Bruno Fernandes | New contract until 2027

I am emotionally invested a lot on Rashford and Bruno that I always wanted them do well, but I am losing the hope and getting into thinking like they are hindering our progress. Not sure if others also feeling the same way lately.

Eriksen is not the answer but he he proving that what a top class midfielder in prime age can do in middle of the park just like Garancho on the wings.
so we should look at replacing Bruno/Rashford to be honest to become a better team overall.
 
He's obviously a very good footballer with great work ethic and presence on the pitch.
However, we have to sacrifice control of a game to allow him to play his game. I like him but I just don't think he's suited to a team that wants to challenge for the top titles consistently.
When you compare him to Odegaard at Arsenal, he makes them tick. That's what a team who wants to challenge for titles needs.
 
Silverman said:
He's obviously a very good footballer with great work ethic and presence on the pitch.
However, we have to sacrifice control of a game to allow him to play his game. I like him but I just don't think he's suited to a team that wants to challenge for the top titles consistently.
When you compare him to Odegaard at Arsenal, he makes them tick. That's what a team who wants to challenge for titles needs.
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A player in his position needs to be very consistent at the core things under pressure, he's in the most central influential player in attack.
 
Bobby_2024 said:
I am emotionally invested a lot on Rashford and Bruno that I always wanted them do well, but I am losing the hope and getting into thinking like they are hindering our progress. Not sure if others also feeling the same way lately.

Eriksen is not the answer but he he proving that what a top class midfielder in prime age can do in middle of the park just like Garancho on the wings.
so we should look at replacing Bruno/Rashford to be honest to become a better team overall.
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In all honesty, good on you for being able to realize this, even though you have that emotional attachment towards them.

I never had that, as it was pretty evident from the get-go that they are players who relish in tactical chaos and are at their best when the game is bouncing back and forth like a table tennis match.

The moment we replace them with players who take good care of the ball and knows how to pull of simple passes, we will drastically improve. But with either one of the team, we will just continue to be stuck.

Move them on, and the new era will begin.
 
Bruno is still a very good to great player, no doubt about that. But the thing with him and Rashdord that been talking in the caf is that for them to perform to the optimum it has to sacrifice others (teams playstyle overall). Bruno and to extend Rashford are best when we play counter or rushing football. We know what Bruno capable of with creating chances but that comes off with too many erratic and trouble when it dont work. He dont help with controling the midfield and that been our undoing many years.

Actually it was evidents for period of time last years when he was off form but everyones turning blind eyes when he got the goals and creating stats last couple months at the end of the season.

I think for the best of our team its best to sell him and Rasford next year and continue with the building with others that fit more to what we want to achieve. They all still very good players but sometimes you have to part ways for the best of both parties.
 
I’ve loved Bruno ever since his arrival but he’s been a highly frustrating player for us for 2 maybe 3 seasons now.

As good as his general work rate is, I think him leading our press is constantly detrimental to our pressing structure and is a notable part in why teams find it so easy to cut through us. Ideally, I’d love us to find a way for him to play as a deeper 8 and change him from wanting to always create, create, create, to dominating and controlling games like a Modric. He seems to lack the discipline and press resistance to be this player though. He also needs to snap out of this obsession with these trivelas / outside of the boot passes and shots, it’s honestly bizarre.

Even though he has signed this contract extension, I still think there will be interest from Saudi come the summer. He’s in the driving seat though now due to the extension, so if he doesn’t want to go then he has every right to stick out his contract. Dream for me would be to replace him in the summer with someone like Arda Guler if he becomes available.
 
DSG said:
There is a pretty decent argument that Bruno is still a very good, if not great player and it’s manager issues that have him underperforming. Rashford’s another example. Not taking a position, just mentioning it.
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It's not necessarily an either-or-situation we are looking at. ETH might very well be not the manager to lift us into the upper echelons but that doesn't have to mean, that Bruno and Rashford are just fine. It is a bit of conundrum here - those two in combination fit each other so well: Rashford is at his best, when he has much space to run into, he is fast, his first touch is fine and his finishing is good too. Bruno on the other hand has the vision and the ability to hit precise passes is courageous enough to hit one after the other ball into space for Rashford to run onto and often times it works. Every manager will be tempted to make use of that. Our issue is, that this approach is pretty one-dimensional and, for multiple reasons, we never managed to implement alternative routes.
JeffFromHK said:
Ronaldo/Rooney were not exactly "counter attack" players and Ancelotti was not exactly a "counter attack" coach.

