Bruno Fernandes’ “Bad Season”

wise_old_man

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One of the most disrespected players I've seen. If he played for another team this forum would be in love with him. Very strange.
You're quite wrong there. If Bruno played for other Premier League teams, we would hate him pretty much. :lol:
 

SportingCP96

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He is a stat machine unlike any other midfielder in the world !

As a midfielder I’ve never seen someone with the numbers he has consistently year after year.
 

amolbhatia50k

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He had a very good game but I don't think end product tells the full story. He's had some really poor games this season.
 

Andersonson

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He hasn't had a good season. I don't care how many chances he's created.

He's been a great signing and ridiculously productive but lately Sancho, Pogba and Varane have been our best players.

The rolling around on the ground is annoying and I wish it would stop.
Sancho has been good since January, Pogba has barely featured this season and Varane has been ok, sick or injured. Very very weird take on the season
 

RedDevilCanuck

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Sancho has been good since January, Pogba has barely featured this season and Varane has been ok, sick or injured. Very very weird take on the season
I meant our best players lately.

Only DDG has had a good season so far.
 

SAFMUTD

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Thing with Bruno is he's "consistently inconsistent".

It seems he can't have a game where he doesn't give away cheap balls but also won't have a game where he doesn't create great chances.

The problem is that when things don't go our way it's frustrating to see him waste possession but when we win it's all honey. For a team like ours which doesn't have a proper playing structure and we depend on the so called "individual brilliance" having a player like Bruno es pure gold. I don't know if he would fit in a team like City or Liverpool though.
 

The United

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He had a very good game but I don't think end product tells the full story. He's had some really poor games this season.
I don't know if I can apply Pareto Principle/observation here in a very basic sense. About 2 or 3 players would win you a game while the rest are just there to support those.

Bruno is one of them in our team and I would be rating him based on his end products in general.
 

Martial

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We are lucky to have him. He deserves better than this team.

De Bruyne has had some really poor games this season and last. And that's playing in a functional team, with a stable world-class manager, and multiple world-class players supporting him. But the other players stepped up instead.
 

roonster09

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Bruno 21/22 - 73%
Bruno 20/21 - 74.6%
Bruno 19/20 - 71.3%

KDB - 21/22 - 75.5%
KDB - 20/21 - 76%
KDB - 19/20 - 74.6%

So roughly 73% versus 75% on average.
Good post, this is something I was saying from last 18 months. KdB's pass completion percentage improved once he started playing under Pep too (it's true for most players as they play lot of short passes) but the narrative is set and it won't change. Players with 75%, 77% pass completion are good enough to play for Pep but player with 73-74% isn't, because that one misplaced pass is too much for Pep.

Anyways there is a problem with how players are rated, people expect everyone to be a perfect player like a computer game. Concentrating on what they can't do instead of focusing on what are the things they do at elite level.

Bruno gets shit for his pass completion when he creates most chances in PL and also top 3 in quality of chances (7th in top 5 leagues)
Pogba gets shit for his defensive contribution when he is among the top players when it comes to ball progression and offensive contribution.

End of the day football is a team game. We hired managers who did a very poor job in making us playing as a team, which made players look worse by exposing their weakness. It should be other way around, team should be set up in such a way that players compliment each other.
 

SATA

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I don't like his moaning to his teammates when things don't come off, but he's such an integral part of whatever we do in attack. Still can't believe we had a free run at getting him when no one was genuinely interested
 

OmarUnited4ever

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Despite his numbers in goals and assists, which are good in and of itself, he had a lot of games where his overall performances were below par.

however, I still think he is our most important player, and with a quality DM+CM alongside him and quality CF ahead of him, he can be the best #10 in Europe.
 

Bebestation

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He doesn't play below form.

We have hardly looked good without him so it's more that the team is playing average and Bruno hasn't been able to do things by himself like everyone knows he can do.
 

OmarUnited4ever

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He doesn't play below form.

We have hardly looked good without him so it's more that the team is playing average and Bruno hasn't been able to do things by himself like everyone knows he can do.
This season, his finishing suffered a bit, missed couple of easy chances.
 

