We will never win a midfield battle with Bruno Fernandes in the middle

Mainoldo

New Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2004
Messages
22,965
Now I’m sure we all know I’ve never been fond of him. He did have a good season last year and he is a main part of our team.

However is key attributes and differences are the main reasons why ETH cannot implement his tactics successfully. He is a liability out of possession and makes his midfield partners look weak due to the persistent of having to cover the ground he keeps leaving open. This is been an issue since McFred and if we don’t stick him out of the way adding another midfielder to occupy the 8 we will continue to be dominated in the midfield.

Discuss.
 
Mount - Casemiro - Mainoo midfield seems like enough legs and creativity, would love to see that combination if all mentioned are fit again. It's super hard to tell atm, as outside of Hojlund maybe not a single player have shown consistent form, glimpses here and there only.
 
Mainoldo said:
Now I’m sure we all know I’ve never been fond of him. He did have a good season last year and he is a main part of our team.

However is key attributes and differences are the main reasons why ETH cannot implement his tactics successfully. He is a liability out of possession and makes his midfield partners look weak due to the persistent of having to cover the ground he keeps leaving open. This is been an issue since McFred and if we don’t stick him out of the way adding another midfielder to occupy the 8 we will continue to be dominated in the midfield.

Discuss.
Click to expand...

Its like Sanchez at Arsenal, great numbers but also gives the ball away in ridiculous situations.

Maybe stick him on the right and put Mount in the 10 role? Mount is great at pressing and regaining possession but just lacks a goal threat.

Unfortunately neither are making it easy for the manager with their form.
 
I also have not been a fan of his but his numbers are elite levels. If only he can be a little less risky. Take an extra touch or look to retain the ball sometimes.
 
I reckon Bruno and Rashford are one of the reason why ETH said he wants to be create "the best transition team in the world"

Bruno being such a key part of the system is why we look like a Ole team at times too. ETH needs to drop him when Mount comes back
 
Weird how he excels for Portugal in a possession team
 
I have been one of brunos biggest critics when usually things aren’t going well he is one of the first to drop tools. But this season maybe the armband he is still showing a lot of effort. I do however think he should be playing as a 10 where he can do damage but we don’t have that luxury at the minute
 
He is one of the key players preventing us from turning into a possession team that is capable of controlling the ball in the oppositions half consistently. Managers come in and see the likes of him and Rashford as key players and implement a style that fits them rather than any other style. The problem is then made worse by the manager signing players that fit said system meaning any transition towards a possession control style in the future is further delayed.

He is a problem but simply replacing him won't remedy the issues this squad has. It needs a complete remodel from the foundations up if we ever want to consistently control games.
 
PlayerOne said:
I reckon Bruno and Rashford are one of the reason why ETH said he wants to be create "the best transition team in the world"

Bruno being such a key part of the system is why we look like a Ole team at times too. ETH needs to drop him when Mount comes back
Click to expand...
What about Rashford?
 
Of all the problems we have right night, Bruno is way down the list.

Ten Hag should be pairing him up with two midfielders who value ball possession. If he is still giving the ball away then, perhaps address the issue, but for now, the form of Casemiro and Ericksen should be the focus.
 
I don't agree with the thread title and I'm happy to see how it goes with some combination of Mount, Casemiro, Amrabat and Mainoo taking up the other two positions.
 
Of all the players in our team, hes the least of our problem. Yes he gives away posession a lot, but in 21/22 and 22/23 he had a higher pass % than KDB despite playing more forward passes, in 20/21 KDB had the higher number.

Playing as a CAM means you will often try risky passes and most will end in nothing, hes shown emphatically he can be neat and tidy in posession if he needs to. In fact, in purely techincal ability, who in our current squad is better?
 
Bobcat said:
Of all the players in our team, hes the least of our problem. Yes he gives away posession a lot, but in 21/22 and 22/23 he had a higher pass % than KDB despite playing more forward passes, in 20/21 KDB had the higher number.

Playing as a CAM means you will often try risky passes and most will end in nothing, hes shown emphatically he can be neat and tidy in posession if he needs to. In fact, in purely techincal ability, who in our current squad is better?
Click to expand...

I don't think he's great at retaining possession when we need to. If we are under pressure or whatnot he tends to keep trying Hollywood passes instead of having the composure to slow the game and re-establish some control. In that sense, I think KDB comes across as a more mature footballer.
 
sparx99 said:
I don't think he's great at retaining possession when we need to. If we are under pressure or whatnot he tends to keep trying Hollywood passes instead of having the composure to slow the game and re-establish some control. In that sense, I think KDB comes across as a more mature footballer.
Click to expand...

He showed a different side to his game when he played deeper on the few occasions last season though. He's more than capable, he's doing what he's doing because the coaches and management want him to do that.
 
This thread is basically a repeat of discussion from the main Bruno thread.

Any discussions on pass%, chances created etc etc., will be dismissed with arguments like "how many assists?", "how many trophies?" etc etc.

Any discussion on team without Bruno will be dismissed by arguments like "This team is already setup to play Bruno-ball and hence will not work"

The only solution seems to be changing the entire squad or at least 70% of the squad or some big % like that. Which is a moot point, because we are not having the money to buy a few players (FFP) and hence relying on loans and sales and most of our players are unsellable.

