[Chief123]

We actually have several who can split a whole team with one pass now, which is good. But yes Bruno at his best is fantastic. My issue is only when he and Ronaldo are in the team together.

My issue is just when Ronaldo is in the team.

 

[Lyng]

My issue is just when Ronaldo is in the team.

Well lets all hope Martial stays fit this time.

 

[Frank Grimes]

Big loss Sunday at a ground where he scored 2 goals last season.

 

[ZainCRse7en]

What happened to his shooting? He was scoring goals for fun from all sort of angles and ranges during his first season here. But nowadays his shooting has been comical.

 

[Isotope]

Will be interesting to see if we play better without him, like some people are claiming and hoping.

 

[Borys]

Will be interesting to see if we play better without him, like some people are claiming and hoping.

It's certainly a very bad time to do experiments - considering how many players are out. We've been pretty bad the last two games, getting the result somehow. Taking another attacker out makes us pretty toothless unfortunately.

 

[BorisManUtd]

Big loss Sunday at a ground where he scored 2 goals last season.

Yes, he also scored 4 goals in 3 games at Villa Park in total. We'll miss him but also it's a chance to see how the team plays without him.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

For anyone that thinks we're a better team without Bruno there's your answer.

 

[Who's Kissing Cameras?]

For anyone that thinks we're a better team without Bruno there's your answer.

Facts.

 

[Satissh12]

For anyone that thinks we're a better team without Bruno there's your answer.

Came here just to post this. That horrible passage when they scored twice may not have happened had he been there. He would have broken down play, run his heart out. VDB or anyone can offer almost none of that. He's just the heart of this team

 

[DWelbz19]

I think the one thing this game showed — just how much his engine is needed. He basically does the running for Ronaldo from an attacking perspective and Eriksen’s in the middle field. I may dislike some other aspects of his play, but that alone was so visible today.

 

[Idxomer]

I think the one thing this game showed — just how much his engine is needed. He basically does the running for Ronaldo from an attacking perspective and Eriksen’s in the middle field. I may dislike some other aspects of his play, but that alone was so visible today.

It was obvious we were gonna miss his workrate but this horrid lineup made it 10 times worse.

 

[Lyng]

This game only told us that he is better than Donnie which we already knew.

 

[#07]

I think the one thing this game showed — just how much his engine is needed. He basically does the running for Ronaldo from an attacking perspective and Eriksen’s in the middle field. I may dislike some other aspects of his play, but that alone was so visible today.

Exactly. He does so much running off the ball, which compensates/facilitates so much of how we want to play. When we're defending the flanks he will switch wings and make a three man press with the full back and winger. When the ball is in the middle he will contest and cover the two midfielders behind him. He may play some passes that make you pull your hair out. However, so much of the system works because the #10 (usually Bruno) has the physicality to fill the gaps and then play forward. When one or two of those components is missing it just doesn't function the same.

 

[Poborsky's hair]

For anyone that thinks we're a better team without Bruno there's your answer.

It's not about that he didn't play but more about who played instead of him I fear:-)

 

[Pogue Mahone]

We might do ok. But that would be a first. Since he signed for United on the very rare occasion he’s not available we’ve struggled. Every single time. Having Eriksen in the team means it might be different this time. We’ll see. The odds are against it and anyone expecting a big improvement is living in cloud cuckoo land. Wait and see.

Gonna quote myself here. So predictable he’d be missed. And to think there’s people on here who we’re trying to argue that dropping him would improve us!

 

[Frank Grimes]

Massive loss today. Whatever people want to believe he still remains a key player for us.

 

[Lyng]

Gonna quote myself here. So predictable he’d be missed. And to think there’s people on here who we’re trying to argue that dropping him would improve us!

FFS when he is dropped for fecking Donnie it's obviously a downgrade.

 

[Tony247]

Missed your defensive contribution today Bruno. He improves RB and RCB with his relentless tracking back.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

FFS when he is dropped for fecking Donnie it's obviously a downgrade.

He wasn’t dropped. But he was missed.

 

[bosnian_red]

He's important of course. But I think we can live with him missing the odd game. That just requires not having 3 other attackers out as well though. Can see someone like Sancho replacing him well as a 10 with Martial up top, Rashford and Antony wide. Van de beek is a nothing footballer though, but even still, with an 18 year old making his debut and Ronaldo up front and rashford out of position, was never that much hope.

 

[El Jefe]

I'll apologise to Bruno. Although I'm no fan of his off the ball the pressing and intensity he provides to this team cannot be replaced by anyone in the forward or AM positions. The lack of intensity shown in the first 10mins wouldn't have happened with Bruno on the pitch.

We had the ghost and the grandpa leading the press today and easily got played through.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

His energy is unmatched. There's no one in our current squad that could replace him. If we want to play a high press, high energy game, we need Bruno.

 

[Lyng]

He wasn’t dropped. But he was missed.

