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2023-24 Performances


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ItDoesntEvenMata

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What control? So we controlled the game without him? Let’s not simplify things like that. We couldn’t complete 2 consecutive passes in the first halfX scot was terrible especially in the first 45 minutes. So shaky and irrelevant.

Yeah Scott is awful but Bruno would be just as wasteful and probably whinge the whole way through every turnover of possession.
 

#07

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The problem with him being available is that he would have played as a number 8 again and asked to do a defensive job that he just can't do. The love affair with McTominay, and previously with Mount is ruining our best number 10 at the club. It's mental by the manager.
Yup. I love Bruno but I was almost relieved Ten Hag wasn't given the chance to pick him and McTominay. It has to be Bruno or McTominay. Not Bruno and McTominay.

Fully believe without a proper double pivot we get beat today. Hopefully Ten Hag learns.
 

lost7

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There's nothing wrong with pointing out that he has been completely useless in the vast majority of games against top teams in his 4 years at the club. Some might even argue a liability...

To speculate whether we would have lost or not with him is silly (McTominay was also awful), but at the same time based on the evidence of his past performances I'd say it's fair to assume that we did not miss him at the very least
 

Marwood

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Don't think I've ever seen such an irrational dislike of a player as I have from two or three posters here.

They're absolutely desperate for that good performance without Bruno in the starting XI.

Imagine the sweeping conclusions they'll come to when it happens if they think todays performance is in any way telling.
 

zaafi

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Don't think I've ever seen such an irrational dislike of a player as I have from two or three posters here.

They're absolutely desperate for that good performance without Bruno in the starting XI.

Imagine the sweeping conclusions they'll come to when it happens if they think todays performance is in any way telling.
It's irrational to dislike a player that goes against every concept you have of elite football and team play? He just isn't very good, and that's all there is to it.

Not desperate for anything, but today, it was evident that we can play without Bruno. We were dangerous several times, and could easily have scored. No team should just rely on a single player to create for them. It's not how football works.
 

Livewire1974

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Don't think I've ever seen such an irrational dislike of a player as I have from two or three posters here.

They're absolutely desperate for that good performance without Bruno in the starting XI.

Imagine the sweeping conclusions they'll come to when it happens if they think todays performance is in any way telling.
He is bang average as a player, awful as a captain.

The less we see of him the better.
 

Marwood

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It's irrational to dislike a player that goes against every concept you have of elite football and team play? He just isn't very good, and that's all there is to it.

Not desperate for anything, but today, it was evident that we can play without Bruno. We were dangerous several times, and could easily have scored. No team should just rely on a single player to create for them. It's not how football works.
We've lots of players who aren't very good. Who are worse than Bruno. Not just in ability but also apication. But I don't see you banging on about them across the entire forum. That's what I mean about irrational dislike of a player.

Even the two chances we created today, you're somehow trying to make that say something about Bruno. It's the effort you go to. Never seen anything like it from a fan.
 

zaafi

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Its a game if opinions but I generally don’t know what people watch some times

McTominay was in his spot and he was awful

Also if Bruno had 2 midfielders behind him instead of 1 he would be even better
Okay, but why can't he just be a midfielder himself like, say, De Bruyne or Ødegaard? Why does he need two midfielders behind him? Oh, right, because he lacks every single basic midfield quality. He only thrives when he has the platform and freedom. Extremely limited player, and I genuinely have no idea how people can rate him so high.
 

statpadder

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He is bang average as a player, awful as a captain.

The less we see of him the better.
Probably one of the worst players to have if you’re not having possession for large parts of the game like today.

The amount of times he would have tried the hollywood ball today would have given me a headache. Scott wasn’t good at all in his position but that little pass to Hoijland he made - I can guarantee you Bruno would be taking a shot there.

Can he be suspended for more games so that we can finally see if we can control the fecking game for once or not?
 

sammyhol

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Okay, but why can't he just be a midfielder himself like, say, De Bruyen or Ødegaard? Oh, right, because he lacks every single basic midfield quality. He only thrives when he has the platform and freedom. Extremely limited player, and I genuinely have no idea how people can rate him so high.
But that’s just it isn’t it…

He isn’t a midfielder. Or at least not a very good one.

