He created 8 chances with 3-4 on plate, but all you focus on is his 15 miss-passes.
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Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 46
- Goals
- 10
- Assists
- 13
- Yellow cards
- 10
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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It’s not all I focus on I think you’d need to reread my post without wading in with sarcastic comments.
Can relying on Individual brilliance be a basic plan? I mean most of SAF team were pretty much that.
The big and main difference was that SAF teams knew how to defend and had great CMs. Even then with one of the greatest United team, how many team goals did we score with Ronaldo and Rooney? Giggs was called out for a lot of sloppiness with his forward playing. Ronaldo was called one trick pony and was wasteful as hell even at his peak with us. But, he had two CMs and defenders behind to mop it up. That's what they were for.
SAF hired Carlos to have 'plan' and 'control' the games, people moaned that we were boring. I mean a lot of people were saying how Pep teams were boring. Oh and the LVG's passing to falling asleep plan.
Some perspective.
Not saying Ole is at an elite level or anywhere close to it or the right man for the team. But, yelling too much of "basic plan", "pattern", "control" seems like too much FM stuff to me and guess what, people did that with SAF too.
People might be thinking too much or trying to be clever for a very simple game.
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I'm sorry, mate. I might have mistaken you for others.
I surely was pissed off when Bruno messed up simple passes. It does seem like he did it more than 15 times for me. But he also did things that I like to see at United. Question is, can you get better player than him at his position, at reasonable cost? KdB is off the list. Maybe Goretzka (my ultimate CM), but he just signed a new long contract. The list is really short.
Maybe if we go for 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 with the next manager, Bruno is not needed.
I wouldn’t like to see him go I love Bruno and everything he gives to the club, we’d never get anyone to replace his output and create as many chances he really is a God send for us. It’s just last night his crossing in particular was really off for me I’ve just never seen it as bad but he still goes and gets motm so who am I to complain really.
You are doing great disservice to Sir Alex even in our so called Zombie passing years we actually created far more than what we do now despite Fernandes given almost free role we are hardly a creative team almost every underlying stat bears that fact .
Pattern , control and plan might seem like fm buzzwords to you but all these needs to be there to have successfull team , yes there were occasional slip up against unfancied teams under Sir Alex but we were clear favourite against most of them and it showed on the pitch as well in terms of results and performances ,but now a days you can count our convincing wins on fingertips, most games tend to be struggle despite us being one of the most talented team in the league That's clearly manager's doing you can't simply blame it on our Midfield .
How many chances did he create yesterday? Amazing this guy. And it wasn't even his best performance.
Sporting has won a league title since he left them, and no one can deny that he was the best player in that team.
It's pretty simple for me, we are not Bruno F.C. He has done really well since he got here, his productivity and general attitude have been exceptional, but the time has come now where he has to evolve his game to better serve the team's needs, whether by dropping back to play more as a midfielder or becoming more efficient and precise with his creative passing to avoid needless possession turnover. If Aguero had to start working harder in order to fit into Pep's plan, then Bruno has no excuses not to sacrifice some of his preference to help the team play better, and that need is especially urgent now that Ronaldo is a permanent presence in the starting XI, even though that is no fault of his that we bought someone who doesn't complement his game to play alongside him.
I see. That's so true. He was really careless with his crossing yesterday. Usually his crossing wasn't that bad, though.He was simply out of this world yesterday.
This critics are a bit strange given he actually played more deep role yesterday and went in midfield for the ball a lot. Not to mention everything revolved around him.
I don't mean only you cause you made some points but some are portraying him like a shit player which is baffling.
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I thought he had frustrating game but he created chances consistently, should have had at least 3 assists. People keep saying "without goals and assists he is nothing" and this guy keeps topping the chances created stats.
If you check his heatmaps across all games so far this season there is really not a lot of difference in all of them, most of his actions are either in their third or our third of the pitch, and the eyes test backs it up. He doesn't really play as a 3rd midfielder at all even when we get overran, and whether that's down to coaching instructions or his own preference is up to debate, my opinion is it is both since Ole has described him as a forward and he himself said it in the past that it is his preference to always go for the risky ball.
Yeah, that's true. But even though he likes it that way and he has those kind of instructions I agree he should sometimes be more disciplined and calmer in his play.
Must be LvG's redcafe account
I personally think he’s a major conundrum for us at the moment! His output is fantastic and some of his play is world class. However, when he detaches himself from the midfield- to basically play as a second striker- we are far too open and vulnerable to counter attacks. Add to that the high risk nature of his passes and it’s clearly a major issue.
I’d like to see him play much deeper as a proper centre mid to see if he can adapt his game there
I’d like to see him play much deeper as a proper centre mid to see if he can adapt his game there
I don't like how he keeps arguing for fouls with the refs but at the same time I like it how it can fire him up for the rest of the game when he feels hard done
This right here is it.
