Today was the day that Fernandes showed in a game when they’re both playing at the same time he’s on the same level as De Bruyne even though they’re different players, I think what helped today though was others around Fernandes actually working as hard and us working as a team in a system instead of individuals all over the place.
Fernandes Vs De Bruyne
- Thread starter Jacky Quacky
- Start date
Yes, our match plan was very effective in nullifying some of their threats, however it is in games like these, huge cup finals, where you need your best player to overcome the opposition's tactics and to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. Too often De Bruyne has gone missing in these important matches. This is why (as a side-note) he does not make it anywhere near my all time PL 11. He's way behind Keane in terms of winning mentality.
I'd sign every word of that. I only get uncomfortable when your take is then re-shuffled into "Bruno has one over KDB" or something. But I guess, you know what I mean. After all, you are just as much a warden of that specific thread than I am...
Yawn. I understand the difference between downplaying and not joining in singing praise. You do both. You're clearly not going to own it so there's probably no point in continuing this.
De bruyne dropped a performance Casemiro would get pelters for, in the final. Looked miles off it and over the hill.
You people are really unbelievable. I know all fandoms are reactionary but this is the type of stuff other fandoms like Liverpool/Arsenal are made fun of for on here 
Let’s chalk it up to the high of winning.
Let’s chalk it up to the high of winning.Lets do me a favor. As you have made the effort to check my post history, do me a favor and tell me where the criticism towards Bruno was. Maybe you have re-check my post history, I am the last person not to own an honest mistake but I can't something that isn't there. And as I think there wasn't anything to criticise Bruno for today, I am pretty sure I haven't made a post.
I didn't say you'd criticized him. You're very careful in your posts about Bruno (of which there are many, which is odd for someone that professes not to have a strong opinion on him) not to criticise him overtly. I said you downplay his performances.
And most ball losses according to sofascore
I like Bruno but I look forward to Sancho is better than Vinicius if Sancho gets MOTM in the CL final. KDB has been better than Bruno every year they’ve been in the league bar the first one. And I fully believe we should keep Bruno and base the team around him too.
Careful or measured? Or moderate?
Well we all have our weaknesses I guess. I get triggered when I read certain stuff. Not proud of it but it is what it is. Still don't think that I have a particular strong opinion on the player. I just see dumb arguments and feeling the need to chip in. Applies to many posters on here - Bruno thread is full of them, not sure how many would admit like I just did.
Honestly, why would I be "careful"? Is there some danger connected with the "wrong" opinion?
Downplaying means that I know the performance had a certain quality and I intentionally depict the performance worse than I think it really was to make the player look worse than he actually was to gain something I guess. When you say "You downplay this and that" that is an accusation. And obviously that will lead to me getting defensive.
I don't "downplay". I just see performances different than you. If you think, Bruno played great today, so be it. I'll encourage you to have the same level of acceptance towards me. Be ensured I read the thread here and the other Bruno threads as well. I am happy to overthink my stance when I notice that I have missed things.
FYI
1. Quotation: No downplaying at all. I responded to somebody who listed a few stats of Brunos performance - I added another stat. Sorry if that bothered you. Not sure why though - I guess because I added a rather negative one. But I guess when you are already looking for hidden motivations in posts, things are stressful.
2. Quotation: I have no clue, what the downplaying part is supposed to be... I liked his assist and mentioned his good decision making. I can only assume it bothered you because you felt different but, as we established already, you can hardly criticize me for not having the same perception than you.
For the record and without any hidden agendas or motivations or anything: I didn't think it we have seen a great game today. We had a simple plan that was suprisingly effective ending in us not having the ball all too much. City was reduced by whatever reasons (our tactics, their bad or missing preparation) to slowly passing it around without much intensity. We went in front from an obvious miscommunication by two City players. Scored another with a good counter where City really showed lack of commitment. Other than that, the game was hardly stunning. Nobody stood out positively or negatively - in my eyes at least.