DJ_21

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I think a lot of people have been saying Fernandes is having a bad season because the team in general is… Fernandes has the same amount of goals as mane and a lot more assist then him in the league yet no one talks about mane not doing enough because there team are just good. Fernandes is the type of midfielder that will probably hit double figures most seasons… a goal scoring midfield which is what we definitely needed… brilliant player! Probably the best player at the club on form.
 

Toshey

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Hard working, passionate, full of talent, no matter if he has good or bad game, he always creates at least 2 100% chances.
This guy is the best thing that happened to us since Fergie retired.

Football fans are becoming weirder and weirder online. It’s like no player is allowed to have a bad touch to the ball.

There has never been a footballers who scores from every shot he takes or completes every pass he attempts. And there never will be, ffs.


People who actively criticise him really deserve to watch us with the likes of Pereira and Lingard in his position. They’ll keep it simple for sure…
 

fergiewherearethou

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He raised the bar so high during his first 18 months, that considering all the stats this season does not seem that great, apart from the last few games.
In reality he's our best player, without him we would be screwed. Him, Sancho and Pogba are the only ones capable of creating chances or moments of magic.
 

Golden Nugget

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In so glad for this thread, and most of the responses to it. He’s by far our most important player - and even when off form, produces and is everywhere on the pitch.
 
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There are actually posters that exist that say we should drop him :lol: Was debating with a few in the match day thread yesterday who wanted to bring him off at half time.

Some people are just a terrible at judging talent
 

RedStarUnited

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Thing with Bruno is he's "consistently inconsistent".

It seems he can't have a game where he doesn't give away cheap balls but also won't have a game where he doesn't create great chances.

The problem is that when things don't go our way it's frustrating to see him waste possession but when we win it's all honey. For a team like ours which doesn't have a proper playing structure and we depend on the so called "individual brilliance" having a player like Bruno es pure gold. I don't know if he would fit in a team like City or Liverpool though.
Was coming to say exactly this. He is great for us because we area chaotic team. KDB cant afford to waste the ball as much as he does, he wouldnt play in Peps team.
 

KeanoMagicHat

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Was coming to say exactly this. He is great for us because we area chaotic team. KDB cant afford to waste the ball as much as he does, he wouldnt play in Peps team.
He'd just play in a different position, he'd be considered a striker/false 9. Foden plays as a forward for Pep when most in England would have considered him a midfield, and De Bruyne even plays as a forward often given how he takes more risky passes.
 

kouroux

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Him being an extremely productive player and also a hardworking one, doesn't mean that the times he's been disappointing, wasteful and wreckless are figments of imagination.
All in all, I'm grateful and happy to have him in our team even if there are some things he could improve slightly without altering the player he is at his core
 

wise_old_man

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I don't like his moaning to his teammates when things don't come off, but he's such an integral part of whatever we do in attack. Still can't believe we had a free run at getting him when no one was genuinely interested
City had a clear run at KDB when no one in Europe had any interest too.
 

norm87cro

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With all the Maguire Ronaldo bs people forget who the real captain is and who pulled the club out of mediocrity while Pogba was busy blackmailing the club with his "injury".
 

romufc

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There are actually posters that exist that say we should drop him :lol: Was debating with a few in the match day thread yesterday who wanted to bring him off at half time.

Some people are just a terrible at judging talent
There are things I do not understand from people who claim to know football.

How someone can think he is a problem in our team? I mean he is the first name on the team sheet. How can a player be so good but divide the fan base so much?
 

James Peril

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Yes, every other game he is very good or exceptional. Every other game he can be piss poor, even if he chips in with an assist. Thing is, you’re not world class if you dip as much as him, consistency is as important as staying match-fit. There is a reason why Kevin de Bruyne plays for the best team in the league, don’t be daft enough to bring him into the conversation - he has carried City to another level for years when he manages to stay fit. KdB dictates pretty much every single game he plays like the other best players, Bruno does not. Before his little rise of form just now which leads to threads like this one, which I timed very well with Fantasy thank god, there was a lot of criticism and it was deserved. Really poor against the better teams as well, if it’s said about Lukaku we need to say it here too right?