Ability to score from counter attacks =/= playing a lowblock RELYING on counterattacks to score goals. Man City and Liverpool scored a lot from counter attacks as well but no one call them "counter attack teams"

Both Rashford and Bruno do not fit any tactics that can win us a big trophy (CL or PL). It is down to their personal shortcomings.

I believe I dont need to waste next 5 min of my life explaining how they are unfit right.
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Another conundrum with those two: I would agree that those tactics probably aren't enough to compete in those comps but they are definitely able to win a particular game. And this particular game might be a season decider or a final. I think, that is why the debate about those two is often so polarized - they are functional players, definitely able to win you games. But to establish a playstyle that is sustainable and effective over a period of time, that is debatable.
 
NZT-One said:
It's not necessarily an either-or-situation we are looking at. ETH might very well be not the manager to lift us into the upper echelons but that doesn't have to mean, that Bruno and Rashford are just fine. It is a bit of conundrum here - those two in combination fit each other so well: Rashford is at his best, when he has much space to run into, he is fast, his first touch is fine and his finishing is good too. Bruno on the other hand has the vision and the ability to hit precise passes is courageous enough to hit one after the other ball into space for Rashford to run onto and often times it works. Every manager will be tempted to make use of that. Our issue is, that this approach is pretty one-dimensional and, for multiple reasons, we never managed to implement alternative routes.

Another conundrum with those two: I would agree that those tactics probably aren't enough to compete in those comps but they are definitely able to win a particular game. And this particular game might be a season decider or a final. I think, that is why the debate about those two is often so polarized - they are functional players, definitely able to win you games. But to establish a playstyle that is sustainable and effective over a period of time, that is debatable.
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I agree, these two players are "moments" players, they are capable of scoring/assisting in those big moments (rashford got a great record against big 6 for example) hence got the limelight.

But these two players have their respective serious shortcomings that make them unfit to be part of title challengers (i.e. Real, Barca, Munich, City). Rashford can't shield the ball, (no longer) can dribble pass players, lacks that aggressiveness to fight for loose balls or enter into duels. Bruno can't shield the ball, can't turn with the ball, can't carry the ball, passing very inconsistent (poor at weighting the passes), poor at dictating tempo. and both of them are very patchy players. so they are extremely furious to watch when we are not winning (last night was an example, it was extremely frustrating to see bruno losing the possession very randomly when we chase a goal, or when rashford just freely let the opponent runs past him when we need to win the ball back) you can't win the league when your two "Star" players got 15 good games and 20 bad games every season.
 
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TheRedDevil'sAdvocate said:
On the other hand, according to Romano again i believe, the purported price tag INEOS have put on him is 100 million. If that's true, they had no other option really than to give him the extension and wages he wanted.
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I wasn't aware of this. I'd hate to think Ineos think he's that important, hopefully it's just greed.
TheRedDevil'sAdvocate said:
And i still don't get the whole thing about the consequences of him (and other high earners) leaving. I mean, what's the worst thing that can happen to us? Finish a campaign close to the middle of the PL table? Fail to win 60 points in a whole season?
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A soccer club is an ecosystem of personalities, just as in society. I can see how Bruno might have engendered himself to our ecosystem to the point where it feels like selling him is creating a void we can't afford. EtH has the clout off the pitch, but we still need somebody on the pitch to do that to lessen his influence.
TheRedDevil'sAdvocate said:
It's already happened with Bruno having the prominent role he has in the team. We are a midtable club as it is. When he (and Rashford) find a vein of good form, we look like a midtable club with a good shot at a top-four finish. But this is as good as it gets. Why can't we just get rid of all the big contracts and continue to invest in hungry young players who are also the right profiles for what we want to achieve? Then, when the foundations will be laid and it will be obvious where the extra quality is needed, fork out the cash to add a few ready-made solutions.
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I still think we can have a functional team with Bruno and Rashford in tow. EtH is getting a better sense of how to use Marcus because we have valuable players in the same position as him. Bruno will be harder to calibrate, Mount and Eriksen is what we have and the captaincy muddies things. I'll give Ineos a Mulligan on Bruno's contract, let's see what they do going forward with the likes of Mainoo and Garnacho.
 
