injured. Hard to build up from the back when the players responsible for building up from the back are out.

3) That was before de Ligt, Mazraoui, Zirkzee and Ugarte were bought, and before Amad took a step up.

4) We have created 16 big chances this season, which is 3rd in the league. Bruno has created only 2 of these, so clearly we do create most of our big chances without him right now.

5) We actually played decent against Arsenal, the second best team in the league. We had more possession and also had some chances and more shots than them. They were just more clinical.

 

[saik]

I kid you not, there was a period early in the second half when he gave the ball away three times in under a minute. It's ridiculous.

Haha. I remember that. Gave the ball away, teammate won it and gave it back to him and then he gave it away. He repeated that sequence 3 times.

It was absolutely criminal how he was allowed to finish that game. It was not like he was central to us creating chances either.

 

[El Jefe]

People rightfully criticise his passing choices and game management but what’s not discussed often enough is his goalscoring.

For a player who gets forward at will and gets so many chances he averages 10 non penalty goals a season across all competitions. If he got this return and was still able do play responsibly I’d be fine with it but for all his gung ho style of play he only gets 10 open play goals and this is with his playing pretty much every minute of every game.

With that return he isn’t worth the hassle. It was the same last season, he had a dreadful scoring tally until the last 3 months where he found form and went on a bit of a run.

 

[Vidyoyo]

I am a big Bruno fan but there but there were 10 minutes or so in that 2nd half where he just gave ball after ball away so cheaply , I know he is the captain but someone on the team should have pulled him aside and told him to sort himself out or ETH should have just hauled him off.

Yeah I'll go with this. Bruno as a player is absolutely fine, he'll have hot and cold spells because he's that sort of player, but he also has unique attributes that can win games and that's invaluable.

However, Bruno with the type of influence he has is an absolute disaster. He absolutely needs somebody to tell him when he's having a shocker - which happens a lot - but that's not forthcoming in our squad and the result is that he gets away with poor performances too often.

 

[Lash]

Yeah I'll go with this. Bruno as a player is absolutely fine, he'll have hot and cold spells because he's that sort of player, but he also has unique attributes that can win games and that's invaluable.

However, Bruno with the type of influence he has is an absolute disaster. He absolutely needs somebody to tell him when he's having a shocker - which happens a lot - but that's not forthcoming in our squad and the result is that he gets away with poor performances too often.

Who has the clout to really say that in this side though? There's no top level experience in the side, he's still our best and most consistent performer over the last few seasons and no one else is in terrific form right now. On MOTD they flashed up our top scorers last season and it's grim reading.

 

[Dominos]

Yeah I'll go with this. Bruno as a player is absolutely fine, he'll have hot and cold spells because he's that sort of player, but he also has unique attributes that can win games and that's invaluable.

However, Bruno with the type of influence he has is an absolute disaster. He absolutely needs somebody to tell him when he's having a shocker - which happens a lot - but that's not forthcoming in our squad and the result is that he gets away with poor performances too often.

Who has the clout to really say that in this side though? There's no top level experience in the side, he's still our best and most consistent performer over the last few seasons and no one else is in terrific form right now. On MOTD they flashed up our top scorers last season and it's grim reading.

I think you're very optimistic if you think a player like Bruno will be able to keep possession of a ball because he's been told off by a team mate.

He's often brainless, erratic, inconsistent - that's just who he is. He's not changing at 30 years of age. If it was as simple as someone telling him "Bruno can you stop giving the ball back to the opposition" then we'd have already fixed this issue.

 

[big_jeffstar]

Sorry, what? That's just nonsense. I'm not saying they've never missed chances, but looking at the wider picture they'd come up with a goal when others are struggling more often or not.

Yeah it’s nonsense if we don’t count the 13 consecutive games he went without scoring.. 18 hours without one, during which he missed absolute sitters just like Bruno.. again, selective memory

 

[Donut]

Last year we looked completely toothless without Bruno, but now with Amad and Zhirkzee raising our technical level we could really transition into a highly technical side but Bruno has no place in it. Really wish he’d be willing to go to Saudi, I’m sure they’d pay us a hefty sum.