In short, we are talking about an imaginary world where ETH is still the coach and we are a possession based team with quality players in every position in perfect sync with ETH's tactics.
 
I don't think it's just Bruno in fairness. I think Bruno - Casemiro - Eriksen is too lightweight. Maybe Bruno - Amrabat - Casemiro is the way going forward.

I think Casemiro has that eye for goal and has a clever pass in him in that final third. If Amrabat could be that glue in the middle then it may give a different feel.

If we're trying to excel at transition, I don't think we can do that without Bruno and Rashford. Both of them are sloppy in possession and are moments players, but we'd also have very little attacking impetus without them.

As much maligned as he is, I also think Antony gives us much more balance when he's playing with his ability to retain possession on the right and carry the ball for us.

I think without the likes Antony and a soft centre with Eriksen and Lindelof exposes the bad that comes with a player like Bruno. For me, the focus shifts to EtH and how he balances the team with enough grit and defensive ability in order to have the luxury players like Bruno and Rashford. Currently, that's not happening, whether through poor recruiting, team selection and injuries.

If you play Bruno and Rashford, you have to accept you're going to lose the ball and mitigate that with more ball winners in your team. AWB is a loss in that sense too. I don't think we can point the finger at one player, it's a combination of things.
 
I'm not his biggest fan

not press resistant, technically poor in terms of dribbling/can't carry the ball, wasteful with possession. Productive though.
 
Another unnecessary thread based on "feels" rather than facts.

"My point of view is so revelationary, I can't just post it in the Bruno performance thread".

Bigger problem for me is Eriksen, love the guy but he shouldn't be starting any games for United anymore.
 
I honestly think it has to do with personnel and, to a certain extent, coaching. I think he would look better on a team like Liverpool pinging Hollywood balls to Salah, Diaz, and co or a team with holding midfielders that excel at ball retention.
 
Swear @Rozay I think it was made this exact same thread a year or 2 ago when Bruno's stock was higher than it is now and he got mocked for it.
 
Who we have as a 6/8 is a much bigger problem than Bruno’s sloppiness. Casemiro likes to act as an 8 at times and with someone as hopeless as Eriksen out of possession it’s always a disaster waiting to happen. It was a painfully obvious problem last season and Fred was a solution to it, now he’s gone we brought in his replacement, Amrabat, far too late in the window. It should’ve been around the time we signed Mount (or in place of), it’s down to bad recruitment management.
 
It's funny that while the premise of this thread is... well, not necessarily right but you can certainly argue for that, but the arguments that you use are so wrong. In no way is he a liability out of possession and no, he doesn't leave his midfield partners overly exposed. His biggest issue is his inability to play in a slower tempo, he can't control the pace of the game, he always looks for a forward pass which is why he loses the ball so much (and creates so much simultaneously).

You can still build a well-functioning midfield with such a player but in all likelihood it won't be able to control the game in a way that City controls it (or Barca used to)... in fact, our last year's midfield with in-form Casemiro wasn't that far off – we've missed one key player (who wasn't named Mason Mount) to glue our midfield together with his ball-carrying ability and pace-setting passing (there's a reason as to why we've chased Frenkie De Jong so desperately).

Even De Bruyne (albeit being a better and a more all-rounded player than Bruno) was criticised for similarly overly-vertical approach by Pep... yet he has built around him in a way that maximises his potential and mitigates his weaknesses, if you can call them that. Be it by using David Silva or Bernardo Silva who excel at keeping possession and provide way more control (alongside the likes of Fernandinho and Rodri who were/are also amazing at it).

Can we win a midfield battle with Bruno in a team? Absolutely. Should we ideally target a slightly different player to succeed him? Someone in the mould of Odegaard (not that it's realistic) or Wirtz? Yep.
 
Phil said:
Goals and assists. Feel free to use Google for specific stats though
Click to expand...
Against cannon fodder like Luxembourg the other week. Tell me again how does he excel against quality opponents?
 
Amsterdam Devil said:
Ten Hag should put him on the right the way he let Ziyech play from the right side at Ajax.
Click to expand...
He’s not a right winger. It fecks up the balance of the side whenever he plays there because he floats about anyway. It creates another weakness, rather than a solution, making it easier for the opposition to concentrate on the other wing.
 
Phil said:
Weird how he excels for Portugal in a possession team
Click to expand...

it's not when international football is dire. Ronaldo is still scoring goals for Portugal while being 38 and plying his trade in Saudi.

Edit: I'm not saying he's good or bad with this statement, I'm just saying that how someone plays in International friendlies and qualifiers is not a yard stick to be measuring how successful a player would be in the Premier league.

Although I would love to upgrade him with Wirtz.
 
Last edited:
luke511 said:
He’s not a right winger. It fecks up the balance of the side whenever he plays there because he floats about anyway. It creates another weakness, rather than a solution, making it easier for the opposition to concentrate on the other wing.
Click to expand...

Ziyech wasn’t a right winger when Ten Hag started playing him there at Ajax, but is was much better for the balance in midfield and Ziyech excelled there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.