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TheRedDevil'sAdvocate said:
The new contract/raise came after his agent began leaking to Romano and other "ITK" journalists as early as June that he had opened talks with several (but unnamed) big European clubs and that his client had yet to be convinced about INEOS' new project. For some reason, it's a tactic that always works when you're negotiating with United.
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They also did the whole PR offensive around the same time, with the Player's Tribune article and all the social media posts about how much he loves the club and fans.

Unsurprisingly, that tactic worked well and helped get the whole fanbase onside with the idea of giving him a new contract.
 
Hammondo said:
A player in his position needs to be very consistent at the core things under pressure, he's in the most central influential player in attack.
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Exactly. We can't build up any momentum because everything is so erratic in that area of the pitch for us.
 
daba said:
I’ve loved Bruno ever since his arrival but he’s been a highly frustrating player for us for 2 maybe 3 seasons now.

As good as his general work rate is, I think him leading our press is constantly detrimental to our pressing structure and is a notable part in why teams find it so easy to cut through us. Ideally, I’d love us to find a way for him to play as a deeper 8 and change him from wanting to always create, create, create, to dominating and controlling games like a Modric. He seems to lack the discipline and press resistance to be this player though. He also needs to snap out of this obsession with these trivelas / outside of the boot passes and shots, it’s honestly bizarre.

Even though he has signed this contract extension, I still think there will be interest from Saudi come the summer. He’s in the driving seat though now due to the extension, so if he doesn’t want to go then he has every right to stick out his contract. Dream for me would be to replace him in the summer with someone like Arda Guler if he becomes available.
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Yeah. At first I was against the extension, but I think I get the logic of it now. It's a £50k a week raise to get him to extend by a year, with a major benefit being it makes it easier to sell him next summer than if he were on the last year of his deal.

It could backfire if he is already declining heavily this year, which is one reason I'm really hoping he does well. He's likely to be overpaid the last year of the deal, but hopefully he gives us 1-2 more good years and then is sold for a handsome profit so we can get younger at the position.
 
Hammondo said:
A player in his position needs to be very consistent at the core things under pressure, he's in the most central influential player in attack.
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Yeah it's why it's maddening to me that people excuse him constantly doing stupid shit with the ball and losing it just because he's "trying things" but when our actual forwards do the same they get slated. It should be the other way around, I need the captain and world class attacking mid to be sharp as feck with the ball and precise so that my forwards can continue to try things and create goals.
 
bb8 said:
Yeah. At first I was against the extension, but I think I get the logic of it now. It's a £50k a week raise to get him to extend by a year, with a major benefit being it makes it easier to sell him next summer than if he were on the last year of his deal.

It could backfire if he is already declining heavily this year, which is one reason I'm really hoping he does well. He's likely to be overpaid the last year of the deal, but hopefully he gives us 1-2 more good years and then is sold for a handsome profit so we can get younger at the position.
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Hopefully we’ll look to sell him in the summer, ideally after a Europa League win so he can sign off in style.
 
daba said:
Hopefully we’ll look to sell him in the summer, ideally after a Europa League win so he can sign off in style.
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Nobody will pay his wages that he’s now on. We are stuck with him. We’ve just got to hope that he finds his form again as he ain’t going anywhere.
 
He was awful yesterday and can be frustrating sometimes but I’d rather him take risks than pass sideways for 90 minutes.

If he’s constantly losing the ball in dangerous areas and/or this leads to a clear chance for the opposition then it’s a different matter but I don’t think this is the case.
 
TsuWave said:
Not a big fan. Don’t think it’s a wise decision. Hope it works out
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Pickle85 said:
Honestly don't understand how a united fan can't be a big fan of our best player in the last, what, five years at least?
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The way Bruno plays football doesn't move me. Spray and pray with wanton negligence will work occasionally, sometimes even regularly over a period of time, but ultimately - I think we're a worse team for it.