 

[Catalandevil]

He had a bad day yesterday. His passes were always a bit too weak and he missed some glorious chances. He is an amazing player, but I still struggle to see how our team can really gel together, specially with him on our starting 11.

 

[Shark]

Yeah it’s nonsense if we don’t count the 13 consecutive games he went without scoring.. 18 hours without one, during which he missed absolute sitters just like Bruno.. again, selective memory

Again, you're not looking at the bigger picture here, at all.

 

[NZT-One]

Who has the clout to really say that in this side though? There's no top level experience in the side, he's still our best and most consistent performer over the last few seasons and no one else is in terrific form right now. On MOTD they flashed up our top scorers last season and it's grim reading.

Hopefully somebody will step up to do it. Be that De Ligt or Martinez. There is no point looking back and acting as if Bruno didn't help us to get where we got in the last years but at the same time, it isn't as if we are looking back at a trophy-struck recent past that simply justifies him just based on that. I personally don't like him in that leader role (even though I admit, from what you read about him as a person away from the pitch he really seems to be a very very decent person) and I hope, that along with improved football and confidence, a new "spine" will emerge in the team, one that then should be able to "hard-reset" players during a game.

One issue though, seeing how the whole team seems to start to resort to hoofball from a certain point in matches, I am a little worried, that there are deeper lying issues are present as well. In a few interviews, there was talked about being brave, taking risks. I wonder if that hoofball stuff is internally seen as exactly that - taking risks and therefor not considered as something negative but something positive.

 

[DWelbz19]

I think that implication is based on our performances without Bruno against Palace where we lost 4-0 against Palace and 1-0 against Arsenal, but to me, that argument makes little sense and don't see how that applies now.

1) Our centre back pairing were Jonny Evans and Casemiro, AWB was playing left back, McTominay was the #10 against Arsenal, and we were playing Antony and a bad-form Garnacho on the wings against Palace.

2) Shaw and Martinez were out injured. Hard to build up from the back when the players responsible for building up from the back are out.

3) That was before de Ligt, Mazraoui, Zirkzee and Ugarte were bought, and before Amad took a step up.

4) We have created 16 big chances this season, which is 3rd in the league. Bruno has created only 2 of these, so clearly we do create most of our big chances without him right now.

5) We actually played decent against Arsenal, the second best team in the league. We had more possession and also had some chances and more shots than them. They were just more clinical.

Agreed with all of this. I said earlier in this thread now that we’ve stocked up on a few more technically sound players in attack — Amad, Zirkzee, even Eriksen etc. — it further exemplifies Fernandes’ weaknesses in tight areas and close control. He needs a lot of open vacant space to play transition football at his best.

People rightfully criticise his passing choices and game management but what’s not discussed often enough is his goalscoring.

Yep. I’ve mentioned it before too — his goalscoring has genuinely dissipated. You don’t even expect him to score when he’s in front of goal anymore. Long gone has that last season of Sporting early Man Utd form he had here in front of goal. I’m sure I read that he has had the most shots in the PL this season without a goal.

 

[Tony247]

Bruno hasn't stopped being productive though and certainly hasn't been unproductive since 2022. Eriksen has only really showed he's any good against poor opposition and he's not the creator.

Eriksen controls the tempo and dictactes the play. Which when we signed Bruno he was supposed to do. Without Eriksen we have Bruno who has brainfarts like there is severe intelligence indigestion. So no one to control the midfield. And then without Eriksen insurance hollywood bruno becomes even a bigger liability.

 

[Vidyoyo]

Who has the clout to really say that in this side though? There's no top level experience in the side, he's still our best and most consistent performer over the last few seasons and no one else is in terrific form right now. On MOTD they flashed up our top scorers last season and it's grim reading.

Yep and that's the problem for me. We need players who will stick their neck out because they believe they can produce consistently knowing they're going to be scrutinised for saying things to the main man.