If you feel differently because you expected us to be worse or you expected City to be better, that is fine. If you think we were great because the result was great or that it won us a title, thats fine. I don't take that into consideration when I look back on the individual performances. I haven't seen anybody perform better or worse than I expect them to be. Which is a 5 rating for me btw. A few players suprised me positively today, not too much but slightly. They ended up with with a 6 rating, namely Onana, Varane, Mainoo and Garnacho. FYI, I would have rated most City players also with 5s today, probably apart from Doku who would get a 6 and apart from Ortega and Haaland who would end up with 3 or 4.
This is how I see it. That is not downplaying stuff that is me trying to be as objective as I can be in my eyes. Knowing that all my biases and subjectiveness is in full effect. If you don't agree, I'll live with that. But don't accuse me of stuff. This is the whole agenda contra top red conflict all over again.
You define downplaying as you see it and then go on to deny doing it, despite those two quotes showing you doing exactly that. The first you claim to be adding context, when it's clear you're trying to use it to detract from a really good performance - downplaying it. Again, the second you say 'Extremely well and excellent - I guess that sort of vocabulary is kept for special occasions to me.' - clearly downplaying his performance. You don't think he played particularly well, which is fine (wrong, but fine, in my opinion) but when everyone else says he did and you're the lone voice detracting from the performance then yes, you'll be accused of trying to downplay his performance.
5/10s for the team across the board, except for Varane, mainoo, Onana and Garnacho is ludicrous. All the more so when Onana was fine but completely at fault for the goal conceded. Martinez was at least a 6/10, ditto Bruno and AWB at the very, very least. We all have favourites but that doesn't seem very objective to me...
5/10s for the team across the board, except for Varane, mainoo, Onana and Garnacho is ludicrous. All the more so when Onana was fine but completely at fault for the goal conceded. Martinez was at least a 6/10, ditto Bruno and AWB at the very, very least. We all have favourites but that doesn't seem very objective to me...
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The assist to Kobbie was outrageous. Even in real time I didn't see that being on. I cant stress how incredible that pass was.
I love Bruno, but KDB is better. However, Bruno is the next best thing after him in that #10 position, if you want a chance creation monster profile, like the Belgian. In this regard, the likes of Musiala, Foden, Wirtz and Odegaard can't really chat to him.
Overall, he's world class and at least top 5 in his position.
Overall, he's world class and at least top 5 in his position.
KDB is on another level
KdB was obviously the better player but Bruno is brilliant. And I wouldn't swap him for KdB now...looks like the Belgian's downward slope is picking up pace. What a player he's been.
KDB is clearly better, but Bruno plays every game and runs his socks off too. For a dysfunctional team like ours that probably counts for a lot
Bruno was excellent yesterday, but I still think that you need to either sell him or put him on some kind of leash, to benefit the team
He would have been a monster under Klopp.
Bruno’s been better this season and KDB seems to be declining so I’d say no.
And De Bruyne has dropped a few levels this season after his serious long term injury, he's 33 in a month and his time at City is coming to an end.
Bruno did have a great game though and that assist was something any version of De Bruyne would have been proud of.
Yeah a lower one
Stupid knee jerk reaction based on 1 game
Look at any worlds top midfielder ranking, KDB usually ranked 1 if not top 4 all time .…doubt you’ll find Bruno ranked anywhere.
KDB is casper the ghost in finals and pressure cooker games.
We really don't. Alexander-Arnold gives the ball away a lot as well, but I assume you don't think you should sell him to benefit the team?
Kdb is one of the best attacking midfielders in the last 20 years or so, and few better before that I can think of. Sure, he plays in a great team, but he’s been vital for that team to excel. Bruno has been great in a dysfunctional team. Kind of like how Gerrard was great for Liverpool, in some ways.
I’d put KdB ahead of Bruno, but it’s a little closer than some would argue. In a more functional United, Bruno would shine even brighter. In a worse City aide, I don’t see KdB elevating himself further.
