[zurnalist]

His perfomance was unacceptable and he has been very frustrating and wasteful throughout the season, yet he is one of the only ones to create something in attack and has 16 goal involvements: he is till a level above of most other attacking players in terms of actual output.

I agree with the criticism: lately he is a luxury player, loses possession a lot and hence not suitable to play as a deeplying playmaker. Yet I don't think he is the main culprit for our failure. There are so many more useless players who don't even offer the limited value he offers: Zirkzee, Mount, Malacia, Antony, Rashford have mostly been totally useless, Garnacho even more unstable; Eriksen has been playing well but in his age he is even more limited physically and doesnt have any output; even Mainoo is struggling to show a good perfomance. To single out Bruno as a bigger problem than all those players seems a bit reactionary to me. Let's see how we will do next game without him, especially in attack. Unfortunately, usually we have sucked even more when he is not around so I don't believe at all that selling him will solve any issues unless the money is really great and we can use that to replace him with quality (who is 100% guaranteed success in the market to replace him?)

If we do better without him, I would be suprised but open to consider a near future without him.

 

[lost7]

His perfomance was unacceptable and he has been very frustrating and wasteful throughout the season, yet he is one of the only ones to create something in attack and has 16 goal involvements: he is till a level above of most other attacking players in terms of actual output.

I agree with the criticism: lately he is a luxury player, loses possession a lot and hence not suitable to play as a deeplying playmaker. Yet I don't think he is the main culprit for our failure. There are so many more useless players who don't even offer the limited value he offers: Zirkzee, Mount, Malacia, Antony, Rashford have mostly been totally useless, Garnacho even more unstable; Eriksen has been playing well but in his age he is even more limited physically and doesnt have any output; even Mainoo is struggling to show a good perfomance. To single out Bruno as a bigger problem than all those players seems a bit reactionary to me. Let's see how we will do next game without him, especially in attack. Unfortunately, usually we have sucked even more when he is not around so I don't believe at all that selling him will solve any issues unless the money is really great and we can use that to replace him with quality (who is 100% guaranteed success in the market to replace him?)

If we do better without him, I would be suprised but open to consider a near future without him.

He's 30 years old, is on 300k a week and is the captain. None of the players you listed are anywhere near as important as Bruno, so of course he should get more criticism. After Rashford, Eriksen, Shaw, Mount, he should be the next to go

 

[JustinC00]

He needs to be dropped to the bench going forward. He's become a liability

 

[Rex Banner]

There's a disparity between what he's good at, and what people think he's good at - that always seems to muddle conversations about him. Take this tweet for example:



The things he says Bruno is good at, he isn’t. And the stuff he says Bruno is bad at are actually some of the things he’s good at.

Bruno is careless in possession, and regularly gives the ball away - but he does track back. In fact, his availability and fitness levels are the only attributes I consider outstanding.

People see him as this creative, brilliant passer - when in reality he's a cardio specialist with good vision and free license to attempt as many crazy passes as possible (eventually some do come off - which becomes confirmation bias ground for “brilliant creative passer”).

Well said. The tracking back argument is so fecking lazy, especially from a "top" journalist like Winter.

 

[Nevilles.Wear.Prada]

Most overrated United player I’ve seen

No.

 

[Greck]

We're worse without him because we are built around having him as a creative hub and approach transfer business with that in mind. If he's available play him but it can also be true that we need to grow the team to have proper footballers in his role or even just any important role for that matter. Pogba, De Gea and now Rashford were also the best at the club at their roles and we still needed to move on.

 

[Based Adnan]

Murtough and co rushed and renewed him for 350k before ETH even had a chance to evaluate him. Not that that one wouldn't have replaced him with an even worse signing from the dutch league

He renewed his contract in August just gone under Ineos. EtH had plenty of time to evaluate him.

 

[Greck]

He renewed his contract in August just gone under Ineos. EtH had plenty of time to evaluate him.

I was actually talking about the 2022 renewal. Till just now I had no clue they since doubled down on that. It's looking like hiring Ashworth and keeping ETH won't be the last decisions we rollback.

 

[NZT-One]

His perfomance was unacceptable and he has been very frustrating and wasteful throughout the season, yet he is one of the only ones to create something in attack and has 16 goal involvements: he is till a level above of most other attacking players in terms of actual output.