He is a 10. He has far more in common with players like Bergkamp than he does with players like Keane. If we had a 25 year old Bergkamp, would you except him to be bringing it out from the back.

Despite his limitations though, the current best united team includes Bruno as a 10.

If you aren’t playing a system that includes a free role 10, you shouldn’t be playing Bruno… but you also arent playing the best united team available.
 

Red00012

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If only Ten Hag would try Amrabat - Mainoo- Bruno as the 3 (until Casemiro comes back )
 

zaafi

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But that’s just it isn’t it…

He isn’t a midfielder. Or at least not a very good one.

He is a 10. He has far more in common with players like Bergkamp than he does with players like Keane. If we had a 25 year old Bergkamp, would you except him to be bringing it out from the back.

Despite his limitations though, the current best united team includes Bruno as a 10.

If you aren’t playing a system that includes a free role 10, you shouldn’t be playing Bruno… but you also arent playing the best united team available.
Exactly. He is a 10. But, he is a 10 that can't dribble, can't protect the ball, can't drive with the ball, he doesn't operate well in tight spaces and has very inconsistent decision making in the box.

When you've come to understand this, in addition to not having midfield qualities, what really is the point of him? Ah, right. Creating chances. As if not Brentford, Aston Villa, Everton, Newcastle, Brighton or West Ham create more big chances than us, despite not playing with a number 10.. Curious case, that. Wonder how they do it.
 

Client6

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Bruno Fernandes is a no. 10, anywhere else he is a bit crap, but just behind the striker he is very good.

Not very convinced of him as the captain either - he doesn’t seem to have enough composure when the going gets tough. Jury is still out for me regarding captaincy but he is a bloody good player.

Having said that, coming to today’s game at Anfield, I think United would have conceded if he was playing. His consistent giving away of the ball under no pressure during transition means our defenders are always caught out and make it easy for the opposition, not to mention our GK is a bit crap too at shot stopping.

Today our defenders always seemed to be ready for whatever Liverpool threw at them. I think it was because generally none of our more forward players gave away the ball when least expected, and when they did I remember it happening much further up the field from our goal.

Bournemouth’s two goals came from giving away the ball under no pressure closer to our own goal - Bruno and Shaw being the culprits. If Bruno can add the same level of clinical as some of the other world class midfielders, he can definitely be undroppable.
 

Pogue Mahone

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Probably one of the worst players to have if you’re not having possession for large parts of the game like today.

The amount of times he would have tried the hollywood ball today would have given me a headache. Scott wasn’t good at all in his position but that little pass to Hoijland he made - I can guarantee you Bruno would be taking a shot there.

Can he be suspended for more games so that we can finally see if we can control the fecking game for once or not?
:lol: Absolute horse shit. His most recent assist in the league (for Martial) came from a pass made in a very similar area of the pitch. In fact, in that same match another pass from that same spot led to the penalty that Rashford scored. The fecking memories of some of you lot….
 

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe

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I know you're just taking the piss with this one, but it wouldn't actually surprise me if you were being serious either.
I was being serious. Bruno's finishing when 1v1 in the opposition box is pretty good. One example that springs to mind was Palace away last season - his finish was hit with the sort of power and accuracy that I've yet to see from Hojlund in the PL. I wasn't confident in him scoring that 1v1 against Allison as I've rarely seen him strike the ball cleanly. It's almost like he closes his eyes and takes a swing at it.
 

sammyhol

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Exactly. He is a 10. But, he is a 10 that can't dribble, can't protect the ball, can't drive with the ball, he doesn't operate well in tight spaces and has very inconsistent decision making in the box.

When you've come to understand this, in addition to not having midfield qualities, what really is the point of him? Ah, right. Creating chances. As if not Brentford, Aston Villa, Everton, Newcastle, Brighton or West Ham create more big chances than us, despite not playing with a number 10.. Curious case, that. Wonder how they do it.
You are kinda missing my point.

