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Your post made me question my life choices. Why am I wasting time on a forum like this reading insane idioitic takes about a fecking game?
I don’t see a creative world class bone in his body. We could give Henderson the same role and he’d look the same. Henderson also has/had a great engine.
Link doesn't work but I assume you were linking to this:
not sure I agree that he’s a luxury player, he doesn’t need to be carried in the way that an Ozil would… he puts more than his fair share of effort in beyond his offensive duties.
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You build around him by giving him a completely free role, with a solid base behind him, wingers either side and a striker in front. You know, a 44Bruno1 formation.
Seems to me like this is exaxtly what we're doing. 2 conservative midfielders, and only Dalot joining the attack - this was the setup against Southampton. Also, Bruno is allowed to go wherever he wants.
Should he just hang around the mid-line even though our team was on the backfoot almost half the game, so his touch map wouldn't be all over the place down to the defending area?
I think you are reading the touch map upside down.
Is he worth that? Is he wroth getting the whole team to be playing to his strengths? Even in our current eleven, I'd rather we built around Sancho.
That's a whole different question. Firstly I'd say building to Bruno's strengths and building to Sancho's needn't be mutually exclusive. In terms of whether he's good enough to be given a free role, it really depends on what other options there are. Given our current squad I think it's worth giving Bruno a free role.
I couldn't disagree more, but we'll leave it at that. For me someone like Erikson is more deserving of that free role than Bruno. I have never seen a player who can't dribble and without pace be given that free role. It's always been someone with the ability to do either. Yes he is creative and is incredible at ball placement (crossing, shooting, passing. You name it, he's great at it) he is simply not the calibre of player to deserve a free role like that for a club like ours.
Most of those players didn't have a free role, they played in very specific positions. Ronaldo circa 2007-2009 at United had a free role, but not at Madrid. Messi didn't have a free role at Barcelona. Neymar didn't at Barca (don't watch La Farmers League so can't say), Hazard didn't at Chelsea.
Was this not Bruno's role under Ole? How did that work out?
He was a massive fan favourite, had a ton of goal contributions and was touted as our best player by far, United's POTY twice, PL team of the year once, and a handful of POTM awards?
Sure he had a degree of freedom but he wasn't floating to both wings or dropping to collect the ball in front of the CBs. Off the ball he was actually quite static in the build up play, holding a position 10 yards or so in front of the opposition CBs, remaining the focal point of attack, either looking to make a dangerous run, or to recieve the ball so he could turn and dribble in which ever direction he chose . But that's freedom on the ball as opposed to a free role positionally.
Jesus.
Well peak Ozil was one of the best 10s of the last couple decades so that's no insult. However, my point wasn't a comparison between the two as I'm sure you understand. It was that Ozil's type of 10 is becoming extinct despite the far superior composure and possession play. Virtually all top sides play with more intensity these days and can't accommodate a 10 who glides around and doesn't run.
No one doubts it's for Bruno's best benefit to play in a free role but at what cost? You can't progress as a team with everyone catering to one player if that player is Bruno.
I think it comes down to a disagreement about what is meant by free role. I mean - freedom positionally to move around the pitch, which is where the discussion began with Bruno's heat map. You seem to take it to mean the rest of the team caters to one player, which isn't what it means at all. Bruno being given a free role doesn't require any one to cater to him or cover for him, because in a 4231 the rest of the team would just be doing their usual stuff. He's more comparable to Gerrard as a 10 rather than Le Tissier (in terms of style and role, before you point out the obvious that he's not as good as Gerrard). If anything a player like Bruno makes the rest of the teams' jobs easier, as he does more than his fair share of running and pressing, constantly makes himself a passing option, and creates 2 v 1s all over the pitch. The downside is that he often loses the ball but its not really impacted by him having a free role positionally.
Oh my days
Well said. feck this thread is a mess.
Is there any example of an alright or decent player being given a free role "positionally" at a top club?
Free role literally means free role positionally. You're conflating it with luxury player (who doesn't defend) or star player (which is just completely different).