I just don’t see him the way most United fans do. He had had a really good, maybe even exceptional, 18 months period when he first arrived here - which was when he built his reputation with large parts of the fanbase - but his limitations came to the forefront and he’s been, overall, average to poor for me since, with the odd/rare good game. Now I understand I’m in the minority, but my opinion of him has been consistent, and I’m not really looking for an argument - just answering your post - I don’t see him the way you do.
 
TsuWave said:
The way Bruno plays football doesn't move me. Spray and pray with wanton negligence will work occasionally, sometimes even regularly over a period of time, but ultimately - I think we're a worse team for it.

I just don’t see him the way most United fans do. He had had a really good, maybe even exceptional, 18 months period when he first arrived here - which was when he built his reputation with large parts of the fanbase - but his limitations came to the forefront and he’s been, overall, average to poor for me since, with the odd/rare good game. Now I understand I’m in the minority, but my opinion of him has been consistent, and I’m not really looking for an argument - just answering your post - I don’t see him the way you do.
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Fair enough and I understand the criticism, but to you he was only good for 18 months?
 
He's declining without a doubt, really hope INEOS are lining up his replacement behind scenes. The trouble is he feels absolutely zero pressure for his place in the team, never want a player who feels that comfortable.
 
I don’t think he’d have got that new contract if INEOS had been more established. Club couldn’t afford more turnover than what was already being planned and him and his agent exploited that.

Problem is we have undoubtedly seen the best of him, I don’t think he would stick around if he wasn’t playing though. Interesting to see how long will take to drop him if his form doesn’t improve.
 
Roboc7 said:
I don’t think he’d have got that new contract if INEOS had been more established. Club couldn’t afford more turnover than what was already being planned and him and his agent exploited that.

Problem is we have undoubtedly seen the best of him, I don’t think he would stick around if he wasn’t playing though. Interesting to see how long will take to drop him if his form doesn’t improve.
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Yep another case of INEOS arriving too late much like that ridiculous contract Rashford got too
 
Garethw said:
Nobody will pay his wages that he’s now on. We are stuck with him. We’ve just got to hope that he finds his form again as he ain’t going anywhere.
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The saving grace there is that when he engineered new contract talks - which I thought was quite surprising at the time - he said he'd only stay if the club wanted him to stay. So if he wants to retain that image he'll move if he's being phased out. Obviously with a contract no one else in European football will match, let alone at 30 years old, the only avenue is Saudi. I was actually hoping that when he started to publicly push for the new contract and sort of cornering the club making it appear that the club was only committed to a player in his 30th year with 2+1 years left on his deal if the club agreed a new deal, that we'd sell him for a top fee and carry on with constructing the team. Alas, INEOS made a huge mistake reminiscent of everything that's gone on in the last decade.
 
I cannot for the life of me understand why we gave him such a big raise - he's in his 30's, had years left on his contract, and wasn't exactly grossly underpaid. I'm confident about the new regime, but this was straight out of the Woodward/Arnold playbook.
 
TsuWave said:
The way Bruno plays football doesn't move me. Spray and pray with wanton negligence will work occasionally, sometimes even regularly over a period of time, but ultimately - I think we're a worse team for it.

I just don’t see him the way most United fans do. He had had a really good, maybe even exceptional, 18 months period when he first arrived here - which was when he built his reputation with large parts of the fanbase - but his limitations came to the forefront and he’s been, overall, average to poor for me since, with the odd/rare good game. Now I understand I’m in the minority, but my opinion of him has been consistent, and I’m not really looking for an argument - just answering your post - I don’t see him the way you do.
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I agree with this post. Never looks after the ball properly and thats why i am not a fan. He needs dropping so that we can at least see how the team functions without the randomness he adds to our buildup.
 
Maybe there was interest shown from suadi parties and there was understanding that if it failed to work out he'll move on the following season, doesn't make much sense why we did it otherwise as we've practically gotten rid of all the high earners whom he might have justifiably thought of as undeserving compared to his pay roll.
 