I know the choice of words was wrong. But yes when you put in DvB he would obviously be missed.

 

[Martial]

Bunch of geniuses made to look like clowns after today's performance.

We badly missed him.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I know the choice of words was wrong. But yes when you put in DvB he would obviously be missed.

He would be missed regardless. This isn’t news. We’ve seen it every single game he’s been rested since we signed him. No matter who replaced him.

 

[Lyng]

He would be missed regardless. This isn’t news. We’ve seen it every single game he’s been rested since we signed him. No matter who replaced him.

We haven't really tried any natural ten in his position.

 

[#07]

We haven't really tried any natural ten in his position.

We tried it at Stamford Bridge. Put Eriksen at #10 and pushed Bruno wide. The experiment didn't even last half an hour. Ten Hag ended up subbing Eriksen, putting Bruno back down the middle and putting McFred on so we could compete.

Its not that Eriksen is a bad player. Its that the puzzle pieces we have to play the way we do, simply don't suit the way Eriksen plays at #10. That should come as no shock to anyone who remembers Eriksen playing wide of Dele Alli for Pochettino's Spurs. The Premier League is a physical league and, often, the team that runs most wins out. Eriksen's game has never been based on engine. Conte converted him into a deeper midfielder at Inter, partly for this reason.

What United need, what we haven't had for the best part of 10 years, is similar profiles of player in every position so they are interchangeable. Our whole system shouldn't be dependent on certain players being fit, especially having spent £1 billion since Sir Alex retires. Yet it is. If Antony is injured we have no inside right. If Varane is injured we have no pace at centre back that can cover runs in behind. If Eriksen isn't available we can't move the ball forward from deep in midfield...

...and if Bruno is unavailable we have nobody at #10 who has the stamina to get through the work that he does in and out of possession. Our squad remains significantly imbalanced. Hence why certain players are so vital to us. Take them out and the whole thing needs reshaping simply to get a positive level of output.

 

[Lyng]

We tried it at Stamford Bridge. Put Eriksen at #10 and pushed Bruno wide. The experiment didn't even last half an hour. Ten Hag ended up subbing Eriksen, putting Bruno back down the middle and putting McFred on so we could compete.

Its not that Eriksen is a bad player. Its that the puzzle pieces we have to play the way we do, simply don't suit the way Eriksen plays at #10. That should come as no shock to anyone who remembers Eriksen playing wide of Dele Alli for Pochettino's Spurs. The Premier League is a physical league and, often, the team that runs most wins out. Eriksen's game has never been based on engine. Conte converted him into a deeper midfielder at Inter, partly for this reason.

What United need, what we haven't had for the best part of 10 years, is similar profiles of player in every position so they are interchangeable. Our whole system shouldn't be dependent on certain players being fit, especially having spent £1 billion since Sir Alex retires. Yet it is. If Antony is injured we have no inside right. If Varane is injured we have no pace at centre back that can cover runs in behind. If Eriksen isn't available we can't move the ball forward from deep in midfield...

...and if Bruno is unavailable we have nobody at #10 who has the stamina to get through the work that he does in and out of possession. Our squad remains significantly imbalanced. Hence why certain players are so vital to us. Take them out and the whole thing needs reshaping simply to get a positive level of output.

The last part of the Chelsea match was diabolical from us though.

My issue is that Bruno plays like a Raumdeuter more than a creator.
Which wouldn't be a bad thing if we had players who can play well together with that type of player. Something Ronnie cannot. It's no surprise that we are better with Martial.

 

[#07]

The last part of the Chelsea match was diabolical from us though.

My issue is that Bruno plays like a Raumdeuter more than a creator.
Which wouldn't be a bad thing if we had players who can play well together with that type of player. Something Ronnie cannot. It's no surprise that we are better with Martial.

Bruno doesn't really play like a raumdeuter. He only does that when he plays with Ronaldo and he visibly dislikes it.

Bruno's best games this season have been Liverpool (H), Arsenal (H) and Spurs (H). All of which were games were he was able to play off a mobile centre forward whose runs in the channel made space for him. When he's the one expected to make the off the ball runs to create space he's half the player.

Bruno's chance creation stats this season remain impeccable. He's definitely not a discount Thomas Muller and doesn't even look convinced he can play that role when he's asked to do it. However, that aside, his key function in the side isn't even what he does with the ball. Its what he does without it. There's nobody else in the squad who covers the same ground or offers the same thing.

To me, it feels a very similar conversation to the one that happened at Chelsea regarding Oscar and Mata. Yes, Mata is the more polished player but Oscar did everything Mourinho wanted off the ball. Bruno, similarly, just contributes what we need to look better as a unit. Pity we don't have anything like a prime Diego Costa in our squad.

 

[Lyng]

I didn't call him a discount Müller though.
And exactly because of that he plays well with a mobile cf, much like Müller does. Bruno can create and score and move into the right spaces. But with Ronnie he gets limited to the job of creating something for CR.
Me calling Bruno a Raumdeuter wasn't meant as a diss.