Does Bruno get into the City side? No.

Does he get into the arsenal side? No.

But show me a system with this current united squad that doesn’t include Bruno that finishes higher than a 4231 with Bruno as 10…

it simply doesn’t exist.

The other key point is 4231 with a free role 10 also gets the best out of most of our players.

Shaw. Tick.

Rashford. Tick.

Casemiro. Tick.

We have so many issues to fix before Bruno, and for me the position he is being asked to play is a big reason for his lack of form.

There is a reason Guardiola isn’t playing Haaland on the left wing. This is no different.
 

zaafi

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Missed him lots today. Zero attacking play or creativity. Anyone wanting him sold can munch a dick, our team rightly revolves around him.
We created more today and were far more dangerous than we were against Bournemouth.. odd timing of that post.

So our team rightly revolves around him, yet we're 12th in the league for big chances created, we're 7th on the table with 18 goals scored and 21 conceded. Well, hope you're enjoying our current state :lol:
 

Plant0x84

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We created more today and were far more dangerous than we were against Bournemouth.. odd timing of that post.

So our team rightly revolves around him, yet we're 12th in the league for big chances created, we're 7th on the table with 18 goals scored and 21 conceded. Well, hope you're enjoying our current state :lol:
What did we create today? A Hojlund effort? Garnacho airshot? Hard pressed to think of anymore than that. A lot of our game was in DM area. We had no out ball.
 

zaafi

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What did we create today? A Hojlund effort? Garnacho airshot? Hard pressed to think of anymore than that. A lot of our game was in DM area. We had no out ball.
Garnacho had two chances and then there was Højlund's. It's not just necessarily the chances, but the positions we found ourselves in when we were attacking. They could have been way more dangerous, if it wasn't for our attackers poor decision making. Antony found himself just outside their box on the right on several occasions, but he's just so poor at making the right decision so it amounts to nothing in the end.
 

Castia

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Okay, but why can't he just be a midfielder himself like, say, De Bruyne or Ødegaard? Why does he need two midfielders behind him? Oh, right, because he lacks every single basic midfield quality. He only thrives when he has the platform and freedom. Extremely limited player, and I genuinely have no idea how people can rate him so high.

We don’t have the players/system or tactic to play with 2 number 10’s we’ve shown that all season that’s not on Bruno his stats are absolutely ridiculous for a team that score so few goals

You think if De Bruyne was playing alongside McTominay and Amrabat he would run games? Man City are on a different planet quality wise

Bruno would be in about 30 assists a season if he had Haaland
 

sammyhol

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We created more today and were far more dangerous than we were against Bournemouth.. odd timing of that post.

So our team rightly revolves around him, yet we're 12th in the league for big chances created, we're 7th on the table with 18 goals scored and 21 conceded. Well, hope you're enjoying our current state :lol:
Bruno created the most chances in the PL in:

20/21
22/23
And was leading chances created in 23/24 until the first week of December.

To suggest that we are more creative without Bruno is one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever heard.
 

#07

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We don’t have the players/system or tactic to play with 2 number 10’s we’ve shown that all season that’s not on Bruno his stats are absolutely ridiculous for a team that score so few goals

You think if De Bruyne was playing alongside McTominay and Amrabat he would run games? Man City are on a different planet quality wise

Bruno would be in about 30 assists a season if he had Haaland
Exactly. Had we been able to bring Bruno on in the last 20 today, when the game was getting stretched, we win. Just remember who created Garnacho's 'offside' goal in similar circumstances at Arsenal...
 

zaafi

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Bruno created the most chances in the PL in:

20/21
22/23
And was leading chances created in 23/24 until the first week of December.

To suggest that we are more creative without Bruno is one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever heard.
How on Earth did you manage to arrive with that conclusion based on what I said? I have never said we're more creative without Bruno.