Martinez comes closest based on experience and quality. De Ligt may also eventually grow into that role because of his experience playing for top teams. Sadly we don't have enough other experienced squad players to do it. Shaw and Rashford should be the senior players willing to take more of a lead but aren't for obvious reasons.

 

[pratyush_utd]

3 misplaced passes in 30 seconds.

34 misplaced pass in the entire game.

 

[Drainy]

3 misplaced passes in 30 seconds.

34 misplaced pass in the entire game.

Frustrating

 

[OldSchoolManc]

There was a time that we were completely reliant on Bruno.
It isn’t the case anymore and taken on the basis of the Barnsley game, we were a better attacking force without him

 

[Bastian]

3 misplaced passes in 30 seconds.

34 misplaced pass in the entire game.

Must often be infuriating to play alongside him.

 

[Drainy]

I think next summer we'll go big for his replacement and bed them in over the season

 

[Tony247]

3 misplaced passes in 30 seconds.

34 misplaced pass in the entire game.

Thank you! I was actually searching for that moment at 0:04. It wasn't about just misplaced pass, it was basic situation awareness. Amad was pinned by CP players so he passed to Bruno. All he had to do was take the ball turn away and pass it to safer option (Mainoo) or use the situation to switch attack. But this Bruno dutifully pass the ball back to Amad and of course we lost possession. Utter cluelessness. And recently there are more such incidents. This is not the Bruno I used to idolised.

 

[pratyush_utd]

Saw a comment on Reddit which felt bit accurate about Bruno

A gung ho footballer that thrives in chaos. Any serious club wanting to dominate games wouldn't accommodate such a player.

With our general play improving and we are moving towards more controlled possession, his game will stick out more. If ETH doesn’t realise it soon, then he wont be in the job past December. Dont think Ineos will allow another season outside of top 4

 

[Robbie Boy]

3 misplaced passes in 30 seconds.

34 misplaced pass in the entire game.

That clip

 

[Leftback99]

I'd drop him for Mount.

 

[NotChatGPT]

His one-two with Zirkzee before missing the target with the outside of the boot, with Henderson completely wrong footed, really did both my nuts in. It's perfectly fine if you have a comfortable lead, not so much when you're desperate for the opening goal

 

[GDaly95]

I think someone needs to tell him that he doesn't need to be our superman anymore. That he can reign it in, become more disciplined and look after the ball a bit more.

At a high level, I do wonder if down the line we will think fondly of Bruno for carrying us at times at our worst, but the very freedom we gave him in order to save us actually went on to to contribute to his downfall. We might find that we improve without him.

 

[RuudTom83]

I don't think the reactions need to be as extreme as player x is shit and can't offer anything to the team.

But I do agree that so far this season (small sample size) Zirkzee and Amad have brought some quality and control to the attacking play...which is making Bruno look out of place with his gung-ho style.

 

[gajender]

Thank you! I was actually searching for that moment at 0:04. It wasn't about just misplaced pass, it was basic situation awareness. Amad was pinned by CP players so he passed to Bruno. All he had to do was take the ball turn away and pass it to safer option (Mainoo) or use the situation to switch attack. But this Bruno dutifully pass the ball back to Amad and of course we lost possession. Utter cluelessness. And recently there are more such incidents. This is not the Bruno I used to idolised.

He has always been like this and many posters cottoned onto it quite early , it's just that you are realising this now .

 

[pratyush_utd]

I don't think the reactions need to be as extreme as player x is shit and can't offer anything to the team.

But I do agree that so far this season (small sample size) Zirkzee and Amad have brought some quality and control to the attacking play...which is making Bruno look out of place with his gung-ho style.

I dont think the reaction is extreme. This issue with Bruno has always been there. A lot of people have highlighted this but since we didn’t have a functional team, it didnt really matter.

He can be brilliant at times and do wonderful things. But for a top team, he is just not consistent enough at simple things to be considered a key player.