I agree with the criticism: lately he is a luxury player, loses possession a lot and hence not suitable to play as a deeplying playmaker. Yet I don't think he is the main culprit for our failure. There are so many more useless players who don't even offer the limited value he offers: Zirkzee, Mount, Malacia, Antony, Rashford have mostly been totally useless, Garnacho even more unstable; Eriksen has been playing well but in his age he is even more limited physically and doesnt have any output; even Mainoo is struggling to show a good perfomance. To single out Bruno as a bigger problem than all those players seems a bit reactionary to me. Let's see how we will do next game without him, especially in attack. Unfortunately, usually we have sucked even more when he is not around so I don't believe at all that selling him will solve any issues unless the money is really great and we can use that to replace him with quality (who is 100% guaranteed success in the market to replace him?)

If we do better without him, I would be suprised but open to consider a near future without him.

Given that this seems to be a favorable way of trying to put Brunos performances in perspective, it needs to be said, that NOONE argues, that we would be a better team right now without him. Thats just a misrepresentation. The mistake has been made sooner and in the past, not being able to move towards footballing ideas that don't rely on one individual to somehow keep us afloat. If we do worse than yesterday without him, thats not proving anything at all because noone argues that the same squad playing the same way would be better if it just weren't for Bruno. The important decisions right now aren't about playing him next week or the week after, the important decisions are what to do next summer and onwards. And given that this is somewhat that applies to every team out there, it needs to be said that extending him last summer wasn't the smartest move in the world and lets not act as if that comes a total suprise now.

 

[Chaky_Best]

He's not suited to the 3-4-2-1.

He's not fast enough with the ball, doesn't have players around him running.

I am a big fan of him and think that he's the only player capable of giving a pass and creating something, but in this flat and slow system when no one runs, I am not sure he's suited.

To be honest, I think that we should look for a replacement asap

 

[Beachryan]

I'm someone that has believed Bruno to be a superb player for us, but never one we could build a truly top team with, and like others have been saying that for years. He's always needed players around him to make up for his lack of physicality, and the current system just exposes that brutally. He can't hold onto the ball. Never has been able to. If we want to be a team that does so, he can't be the focal point.

But.

Where we are right now, this season with the players and funds available to us means he is still absolutely crucial to the next 6 months. We do not create chances without him. His natural replacement (Mount) does not appear to still be a professional footballer.

It falls to Amorim to get a tune out of this Bruno, in this system. So far it's not working, but between them they need to sort it out.

 

[Cypriot]

He's let us down badly with 2 of the red cards this season. I think we need to look at parting ways in the summer.

It's a very strange feeling to think we should sell our obviously best player, but I feel we need to build a different team, and one that he doesn't fit into. He doesn't have the discipline to be our captain and play in this system, in my opinion.

 

[JustinC00]

16 goal involvements

1 was against Southampton
2 of those were penalties
2 were against Barnsley in the league cup
2 were against Everton
4 were against Leicester in 2 matches
1 was against City in the community shield

11 of 12 of his goal involvements were against teams that are lower on the table than us or penalties and another was in a glorified friendly

He has 2 in Europa. Which leaves 2 that were against Brentford and Forest

Saying he has 16 goal involvement doesn't really paint the picture. He has as many red cards this season as he does non-penatly goal involvements against sides higher on the table than us.

 

[msjmohd83]

like i said previously he's the most inconsistent Manchester United captain so far and may i add uninspiring as well..if we are going to revamp the squad might as well start with him, Casemiro and Rashford. I wouldn't mind selling Onana as well

 

[CM]

He's not suited to the 3-4-2-1.

He's not fast enough with the ball, doesn't have players around him running.

I am a big fan of him and think that he's the only player capable of giving a pass and creating something, but in this flat and slow system when no one runs, I am not sure he's suited.

To be honest, I think that we should look for a replacement asap

I agree. It only took me a couple of games to come to that conclusion as well. Fernandes lacks the discipline to play in the deeper role and he lacks the pace and dynamism required to play as one of the 10s in Amorim's system.

His best role is as the 10 in a 4-2-3-1 where he gets all the creative freedom and has a fairly rigid structure behind him. He was excellent in that role for his first 18 months or so under Ole but has been slowly regressing since Ronaldo's arrival in 21/22 when the whole team wasn't built around him anymore.

 

[JPRouve]

He’s the same player he’s always been, don’t think he suits a possession system, his finishing has deserted him, his head goes when we need it the most.

Think we should push Mainoo into his position.

His finishing was never there, people seem to forget that a large amount of his goals were penalties.

 

[DJ_21]

That's a funny defense for Bruno. I agree, we looked better.

No the point was, we wouldn’t have won with 11 men or 10 men. We probably wouldn’t have even won if we was the team with the extra player.

 

[Toshey]

Can't wait until the day we are rid of him, Maguire and Rashford.