He’s played roughly 25 games this season and failed to score or assist in 15 of them, despite being free to roam as he wishes with little care for positioning - frankly being very poor in many of those games, just check the post match threads. Nobody is doubting him when he scores or assists others like today and last week, but let’s not forget he doesn’t deliver in half of the games or more. I really hope he finds that extra level of consistency, as well as raising his bottom level a few notches, only then will I call him world class. Right now he’s a luxury player in that we have to accept terrible performances followed by match-winning performances, goals and assists. A strange player indeed, very difficult to place him.

For what it’s worth, a player does not have to assist or score to have a good game, far from it. However, Bruno is an attacking player, contributes very little elsewhere if he’s not on song.
 

tomaldinho1

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Thing with Bruno is he's "consistently inconsistent".

It seems he can't have a game where he doesn't give away cheap balls but also won't have a game where he doesn't create great chances.

The problem is that when things don't go our way it's frustrating to see him waste possession but when we win it's all honey. For a team like ours which doesn't have a proper playing structure and we depend on the so called "individual brilliance" having a player like Bruno es pure gold. I don't know if he would fit in a team like City or Liverpool though.
This is how I see him too but I do think he has more of a ‘team’ role now. Previously if he was bad, that was basically our sole goal threat gone, now the load is more spread out and Sancho is finding form, Fred is much more involved in goals, Elanga looks promising, Pogba is coming back, it does seem like offensively it’s a bit more of a team effort now.
 

eire-red

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I think it's moreso an illustration of our levels of expectation from him. He could be having a much better season. But you could say that about the majority of our squad really.
 

romufc

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Yes, every other game he is very good or exceptional. Every other game he can be piss poor, even if he chips in with an assist. Thing is, you’re not world class if you dip as much as him, consistency is as important as staying match-fit. There is a reason why Kevin de Bruyne plays for the best team in the league, don’t be daft enough to bring him into the conversation - he has carried City to another level for years when he manages to stay fit. KdB dictates pretty much every single game he plays like the other best players, Bruno does not. Before his little rise of form just now which leads to threads like this one, which I timed very well with Fantasy thank god, there was a lot of criticism and it was deserved. Really poor against the better teams as well, if it’s said about Lukaku we need to say it here too right?
This is a poor explanation tbh. The reason everyone rates KDB is because he plays for the best team. I have seen City win leagues with KDB injured and hit 90+ points. I have seen Bruno carry United to top 4.

So to say KDB dictates play, is actually false because you can watch City with/without KDB and they will play the exact same way.

United without Bruno create nothing.
 

abraz79

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Bruno Fernandes slightly higher risk gameplay is what makes things interesting. And the numbers don't lie, he's essential in this team.

I know it's frustrating when a player misses a pass, but you can't get his output without him risking missing passes.

On a more consistent team, he would be the star. On a team that is in really poor form and confidence, sometimes he can be the only force pulling us forward. But he will always be a team player, so there's a limit to what he can do. Most of the good things he can do, requires interacting with other players and those be on par with him. He's not a dribbling forward that can just solve a game alone.

But I guess most people think that a world class player must be a Ronaldinho, CR7, Messi, etc...

It's undeniable that sometimes, Bruno Fernandes is the only player on the field trying to do something extraordinary to go again't the negative flow of the match. And that can make him be a "try hard" and try to force things through. And with that make more mistakes.

But what we watch and what the numbers say, is that Manchester United is a better team with him, than without him.
 
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MUFC OK

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Best United signing post Sir Alex by a long long way. Fantastic player.
 

Longshanks

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He is a player who even if he is having a bad game can produce moments that win matches for you, he never hides he always wants the ball and he is always trying his passes. Can be a little 'soft' on the ball sometimes and sometimes gets a bit overly emotional. But you can't argue with his numbers.
 
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There are things I do not understand from people who claim to know football.

How someone can think he is a problem in our team? I mean he is the first name on the team sheet. How can a player be so good but divide the fan base so much?
I think it is largely ‘romantic’ fans who highly overrate products of our youth academy and severely under rate our signings. I say that as the same posters wanted McTominay to stay on the pitch.
 

tyunited

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Has had a massive impact for us on the pitch and in the dressing room but there's so many ways he can improve especially by doing the simple things right most if not all the time.
 

cyberman

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It’s the red shirt isn’t it?
Yeah, it doesn’t make sense. KDB has been a lesser carrion of himself for a long time. Automatically putting KDB above his rivals doesn’t really apply anymore. 2 assists in the league this year tells a story