We all love Bruno, and he’s clearly been our catalyst in growth in the last 18 months or so - however at this stage it’s clear to see that either he’s given no instructions, or his instruction is to have a free role & do what he likes, probably borne out of the fact that he’s so ridiculously efficient in providing for us.
However, when we talk about our midfield - Bruno is the only consistent player in there, and he's often closer to the strikers or the wingers than he is to the midfield because he's often one of 2/3 players that press at any given time. Once our "press" gets thwarted, the opposing team now have a counter attack on, with 5/6 players running towards our midfield, CB pairing and whichever FB stayed back. It happens every time, then we wonder why every midfield pairing we have struggles to gain control.
When we do have the ball and are trying to build an attacking play, it's clear that the players are looking for Bruno to pass to, but often times he's up the other end of the pitch and Maguire will be in possession, so he passes it to Shaw, who passes it to Fred, who passes it back to Maguire, who passes it to Lindelof, who passes it to Fred etc and if we play a high pressing team, they can intercept us or cause errors like Leicester did for their first goal.
At this stage in our development if we are to succeed, he & the rest of the team need to be coached with instructions on what to do both in & out of possession. I don't think we need to be a high pressing team because 95% of matches the opposing team will let us have possession anyway. We need to be able to play quick 1-touch passes from defence to midfield to bypass the opposing press, with runners off the ball so that when Bruno gets the ball - in the midfield area - he should have 1 FB, and 3 attackers ahead of him, from there we can play the pass over the top, play 1-2s on the edge of the box, use a FB overlapping and cross a ball in etc.
We can't keep attempting to build play from the back, when our most creative midfielder is next to the attackers.
I was misread his post. The stats is true, but it was directed to a wrong poster.
Criticism of him is justified - he was pretty terrible in the first half, which he himself acknowledged.
Praise is also justified. Second half a lot of his risky passes were paying off and he helped us win the game.
Such an unusual player. An assist machine that gives the ball away all the time. Deep down I wonder if he's the very soul of Moments FC - the genius that wins games with flashes of brilliance but will never control a game.
Praise is also justified. Second half a lot of his risky passes were paying off and he helped us win the game.
Such an unusual player. An assist machine that gives the ball away all the time. Deep down I wonder if he's the very soul of Moments FC - the genius that wins games with flashes of brilliance but will never control a game.
I have to say I find this new rhetoric around Bruno bizarre. I thought it was originally just one of those silly internet arguments but on my last trip to OT I met a lad on the train saying similar things, we should drop Bruno and play Pogba there because he's much better. I couldn't believe my ears.
It is curious how all the discussion around Pogba is often framed by the lack of proper partners for him or playing a particular formation or in a specific position or a manger who likes him or this or that or whatever.
Bruno gets none of those concessions made for him. He's grabbed the team by the scruff of the neck and he's been our best player since the moment he walked through the door. Even off form creates and scores at an exceptional rate, he's runs himself into the ground and he argues his petulant little arse off when he feels wronged. This guy is solid gold and if we achieve anything in the near future he'll be at the heart of it
It is curious how all the discussion around Pogba is often framed by the lack of proper partners for him or playing a particular formation or in a specific position or a manger who likes him or this or that or whatever.
Bruno gets none of those concessions made for him. He's grabbed the team by the scruff of the neck and he's been our best player since the moment he walked through the door. Even off form creates and scores at an exceptional rate, he's runs himself into the ground and he argues his petulant little arse off when he feels wronged. This guy is solid gold and if we achieve anything in the near future he'll be at the heart of it
I feel if you put a midfield pairing of Fred and McTominay behind Mount, Foden or Muller. They wouldn’t be able to control games either. His performance improved when Pogba was on the pitch and it’s no surprise. When Pogba is also in form, we have a team that looks capable of winning the midfield battles and retaining possession but that doesn’t happen often.
If you think this Manchester United team will look better if it kept more of the ball, you are gravely mistaken. It is a very simplistic view of the game wherein more possession equals better football or more control. I thought LvG's reign had drilled that down into everyone's memories. If this team kept more of the ball, it would create more problems for itself, believe it or not. It would allow opposition to be more organized and then, with the players we have, team would find it very difficult to find a goal with pure link up play. Like it or not, fast counter-attacking and direct passing is the current best approach for this team wherein allowing a player like Bruno to exploit open spaces as fast as he can is the key. And that, my friend, is going to lead to less control and loss of possession during swift transitions. When Pogba is involved in the game, Bruno automatically changes his approach. That happens because once Pogba is on the pitch, this team has improved ability in possession. So, once we have replaced Fred and McT with better midfielders, you will automatically see Bruno be more disciplined.