I can't believe I lived to see this day, bur out of those 3 I have most sympathy and good feelings for Harry.
I'm frustrated and irritated by Bruno and I'm on the verge or actually hating Rashford (the player, not the person).

 

[rpitchfo]

He's let us down badly with 2 of the red cards this season. I think we need to look at parting ways in the summer.

It's a very strange feeling to think we should sell our obviously best player, but I feel we need to build a different team, and one that he doesn't fit into. He doesn't have the discipline to be our captain and play in this system, in my opinion.

We are definitely stuck in a catch 22 of him being our best player whilst simultaneously probably being the player holding us back the most in terms of progressing.

No need to get rid in my opinion we just need a couple better players to build a team around then he becomes a cog in a wheel rather than our most important player

 

[Baneofthegame]

His finishing was never there, people seem to forget that a large amount of his goals were penalties.

It was at least acceptable, currently his delivery all around is awful, his finishing is just as bad.

 

[Bastian]

No the point was, we wouldn’t have won with 11 men or 10 men. We probably wouldn’t have even won if we was the team with the extra player.

I think it's impossible to tell. But I think in both Premier League matches now he's been sent off, we've looked better after going down to 10 men. We were abject against Spurs before the sending off, so it was annoying hearing Erik use that as an excuse. Now, against Wolves we looked pretty blunt before the sending off, but Wolves looked nothing special either, so I think a draw was on the cards.

 

[JPRouve]

It was at least acceptable, currently his delivery all around is awful, his finishing is just as bad.

It wasn't acceptable then and it's barely less acceptable now. For context during his best scoring season in the PL, Bruno shot 121 times which puts him third behind Kane(137) and Salah(126), he scored 9 open play goals when the players that are in the same bracket in terms of total shots scored 14 and 18 open play goals. Now people will rightfully suggest that he shouldn't be compared to attackers such as Kane and Salah who are obviously better finishers but that's the point, the lad's stats at his best relied heavily on volume not quality which is why at the time some of us were critical of the way his stats were hyped up, not only the stats aren't good from a Football standpoint they were also terrible if anyone used them to inform future decisions whether it is about how to build the team or how to pay him.

What we see today was predictable then due to how he scored those goals and any variance that can happen from one season to the other.

 

[El Jefe]

As an attacking midfielder you need to be very strong to hold off challenges or have a low centre of gravity which allows you the agility to hold off and slip through bigger player.

As creative as Zidane, Ronaldinho and Riquelme were they were incredibly strong on the ball and you couldn’t knock them off it, Lampard was like this too. The smaller guys like David Silva, Bernardo Silva Hazard, Nasri and many others couldn’t be knocked off the ball.

This is Bruno’s primary flaw in my opinion. It’s what makes him play the way he does because he knows he cannot keep the ball under pressure either through skill or upper or lower body strength. He’s pretty much Lampard without the strength, IQ and goal scoring. Good player but just that good.

 

[JPRouve]

As an attacking midfielder you need to be very strong to hold off challenges or have a low centre of gravity which allows you the agility to hold off and slip through bigger player.

As creative as Zidane, Ronaldinho and Riquelme were they were incredibly strong on the ball and you couldn’t knock them off it, Lampard was like this too. The smaller guys like David Silva, Bernardo Silva Hazard, Nasri and many others couldn’t be knocked off the ball.

This is Bruno’s primary flaw in my opinion. It’s what makes him play the way he does because he knows he cannot keep the ball under pressure either through skill or upper or lower body strength. He’s pretty much Lampard without the strength, IQ and goal scoring. Good player but just that good.

Agreed and it feels harsh to judge him based on this caliber of players but at the same time, if you are not at that level you are almost always jettisoned quickly, Nasri is an example of that.

 

[Ekeke]

As an attacking midfielder you need to be very strong to hold off challenges or have a low centre of gravity which allows you the agility to hold off and slip through bigger player.

As creative as Zidane, Ronaldinho and Riquelme were they were incredibly strong on the ball and you couldn’t knock them off it, Lampard was like this too. The smaller guys like David Silva, Bernardo Silva Hazard, Nasri and many others couldn’t be knocked off the ball.

This is Bruno’s primary flaw in my opinion. It’s what makes him play the way he does because he knows he cannot keep the ball under pressure either through skill or upper or lower body strength. He’s pretty much Lampard without the strength, IQ and goal scoring. Good player but just that good.

I dont think its even about strength. There are slight players who dribble their way out. Of all attacking skills dribbling is the one Bruno is worst at and hasnt improved since he joined. Sometimes he forgets to even move the ball or walks straight into opponents. Theres no conviction when he takes a player on. He's poor at it.