 

[Ole'sgunnarwin]

3 misplaced passes in 30 seconds.

34 misplaced pass in the entire game.

I'd love to see him dropped. It's not just yesterday's game these things happen

 

[Godfather]

3 misplaced passes in 30 seconds.

34 misplaced pass in the entire game.

If I was a manager that would have made me sprint on the pitch and give him a proper bollocking in the middle of that pitch. So wasteful and lazy it's incredible

 

[Godfather]

Thst clip

Imagine he had Roy as a teammate.

 

[Tony247]

Fernandes is

He has always been like this and many posters cottoned onto it quite early , it's just that you are realising this now .

Perhaps those days his productivity overshadowed his weaknesses.

 

[Shiva87]

I was confused by the (failed) attempts to take people on. It’s almost as if he sees the praise Mainoo gets and decided he wants a piece of that. Never been his game…what a frustrating performance.

Yes that too! But he’s been at this level from the beginning of the season. It’s almost like having better players around him means that he’s trying to show he is still the top man

 

[Gabriel Djemba-Bebe]

Eriksen controls the tempo and dictactes the play. Which when we signed Bruno he was supposed to do. Without Eriksen we have Bruno who has brainfarts like there is severe intelligence indigestion. So no one to control the midfield. And then without Eriksen insurance hollywood bruno becomes even a bigger liability.

That wasn't the role we signed Bruno for. We signed him as a 10 to upgrade on Andreas Pereira.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

I think someone needs to tell him that he doesn't need to be our superman anymore. That he can reign it in, become more disciplined and look after the ball a bit more.

At a high level, I do wonder if down the line we will think fondly of Bruno for carrying us at times at our worst, but the very freedom we gave him in order to save us actually went on to to contribute to his downfall. We might find that we improve without him.

That's the thing, though, isn't it? How much is actually left, if you revoke his "licence to roam" and take away his superhero act. Is there enough to justify his wages and the prominent role he wishes to have in the team? He's not a proper midfielder, he's not a forward, he doesn't have the traits to play wide, and he's not a particularly good link-up player either.

I believe he will be remembered fondly as one of the best performers during a (relatively) barren era for the club. A cult hero, if you like. Mostly frustrating, but more than a few times crucial to winning important games, even on bad days or when most had written us off before kick-off.

All in all, when i look at the age of the squad that is shaping up, i want to believe that we're planning for life after Bruno.

 

[Pughnichi]

Frustrating

More than just ‘frustrsting’

It’s not good enough

 

[Adisa]

When did he start this trivela thing? It’s doing my head in.

 

[V.O.]

When did he start this trivela thing? It’s doing my head in.

He's Portuguese. Probably on the school playground after watching Quaresma.

 

[MDFC Manager]

That's the thing, though, isn't it? How much is actually left, if you revoke his "licence to roam" and take away his superhero act. Is there enough to justify his wages and the prominent role he wishes to have in the team? He's not a proper midfielder, he's not a forward, he doesn't have the traits to play wide, and he's not a particularly good link-up player either.

I believe he will be remembered fondly as one of the best performers during a (relatively) barren era for the club. A cult hero, if you like. Mostly frustrating, but more than a few times crucial to winning important games, even on bad days or when most had written us off before kick-off.

All in all, when i look at the age of the squad that is shaping up, i want to believe that we're planning for life after Bruno.

There's still hope though, but would require ETH to grow a pair.

He should no longer be an automatic starter and should be rotated with Eriksen, Mainoo, Mount and Zirkzee for the advanced midfielder position. When he does play, he needs to be asked to adhere to the team tactics and if he is going wayward (like yesterday), he should be hooked off.

 

[Gabriel Djemba-Bebe]

If I was a manager that would have made me sprint on the pitch and give him a proper bollocking in the middle of that pitch. So wasteful and lazy it's incredible

It always baffles me seeing the word 'lazy' being bandied about in the Bruno threads. His work rate is one of the best in Europe. If you're referencing his erratic passing, then surely there are more fitting words you could use.