Red the Bear said:
Maybe there was interest shown from suadi parties and there was understanding that if it failed to work out he'll move on the following season, doesn't make much sense why we did it otherwise as we've practically gotten rid of all the high earners whom he might have justifiably thought of as undeserving compared to his pay roll.
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Hopefully that's the case
 
To be fair he creates a lot of chances, it's a shame as a team we've got unforgivably poor finishing. Imagine if we actually had someone lethal on the end of those chances?
 
Judas said:
To be fair he creates a lot of chances, it's a shame as a team we've got unforgivably poor finishing. Imagine if we actually had someone lethal on the end of those chances?
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Could have had but blew opportunities to sign any of then for a myriad of reasons, like I say thanks for 5 years but needs to be moved on next summer.
 
Judas said:
To be fair he creates a lot of chances, it's a shame as a team we've got unforgivably poor finishing. Imagine if we actually had someone lethal on the end of those chances?
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He's one of those poor finishers.
 
Judas said:
To be fair he creates a lot of chances, it's a shame as a team we've got unforgivably poor finishing. Imagine if we actually had someone lethal on the end of those chances?
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This often happens with players like Bruno who have decent stats in disappointing teams where people think “imagine how good his stats would be in a top team”. In reality, that is the level of those players and they usually wouldn’t get into or be revered by the teams. Now of course it Bruno creates a chance, he’d want Haaland and not Welbeck on the end of a chance, but I think being good at one thing - change creation - really skews the fact that he hurts us a lot to maintain his stats and isn’t goof enough as our star man in the long run.

We need to plan for the future as we aren’t challenging with Bruno in the team.
 
Been shocking since the start of the season. I don't care if he's the captain, why should he be undroppable?
 
Judas said:
To be fair he creates a lot of chances, it's a shame as a team we've got unforgivably poor finishing. Imagine if we actually had someone lethal on the end of those chances?
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I looked into this a while back and the truth is “chances created” can be a pretty flawed stat because it’s really just any pass that leads to a shot on target. So you could create 10 chances in a game with none being impressive if all of them were just passing it sideways to a winger who creates some space for himself and sends a shot on target.

His BCC (big chances created or actual sitters) was relatively equal to the other top creators in the league when I looked at the time. Which is great, but it also corrects the picture that’s often painted that Bruno has no equal creatively.
 
He will be world class in the next game. This is how Bruno has always been, inconsistent. He can be shit in one game and the next game world class. Herein lies the problem, this cause Man Utd to be inconsistent too. Hence, we need a consistent world class creative player to lift Man Utd to City or Arsenal level. Bruno is not the answer.
 
Bobby_2024 said:
I am emotionally invested a lot on Rashford and Bruno that I always wanted them do well, but I am losing the hope and getting into thinking like they are hindering our progress. Not sure if others also feeling the same way lately.

Eriksen is not the answer but he he proving that what a top class midfielder in prime age can do in middle of the park just like Garancho on the wings.
so we should look at replacing Bruno/Rashford to be honest to become a better team overall.
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Agree with this summation Bruno is the epitome of diminishing returns, he adds value at mass when you assess his G/A and stat contributions but he offsets so much of that influence through his general poor play.

I understand the argument that creative players lose the ball more frequently due to taking risks but when others contrast this with someone like De Bryune, it's a completely different set of circumstances. One plays under the structure of a world class team centered around a world class manager and the other does not.

In other terms, De Bryune losing the ball isn't a detriment to City to the extent that a loss of possession is to United a team that has cohesively struggled to control and commandeer games of football in the last two years.

It's the same narrative with Fernandes since he's become a more senior member of the team, terrible throughout 90 but can be prolific on occasion in a moment during the game.

Objectively I disagree with his contract extension but the consensus behind the decision makes sense with the current manager.

The issue for INEOS is more when (not if) Erik is eventually sacked, does the new coach favor Fernandes despite his short-comings...
 
Yakuza_devils said:
He will be world class in the next game. This is how Bruno has always been, inconsistent. He can be shit in one game and the next game world class. Herein lies the problem, this cause Man Utd to be inconsistent too. Hence, we need a consistent world class creative player to lift Man Utd to City or Arsenal level. Bruno is not the answer.
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Agree we need a world class creative player, but that alone will not get us anywhere near City or Arsenal. This team just doesn’t have enough goals in it. Forget Barnsley, that was a mis-match.
 
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