 

[gza the genius]

He's not the biggest problem in the team by any means but he's clearly a big problem. The amount of chances he misses and times he gives the ball away is just too much. I've almost never said a bad word about him but I'm over it.

He's one of the few players in our team who should be able to get us a reasonable fee, sell him, Rashford, Antony and honestly even Garnacho and rebuild the attack.

 

[El Jefe]

I dont think its even about strength. There are slight players who dribble their way out. Of all attacking skills dribbling is the one Bruno is worst at and hasnt improved since he joined. Sometimes he forgets to even move the ball or walks straight into opponents. Theres no conviction when he takes a player on. He's poor at it.

I agree and that’s why dribbling and strength are key bits missing from his game. He’d be okay without one but not having both is a huge weakness. It’s why I used Lampard as an example. He couldn’t really dribble but you had no chance getting the ball off him once his big arse was in the way. Fabregas was a bit like this too although he had less strength on the ball but his touch and body positioning meant he could receive and recycle in possession calmly despite not being a great dribbler.

Agreed and it feels harsh to judge him based on this caliber of players but at the same time, if you are not at that level you are almost always jettisoned quickly, Nasri is an example of that.

Very true you look at Mata, James Rodrigues and many other players of this type, teams move on from them very quickly if the trade off of tactical flexibility and individual quality isn’t worth it. That’s where Bruno has been for a few years now with us but we haven’t moved him on.

 

[Fobal]

He's not the biggest problem in the team by any means but he's clearly a big problem. The amount of chances he misses and times he gives the ball away is just too much. I've almost never said a bad word about him but I'm over it.

He's one of the few players in our team who should be able to get us a reasonable fee, sell him, Rashford, Antony and honestly even Garnacho and rebuild the attack.

This is his 6th season. And I would say that more than him, are the club's decisions the ones to the very least odd.

Yet he is a symbol of what the Club seems to not get right with many players and roles. And it started slowly since Becks was gone, Cris went to Madrid, the Tevez saga and time and again the "Keane/Scholes/Rooney" profile was being left more behind.
Excellent players like RVP, or great ones like Berva arrived, yet that aura and sometimes characteritics of the trio mentioned were starting to fade, passing throught the Valencias, Nanis, to todays Rashford, Antony and cia profiles. I'm not saying that the majority of them are proper players, but not entirely the United way and style. Bruno at least? thinks big of himself and does not avoid challenges.

Leaving aura and some personality traits aside, in a strict football sense, Bruno is Bruno since day one, someone expecting more composure, more dribbling, a stronger build and more pragmatic, intelligent approach, would wait for sthg that would never come. Yet, he has his assets as a player, that brought numbers in the past and an urgency that can be helpful in certain situations within matches.
Yet the big question is and always was, if it's him the TYPE of player that United it's accostume to base their game on? is him in the mold of a Rooney? a Charlton? or more polivalent types like Scholes, Keane? and I'm not talking here about the status, but the characteristics. Certainly not.

As helpful as he can be as a disruptive weapon in a team with more order, surrounded with other players more in the mold of the above mentioned (that beware, might not get along with him), he had to be the main man for a team that wants sthg from him that he isn't. And that it's not his fault, but it's Man Utd fault to keep these type of purchases/ profiles (like Maguire too) for such a long time, converting them in some sort of pilars and later ask them to be what they've never been.

Yes, Man Utd tried other types with Mount (injury track record), Eriksen (same), both not precisly either having huge personalities (that Bruno for the good and bad has), tried with a proper excellent mid with Casemiro, or a classy defender like Varane, yet too late.
At some point United should have turn the wheel or at least add proper different players to Bruno, and use him as a side weapon and not the primarly one.

 

[Lentwood]

Having Bruno in your team is like being in a ten-man a-side brawl, taking a beating and deciding to remedy it by having your blind mate run in with a shotgun and start shooting.

There's a chance he might save the day and turn the tide for you, but it's equally as likely he shoots you in the face

After the scrap, folk talk about the "MVP" who single handedly took out four of their brawlers, but forget the part about him shooting six of your own.

 

[Isotope]

THe theory that if people say it often enough, many will "think" the same.

I compare Bruno with Mainoo because Mainoo has always been seen as "neat and tidy, making less penetrating passes", while Bruno as player that "frequently wasteful on the ball".

The data is available out there to compare them in their last 5 games, where Bruno's alternating between a 10 as creative hub (player usually has lower % passes) and a CM that should be more conservative. While Mainoo the neat and tidy, has been strictly playing in central midfielder.