I’d put KdB ahead of Bruno, but it’s a little closer than some would argue. In a more functional United, Bruno would shine even brighter. In a worse City aide, I don’t see KdB elevating himself further.
KDB is a lot better.
There is no contest at all, christ winning one game really has deluded some people
Stupid knee jerk reaction based on 1 game
Look at any worlds top midfielder ranking, KDB usually ranked 1 if not top 4 all time .…doubt you’ll find Bruno ranked anywhere.
It wasn't serious. KDB is overall the better player, that should be obvious.
Honestly, with the way that Conor Bradley performed whilst he was out, I'd sacrifice some of what TAA offers if it means we get a dedicated top notch DM...obviously assuming we'd get c.85 - 100M for TAA
Agreed! It'd be like Gerrard under Benitez or Beckham under Fergie....players like that want to affect the game as much as possible, but sometimes need focusing into what they are really good at, to get the best out of them.
De Bruyne is better but he's 32. Showing a few creaks this season - I wouldn't be swapping them at this stage!
It was special wasn't it Ive watched it about 40 times now and I still can't get over it.
Bruno was so much better in this final, there is no comparison. KDB had a very bad day.
Which proves that even the best players will have bad days. Actually, top players have multiple bad or mediocre days (except for peak Messi or Ronaldo!). That's why you need 5 or 6 world class players in your team. On any given day, 5 of them may do nothing special, but the 6th will do something outrageous, and he will win you the game. Bruno is a great player for us, now we need to find another 5 world class players, and then we can challenge for the top of the league.
Which proves that even the best players will have bad days. Actually, top players have multiple bad or mediocre days (except for peak Messi or Ronaldo!). That's why you need 5 or 6 world class players in your team. On any given day, 5 of them may do nothing special, but the 6th will do something outrageous, and he will win you the game. Bruno is a great player for us, now we need to find another 5 world class players, and then we can challenge for the top of the league.
That’s one way to look at it. He just met a really tight defensive unit and some players working their ass off in midfield imo. He never got space to show his creativity.
His touch was also noticably poor for his standards and when he did get space, his crossing was shite. He got hooked for good reason. That doesn't mean he's still not one of the greatest players to have played in the prem.
Imagine the fury on here if Bruno had strolled off when we were 2-0 down, then seen giggling picking up the runners up medal.
De Bruyne at his best is a level above Bruno and any other player of that type in the world over the past 5 years or so..
And I rate Bruno very highly. He is a percentage player though. He tries the most difficult option because the reward is higher if it comes off.
De Bruyne has those same passes/goals in his locker but is also a much more rounded and game intelligent player.
What I do think though is that people won't fully appreciate Bruno until we have to replace him and can't with anyone nearly as effective. A bit like when you think back to Wayne Rooney on a bad season (excluding his last couple of years) and realise he still banged in 10-20 goals and came up with more game changing moments than anyone else.
And I rate Bruno very highly. He is a percentage player though. He tries the most difficult option because the reward is higher if it comes off.
De Bruyne has those same passes/goals in his locker but is also a much more rounded and game intelligent player.
What I do think though is that people won't fully appreciate Bruno until we have to replace him and can't with anyone nearly as effective. A bit like when you think back to Wayne Rooney on a bad season (excluding his last couple of years) and realise he still banged in 10-20 goals and came up with more game changing moments than anyone else.
Is this a hypothetical world where Bruno had also been our best player driving us towards countless League titles and a Champions league beforehand?
I reckon we might take a more charitable view.
Bruno has been our best player in the last 5 years. The reason we did not win the league in these past 5 years is not Bruno, is everyone else. Bruno is comparable to KDB, but ETH is far behind Pep, Hojlund is far behind Haaland, Antony is far behind ... well, everyone! And so on.
KdB had an off day and anyway I don't think it was Bruno who cancelled him out... more a combination of Scotty, Mainoo and Amrabat