 

[jesperjaap]

For anyone that thinks we're a better team without Bruno there's your answer.

Or does it tell us any United side with VDB in is playing with 10 men.

For me Eriksen should be challenging for Fernandes position. The problem we have is our side is still a cm short and there is no oer in RW.

But Fernandes has been poor for some time here, lets not even quatiosn that. The very least any player should be doing is working there socks off for 90minutes. He shouldnt be ommended for it, otehrs should be slaugtered for not doing it.

But he has been wasteful, he isnt scoring goals or makign anywhere near the number of killer passes he did early on here. He was wasteful then....but game changin gmoments made up for it, bening wasteful on the ball and workign hard to get it back isnt good enough.....yes the side is worse without him in it, that doesnt mean we have the rigth side with him in it though, he is still livinf off his first nine months here in many eyes to me.....we have done that with several players the last decade

 

[SmashedHombre]

Huge loss today. His workrate, press, tracking back... without him we had none of that. No way Villa are getting the space they had with Bruno on the pitch.

 

[#07]

Or does it tell us any United side with VDB in is playing with 10 men.

For me Eriksen should be challenging for Fernandes position. The problem we have is our side is still a cm short and there is no oer in RW.

But Fernandes has been poor for some time here, lets not even quatiosn that. The very least any player should be doing is working there socks off for 90minutes. He shouldnt be ommended for it, otehrs should be slaugtered for not doing it.

But he has been wasteful, he isnt scoring goals or makign anywhere near the number of killer passes he did early on here. He was wasteful then....but game changin gmoments made up for it, bening wasteful on the ball and workign hard to get it back isnt good enough.....yes the side is worse without him in it, that doesnt mean we have the rigth side with him in it though, he is still livinf off his first nine months here in many eyes to me.....we have done that with several players the last decade

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It keeps being said that Bruno is wasteful, isn't creating chances and is living off what he was doing years ago. The stats say otherwise.

Both offensively and defensively we are hugely short when Bruno is absent. Nobody else gives us what he does. Even if Ten Hag radically reworked the team's shape and tactics, it's not clear that the upside of a United without Bruno would be better than a United with Bruno.

 

[EtH]

He would be missed regardless. This isn’t news. We’ve seen it every single game he’s been rested since we signed him. No matter who replaced him.

This is hyperbole. Either way I still want to see Eriksen in his position with Fred and Casemiro in midfield.

At this point I have to admit that ten Hag’s insistence on playing Eriksen as an 8 is every bit as problematic as Bruno’s erratic play at the 10 though.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

This is hyperbole. Either way I still want to see Eriksen in his position with Fred and Casemiro in midfield.

At this point I have to admit that ten Hag’s insistence on playing Eriksen as an 8 is every bit as problematic as Bruno’s erratic play at the 10 though.

You prefer to leave out Bruno for Fred because you think leaving Fred to do Eriksen’s role would be less problematic than letting Eriksen to play in deep playmaker role and having Bruno as no 10. I find that bizarre since I know how erratic Fred is to be more problematic to play that deep playmaker role.

 

[Lemoor]

At this point I have to admit that ten Hag’s insistence on playing Eriksen as an 8 is every bit as problematic as Bruno’s erratic play at the 10 though.

We have fixtures every 3 days and it's entirely possible that he doesn't have enough time to adapt Eriksen to the way he would want him to play in Bruno position.

 

[bosnian_red]

Or does it tell us any United side with VDB in is playing with 10 men.

For me Eriksen should be challenging for Fernandes position. The problem we have is our side is still a cm short and there is no oer in RW.

But Fernandes has been poor for some time here, lets not even quatiosn that. The very least any player should be doing is working there socks off for 90minutes. He shouldnt be ommended for it, otehrs should be slaugtered for not doing it.

But he has been wasteful, he isnt scoring goals or makign anywhere near the number of killer passes he did early on here. He was wasteful then....but game changin gmoments made up for it, bening wasteful on the ball and workign hard to get it back isnt good enough.....yes the side is worse without him in it, that doesnt mean we have the rigth side with him in it though, he is still livinf off his first nine months here in many eyes to me.....we have done that with several players the last decade

He was poor to start the season but I felt his past month was his best form in quite some time.

 

[EtH]

You prefer to leave out Bruno for Fred because you think leaving Fred to do Eriksen’s role would be less problematic than letting Eriksen to play in deep playmaker role and having Bruno as no 10. I find that bizarre since I know how erratic Fred is to be more problematic to play that deep playmaker role.

Our midfield is just too light with Eriksen playing deep against any proper midfield.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Our midfield is just too light with Eriksen playing deep against any proper midfield.

What makes you think that way when we have Casemiro and Bruno who are tough, like to press, and have aggression?