Is it sensible to carry on with Bruno as the focal point of our team next season?

LDUred

Full Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2019
Messages
1,869
You are always going to have risk takers in possession, and Bruno is absolutely one of those.

One of the reasons why some fans ended up booing Giggs was because he gave the ball away a lot, but that was generally through taking risks in possession in order to create chances. It doesn't excuse booing a player as brilliant as Giggs, which was pathetic given his contribution to the club, but it explains why the likes of Bruno take a lot of flak when they go through a rough patch: it seems like they are constantly stuffing things up even though they are just trying to make something happen.

Despite only having three assists this seasson, he's apparently created more chances in the league this season than, well, anybody.

Just give him time and he will be back. He's a creative player and when creative players go through lapses in form, it's more exaggerated because they are not there to play percentage passes.
 

Desert Eagle

Punjabi Dude
Joined
Sep 25, 2006
Messages
17,246
He's just not that good. Replacing him with a good midfielder will transform our team.
 

Judas

Open to offers
Joined
Jun 28, 2010
Messages
36,132
Location
Where the grass is greener.
Said it before Ten Hag took over still feel it now really, I don't see how he fits and works if we want to play a brand of football with more discipline and control.

Doesn't look like he's got any great desire to replace him though, made him captain, plays him every week. When Mount was fit, he still didn't get a chance in Bruno's position. I'm not even saying Mount would do better there, but I'd be interested in seeing how it went.
 

afatzp

Full Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2016
Messages
236
It looks to me Bruno has past his prime. It's not only today, but by the season so far you see him basically could not finish easy chances and misplace lots of passes below par. When he just came he actually has some speed but now he just moves like Van der Beek. We may have run him to the ground and lead to this decline , but Bruno 's quality has dropped massively and I think we should move him on if Saudi offer arrives.
 
Last edited:

Florida Man

Cartoon expert and crap superhero
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
13,915
Location
Florida, man
If the price is right, I’d say get it done and move him on this summer. We have to sooner or later learn how to sell players who are no longer at their peak but not washed either.

But because of his really good fitness and injury record, I wouldn’t mind him to remain another year provided we try out some different options to start—maybe Hannibal and Gore play a big part next season. We still need the depth and we still might need to set up to counterattack against certain teams.
 

tenpoless

No 6-pack, just 2Pac
Joined
Oct 20, 2014
Messages
16,346
Location
Ole's ipad
Supports
4-4-2 classic
Time to use his age as an excuse to transform him. Into a more composed midfielder than a gungho type of AM.
 

Licha-Vidic

Last Man Standing 2 finalist 2023/24
Joined
Jan 9, 2023
Messages
1,372
He will be 30 years by September this year but he has played only once in Knockout Champions League Football.

Once. In round of 16.

He has never played in QF of champions league in his life, he has never been involved in a title race in his life :D :D but miraculously he will lead us to winning big trophies like UCL or PL.

Talk about being delusional.

A top 6 player at best, Europa league quality. The earlier we move him the better for the football club
 

NewGlory

United make me feel dirty. And not in a sexy way.
Joined
Jul 13, 2019
Messages
4,357
I am ready to see him dropped when Mount comes back, to see how Mount can deal with #10.

Bruno has been playing as #10 every game, getting no competition for the position and that clearly hasn't helped him. His games are barely average, when what we need is excellence
 

Jeppers7

Pogfamily Mafia
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
7,435
Hopefully ETH has a plan to transform the way we play, Ineos sort out our recruitment and we sell players who are holding us back.

Bruno is still living off positive regard from his first six months. He’s been abysmal for most of his time here. His ratio of actual good games, not high stats, to poor is ridiculous and we’ve not been worse over a four year period since the 80s.

It’s time to move on, he gave us a great first six months where he was sensational. He gave us hope and always gives his all…but the standard of his performances in general are bad. He has so many weaknesses and even his strengths are weaknesses most of the time.

Ultimately our scouts have been proven right.
 

Borys

Statistics Wizard
Joined
May 10, 2013
Messages
9,103
Location
Bielsko Biala, Poland
We're basically limping through games now without Bruno delivering, so makes sense to think of moving him on soon. In his prime it was the right decision to build around him, IMO Ole did really well to build a hard working midfield behind him at that time. But what ETH is asking his midfielders to do, I think Mount will be a much better fit, and even with MM I am not convinced if he's the guy long term.
 

Murder on Zidane's Floor

You'd better not kill Giroud
Joined
Jun 11, 2015
Messages
28,670
I love him and have enjoyed him being here but if RVN only got five seasons and Jaap only got three then I think we can let him go.

Cracking player but not suited to modern, controlled football.
 

