As reasonable as these isolated footballing opinions are, they have nothing to do with me disapproving of how Bruno looks after the ball, which is ultimately the purpose of this random debate. These views are no more valid than a view that Bruno could keep the ball better. I don’t even want to do the whole ‘I praised him too’ thing, because why should I have to, it’s there for all to see, but I included the things I like about Bruno in the very post that started this debate, but my voicing of the things I don’t was somehow greeted with some sort of cynicism.
Ultimately, having assessed the player over 100 games, I’ve always said that I feel Bruno is the 10 the team needed at the time when he joined, but it quickly became clear to me that he will not be the 10 that the team needs to become the best team in the league/Europe. He’s great for an Ole team, but an Ole team isn’t good enough. We likely would control football matches better with a Pep or a Klopp, but having watched Bruno - it is at that point where I feel that it will become more apparent that he isn’t what we need. He simply doesn’t have the skill set from what I’ve seen. I don’t expect him to become David Silva once we get Pep. I’d expect him to be replaced by David Silva once we get Pep. We can say that a certain type of manager can implement controlling football, but they do that with footballers that suit it. The coaches that have reputations for controlling midfields would prefer a Bernardo Silva to Bruno Fernandes is just my opinion. Not a particularly outrageous one either, if just looked at for what it is.
I don’t dislike the guy. But I also don’t think he’s as good as you do. Which I am not being sneaky or indirect about. I’m stating it directly at face value and explaining exactly why, as I have done for two years. There’s nothing more to what I write than what I write.