On most match days, we start with a keeper who is not known for his distribution, play with a back four in which none of the defenders stand out for their passing, look mostly lethargic and unsure with ball at their feet and, to top it off, more often than not, we play Fred and Mctominay double pivot and you'd be hard pressed to find the last time they did anything noteworthy with a pass. Rashford and Ronaldo are not going to go around linking up with players, playing one-twos and floating around on the pitch. If anything, Bruno's scattergun approach comes from the very fact that he alone carries the weight of all creativity in the team. If he needs five fluffed passes to create five chances, so be it. Where else the chances are going to come from?
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He was both the best and the worst player on the pitch last night. Proper Jekyl and Hyde performance.
The amount of chances he created was absolutely incredible - that assist for Rashford was special. However in the first half when as a group there were clear nerves, there has to be a balance between playing a Hollywood pass and keeping it simple - it just creates more anxiety throughout the team as once we lose the ball we aren't great at winning it back
The amount of chances he created was absolutely incredible - that assist for Rashford was special. However in the first half when as a group there were clear nerves, there has to be a balance between playing a Hollywood pass and keeping it simple - it just creates more anxiety throughout the team as once we lose the ball we aren't great at winning it back
Yet even in his 'terrible' first half, he created 3 great chances that we should have scored from. That's why he's so essential. He does frustrate with some misplaced passes, but the reason is normally because he's looking for that killer ball - one that he finds an awful lot.
It all boils down to how our manager wants to us play if teams like Brighton and Leeds can play better proactive football with their players any half decent manager should get better tune out of our current bunch. Just to add further we are the least creative team out of current top Clubs and this approach has seen us crashed out of Cl group stage last season and highly forgettable top 2 finish so nothing to brag about .
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He was so bad at the beginning but then we don't win that game without him.
He's the one that we need to set the team up to protect, even more so than Pogba. He loses the ball far too much but the output is well worth it.
He's the one that we need to set the team up to protect, even more so than Pogba. He loses the ball far too much but the output is well worth it.
Agree with this, if you want a creative player to make chances you have to take the rough with the smooth.
Which is why we need to get our players to learn how to press effectively. Bruno would start to get balloon d'or talks if we can get our players to press effectively because we'll win a lot more games from his passes instead of watching half our team get bypassed on a counter from one if his mispass
We don't press as a team, he needs to realise when he goes rogue and does it himself it leaves gaping holes.
We already leave holes all over because our attackers are all standing in the opposing half whenever we get countered.
Bruno pressing isn't the problem, it's the rest of them not pressing that is.
@Brwned
Are you aware that the difference between De Bruyne’s composed control of the game (surrounded by better players, in a better coached team, geared to constantly provide multiple passing options in attack) and Bruno’s supposed chaotic abandon is 76% vs 74% pass completion? Can’t be bothered checking heat maps but I’d imagine Bruno plays a higher % of his passes in more crowded areas further up the pitch as well.
I think you’re exaggerating Bruno’s faults here.
EDIT: According to this article De Bruyne’s pass completion this season in all competitions is 70%.
Are you aware that the difference between De Bruyne’s composed control of the game (surrounded by better players, in a better coached team, geared to constantly provide multiple passing options in attack) and Bruno’s supposed chaotic abandon is 76% vs 74% pass completion? Can’t be bothered checking heat maps but I’d imagine Bruno plays a higher % of his passes in more crowded areas further up the pitch as well.
I think you’re exaggerating Bruno’s faults here.
EDIT: According to this article De Bruyne’s pass completion this season in all competitions is 70%.
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But that's it, they don't press, everyone knows they don't, so when he rushes a cb who then slides it to his partner who then slips it into midfield and suddenly its 3 v 2 in the centre of the park we are in trouble.
I'm not debating why we don't do it, that's for another thread, but the fact is we don't, and if one person does it and no one follows they can play out so easily.
Savage mentioned it a few times last night.
If Bruno doesn't press, all the opposing team has to do is do a long ball and bypass our attackers and midfield which is what they've done plenty of times this season anyway.
We're better off with him trying his luck and press because on the off chance that he succeeds in pressing, we're in a good spot to capitalise on it.
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My post was not advocating for our style of play. It wasn't bragging about the team's creativity either.
@Pogue Mahone Comparing Passing stats in isolation isn't a good measure what would be more revealing is the kind of missed passes if there is a stats for that.
It leaves gaping holes. We either need to press together as a unit or hold our position and formation making it difficult to pass through the lines.
It’s simple - we are nothing without Bruno.
God forbid he gets injured, we will be fecked
He is the engine, heart and soul of this team. Literally everything good we create is because of him.
God forbid he gets injured, we will be fecked
He is the engine, heart and soul of this team. Literally everything good we create is because of him.
You claimed it's the most productive way to get the best out of our players and directly linked it to the quality of our players and if despite Bruno's brilliant creativity our team is sub-par in creativity compared to its peers so what good is it to us playing this way.
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