Lentwood

Full Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2015
Messages
6,840
Location
West Didsbury, Manchester
He's had some truly awful games this season but overall I think there's still more good than bad in his game.

I think a mobile DM and a more aggressive pair of CBs would help. Currently having a high-risk passer like Bruno leaves us wide open at times, but you can generally afford one player in that category if the rest of the team are squeezing the space and physically good on the cover.
 

Lu Tze

Full Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2012
Messages
3,243
Unbelievable player about 3-4 years ago when he could actually shoot and find the space and time to execute his passes. He's lost half a step and he's overcompensating in the wrong direction - becoming even more aggressive and playing like a kid on FIFA who only wants to play through balls.

He needs to re-evaluate his style and start valuing the football a lot more if he is going to be a viable starter as he gets older.

Unfortunately I don't think he has the capacity to do that so it's time to move him into a bench/impact player role, that or move him on.
 
Last edited:

foolsgold

Full Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2008
Messages
1,689
Location
Aotearoa
There's been some great moments in his time here, even this season some of his forward passing has been sublime, but what you see is what you get, there's been no development in his game during his time here. He's never going to be anything other than what he is. It can be really effective in a counter attacking side, but he's always going to infuriate with his decision making, that 93rd minute shot at Luton is an obvious example.

Two years left on his contract on silly wages, if Al-Hilal come back in the summer we should look to ease him out of the club.
 

Oranges038

Full Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2020
Messages
12,244
I've said quite a few times if he actually played with more composure and less off the cuff he'd be a better player. Rui Costa is the player he should be looking at and he could be that effective in a team if he was willing to be more of a team player on the ball.
 

M16Red

Full Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
3,208
Plant0x84 said:
:lol: Which is why he made him captain?!!!
Click to expand...
Who else could he give it to?

Rashford? Scott McTominay? Shaw?

Ole said himself:
Some weren’t as good as their own perception of themselves. I won’t name names, but I was very disappointed when a couple turned down the chance to be captain.
 

Matt851

Full Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2016
Messages
2,126
Tyrion said:
He's definitely flawed but he's still one of our better players. I don't see the point in selling him unless it's for a LOT of money and/or we have a good replacement ready. We've bigger problems.
Click to expand...
Not sure I agree, we do have problems all over the pitch but Bruno's wastefulness is a key cause of our inability to control games. His attacking output has plummeted and without that he is just a waste of space
 

Matt851

Full Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2016
Messages
2,126
LDUred said:
You are always going to have risk takers in possession, and Bruno is absolutely one of those.

One of the reasons why some fans ended up booing Giggs was because he gave the ball away a lot, but that was generally through taking risks in possession in order to create chances. It doesn't excuse booing a player as brilliant as Giggs, which was pathetic given his contribution to the club, but it explains why the likes of Bruno take a lot of flak when they go through a rough patch: it seems like they are constantly stuffing things up even though they are just trying to make something happen.

Despite only having three assists this seasson, he's apparently created more chances in the league this season than, well, anybody.

Just give him time and he will be back. He's a creative player and when creative players go through lapses in form, it's more exaggerated because they are not there to play percentage passes.
Click to expand...
The better players can choose their moments when to play high risk passes or slow down the play. Bruno can't and one of the most frustrating things is how often he misplaces simple passes. His performances against the best teams have also been laughably bad
 

Plant0x84

Shame we’re aren’t more like Brighton
Joined
Jun 23, 2020
Messages
13,201
Location
Carpark and snack area adjacent to the abyss
M16Red said:
Who else could he give it to?

Rashford? Scott McTominay? Shaw?

Ole said himself:
Some weren’t as good as their own perception of themselves. I won’t name names, but I was very disappointed when a couple turned down the chance to be captain.
Click to expand...
If he wanted rid of Bruno he would have killed all the media/fan chat and got behind Maguire as captain.
 

Wolfbot

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Oct 1, 2018
Messages
100
eire-red said:
I do tend to agree with your assessment from an overall perspective moving forward, however I would challenge the assumption that EtH wants to play a posession-based system and how EtH utilises him.

EtH said that he wants United to be the "best transition team in the world", so I'm starting to wonder what has gone wrong here. Hypothetically, with players like Bruno, Rashford, Garnacho and Hojlund, we already have the tools up front to do that. The worry for me is that on paper we have the perfect attack "on paper" to achieve what EtH has stated, but we're nowhere near it.

I know many of us expected EtH to "do an Ajax" with United, but was all of that EtH or more like a cultural Ajax thing? There are clubs, like Ajax and Barcelona, who will produce players no matter who the manager is, to play a certain way. Are we giving EtH too much credit for a "total football" output at Ajax, when in fact he has shown no real desire to replicate that thus far?