% passing accuracy
Bruno: 82, 74, 87, 86, 76.
Mainoo: 69, 80, 69, 88, 92.

 

[Silas]

Not at all to diminish what he’s contributed to the club, but I still stand by the idea that buying him rather than buying a top-class controlling #8 and keeping Pogba as the most advanced midfielder in a 3 was the wrong choice.

 

[manutdnigerian]

I told a friend that if Bruno remains captain and he plays all the time(I.e the team is built around him), it will be the downfall of Ruben Amorim. I hope am wrong.

 

[NZT-One]

THe theory that if people say it often enough, many will "think" the same.

I compare Bruno with Mainoo because Mainoo has always been seen as "neat and tidy, making less penetrating passes", while Bruno as player that "frequently wasteful on the ball".

The data is available out there to compare them in their last 5 games, where Bruno's alternating between a 10 as creative hub (player usually has lower % passes) and a CM that should be more conservative. While Mainoo the neat and tidy, has been strictly playing in central midfielder.

% passing accuracy
Bruno: 82, 74, 87, 86, 76.
Mainoo: 69, 80, 69, 88, 92.

Pretty sure in the last few pages there weren't any (definitely not many) mentions of Brunos passing accuracy. While interesting, I think, we can assume it to be established that not every pass should be weighed the same, a misplaced pass under pressure while creating for your team is a different matter than a pass on the half line with the team getting in their attacking shape and become somewhat vulnerable.

Not sure what your intentions are with presenting these numbers?

 

[NZT-One]

Not at all to diminish what he’s contributed to the club, but I still stand by the idea that buying him rather than buying a top-class controlling #8 and keeping Pogba as the most advanced midfielder in a 3 was the wrong choice.

Pogbas days at United were over, just as much as Rashfords days seem to be over now. Moving away wasn't a mistake. It wasn't even a mistake to move towards Bruno given that the connection between him and our strikers making runs was pretty productive. The issue was never even attempting to reach the next level in evolution, away from playing balls in behind towards controlling the ball.

 

[Fobal]

Pretty sure in the last few pages there weren't any (definitely not many) mentions of Brunos passing accuracy. While interesting, I think, we can assume it to be established that not every pass should be weighed the same, a misplaced pass under pressure while creating for your team is a different matter than a pass on the half line with the team getting in their attacking shape and become somewhat vulnerable.

Not sure what your intentions are with presenting these numbers?

Exactly

 

[Nogho]

His ability with the ball going forward is top notch except for his decision making. A lot of passes is terrible, but sometime he finds a diamond. His other abilities, speed, agility, strength, balance etc. are just mediocre. But his biggest flaw is his behaviour. You tell kids to behave who acts as him. His manors is sometimes disgraceful. Not a role model nor someone to carry your team.

 

[Kingofwinners]

Having Bruno in your team is like being in a ten-man a-side brawl, taking a beating and deciding to remedy it by having your blind mate run in with a shotgun and start shooting.

There's a chance he might save the day and turn the tide for you, but it's equally as likely he shoots you in the face

After the scrap, folk talk about the "MVP" who single handedly took out four of their brawlers, but forget the part about him shooting six of your own.

This was one of the best comments I ever read!! Except we start that chaotic way rather than wait until we have nothing to lose in a game. No wonder the rest of them have no confidence, the persistent turnovers is a way bigger problem than many acknowledge.

He’s not the only problem but he is a very big one. The team would look way better if he was out of it for long enough to let the team settle into a more controlled and consistent style.

 

[Donut]

He's a good player, but in Amorim's system you need players who can run with the ball and he's woeful at it. When he starts running with the ball everyone just stops because they know he'll be disposessed in a few seconds.

If he'd be willing to go to Saudis, I'm sure they'd give us a good offer, but he seems too ambitious for that. Maybe Ratcliffe will get pissed if he keeps offering to pay for the stuff he wants to cut.

 

[Lentwood]

This was one of the best comments I ever read!! Except we start that chaotic way rather than wait until we have nothing to lose in a game. No wonder the rest of them have no confidence, the persistent turnovers is a way bigger problem than many acknowledge.

He’s not the only problem but he is a very big one. The team would look way better if he was out of it for long enough to let the team settle into a more controlled and consistent style.

Yeah I agree...its chaos ball from kick-off with Bruno in the team.

He'll always get goals and assists. He'll always work hard...but he's ONLY suited to counter punching sides who sit deep and maintain a rigid structure behind him.

You can't have a wildcard maverick running around in midfield giving the ball away relentlessly when you want to control games and play a high line.