Just throwing it out there for debate. I'm more concerned as to why we can't execute the style EtH has stated he wants to perfect with the profile of players we have, and not really what our style will be in the future and whether the players here will be suited to that.
Click to expand...
It looks to me like he's playing the style Madrid did so well in the Champions League, comfortable absorbing lots of pressure, working to get the ball back then launching devastating counter/,transition attacks.

They had/have Kroos, Modric, Benzema, Vinicius Junior, Valverde....We're trying to do that with a squad of players with half the ability of these players and even less intelligence in a very competitive league..that's the problem.

I still think we have a squad capable or doing much better than they are and Bruno in my opinion could well be part of it, we need to totally change what we're trying to do though, in my opinion.
 

justsomebloke

Full Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2020
Messages
5,948
It's not easy to have a meaningful discussion about this when so many people already have a fundamentally delusional idea about what he brings, and have clearly stopped paying proper attention to what happens on the pitch. If they did, they'd know that he is still the key cog in whatever we manage to create offensively, and in fact still one of the very best - possibly the best - chance creator in the PL.

Which is a pity, because a discussion about his legs and whether they're going might otherwise be worth having. There are certainly some worrying nuances between what he's doing now and what he was doing two years ago. But what's the point of having that discussion with people so far gone that they're already seeing "a waste of space".
 

Wolfbot

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Oct 1, 2018
Messages
100
ZainCRse7en said:
Sell Bruno to Saudi and put in a 100m bid for Odegaard.
Click to expand...
That in itself is the issue if we want to replace him, we're looking at huge sums/unobtainable players to actually get a full upgrade on him.
 

Murder on Zidane's Floor

You'd better not kill Giroud
Joined
Jun 11, 2015
Messages
28,670
Plant0x84 said:
Solid reasoning to sell our best player. :houllier:
Both players would have had much longer careers at United if they hadn’t upset the manager.
Click to expand...
Erm no :houllier:

RVN was too much of a focal point, the manager rightly recognised the team would be better with a fluid front three of Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez.

Stam, while annoying the manager also had an Achilles injury was in his late twenties.
 

Insanity

Most apt username 2015
Joined
Aug 4, 2014
Messages
4,308
Location
Location
It was never sensible to make a player who - loses the ball so often, is not good under pressure, can't hold or shield the ball, can't dribble, is not a very good short passer etc etc- the focal point of our team. That was the scouting assessment on him too and that's why we didn't sign him in summer 2019. However, for some reason we got desperate and signed him in the next transfer window. Worst we gave him a bumper new contract when it didn't even warrant it.

So no, we shouldn't make him the focal point of our team next season. In fact, we should be praying that some Saudi team comes in and takes him off us in the summer. His no look hoofs what send our front 3 on wild goose chases constantly can't be good for their long term future too.
 

ForeverRed1

Full Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2013
Messages
5,483
Location
England UK!
I’d rather sell

maguire
Mctominay
Martial
Awb
Evans
Eriksen
Lindelof
Rashford
Donny
Mejbri

before we sell Bruno. Way down the pecking order.
 

Plant0x84

Shame we’re aren’t more like Brighton
Joined
Jun 23, 2020
Messages
13,201
Location
Carpark and snack area adjacent to the abyss
Murder on Zidane's Floor said:
Erm no :houllier:

RVN was too much of a focal point, the manager rightly recognised the team would be better with a fluid front three of Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez.

Stam, while annoying the manager also had an Achilles injury was in his late twenties.
Click to expand...
You’re making stuff up here. It’s documented in Ferguson own book that he sold RVN because they had an altercation at the league cup final. This was after RVN and CR7 had a bust up in training.
According to the United manager's book, Ferguson was the subject of profanity from the Dutchman which then prompted assistant coach Carlos Queiroz to step in.

In the years that followed the altercation that Ferguson described as "fractious", the former Red Devils boss also made clear it was the beginning of the end for his goalscorer at the club
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:

Neil_Buchanan

Cock'd
Joined
Nov 18, 2006
Messages
3,539
Location
Bolton
I would sell him if the opportunity came up although I don’t think it will as he doesn’t seem the type to go to Saudi Arabia.
 

Dannn411

Full Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2022
Messages
2,468
He should have been sold two seasons ago but this summer is better late than never. I used to excuse his wastefulness on the ball because he produced at an incredible rate his first 2.5 seasons. Once the production vanished, it became pointless to play him. It is no coincidence that he has been right at the heart of by far the worst midfield in the big 6 (and one of the worst midfields in the premier league period) over the last 3 seasons. He never gets injured and never gets dropped. The only coach who has had the balls to drop him was Carrick and the one time he got dropped, our midfield looked the most coherent it has looked in 10 years against Villareal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.