My point is that we don't need to rely on one player to create for us. We can play a different style of football that is much more effective. Teams like Everton and Brentford create more big chances than us, despite having average players, and not a number 10 that creates for them. Why is that?

Chances created stat is just horse shit, anyway. You know, Mainoo's pass to Garnacho today doesn't count as a chance created, but apparently Bruno created 6 against Bournemouth, despite not actually creating a chance :lol:
 

sammyhol

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How on Earth did you manage to arrive with that conclusion based on what I said? I have never said we're more creative without Bruno.

My point is that we don't need to rely on one player to create for us. We can play a different style of football that is much more effective. Teams like Everton and Brentford create more chances than us, despite having average players, and not a number 10 that creates for them. Why is that?
Bruno hasn’t played 10 all season. We aren’t playing a system that suits Bruno.

He has been played in this double high 8… and has been deeper than he has been at any other time playing for us.

Bruno is not stopping Antony, rashford, Garnacho, etc making chances. Their inability to create chances stops them making chances.

Do you think if Bruno was playing 10 for arsenal instead of Odeegard, Saka and martinelli would all of a sudden stop creating chances? Of course they wouldn’t.
 

OL29

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Granted we didn’t create much today but we did look more cohesive and we didn’t have to deal with him constantly giving the ball away in our own half then rolling around pretending he’s been fouled so he wasn’t missed.
 

theatreofdreams777

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The best thing he did this season is getting suspended for this game. He’d have been completely useless anyway as he’s been in nearly all of the big games since he’s signed and it’d be like us playing with 10 men. So it was a blessing in disguise.

He’s the perfect player to sell to Saudi. We should move on from him while he still has some value and build a proper midfield. I’d sell not just him but also Mount (+ not sign Amrabat either) if possible and buy some 8s & DMs. We need a completely new midfield that can control the game and it won’t happen with Bruno or another 10.
 

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe

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The best thing he did this season is getting suspended for this game. He’d have been completely useless anyway as he’s been in nearly all of the big games since he’s signed and it’d be like us playing with 10 men. So it was a blessing in disguise.

He’s the perfect player to sell to Saudi. We should move on from him while he still has some value and build a proper midfield. I’d sell not just him but also Mount (+ not sign Amrabat either) if possible and buy some 8s & DMs. We need a completely new midfield that can control the game and it won’t happen with Bruno or another 10.
So, summer 2024, you're suggesting we sign 3 new starting midfielders, and I presume a new CB and a striker to compete with Hojlund? Yep - I'm sure FFP will allow for that all in one window.
 

Plant0x84

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Garnacho had two chances and then there was Højlund's. It's not just necessarily the chances, but the positions we found ourselves in when we were attacking. They could have been way more dangerous, if it wasn't for our attackers poor decision making. Antony found himself just outside their box on the right on several occasions, but he's just so poor at making the right decision so it amounts to nothing in the end.
So Hojlund is 20 and inexperienced, Garnacho is 19 and inexperienced, and Antony is trash and that somehow equates to us being better without Bruno? What the feck are you actually talking about?!
 

SAFMUTD

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Missed him a lot today we created almost nothing without him but can't help feeling that we would probably had conceded from a turnover from him.
 

VivaRonaldo85

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Today should remind ETH and others that Bruno shouldn’t be first name on the team sheet every game. He hasn’t done enough to earn that position in my opinion. Yes, there’s many times when he will start of course, but I was perfectly happy not to see him out there starting today albeit I’d have liked to bring him in with 15 mins to go for McTominay. ETH needs to be smarter how we deploy Bruno to get the best out of him at the right times in games.
 

The Oracle

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If Bruno had played today instead of McTominay, would Utd have been better or worse?
Worse.

McTominay won the coin toss and changed the ends around, meaning Liverpool were playing towards the Kop in the first half instead of the second half. Only a small detail but it clearly disrupted the Liverpool team and their fans.

On the other hand, if Bruno was playing and won the coin toss he would have let Liverpool play towards the Kop in their preferred second half of the match; just like he let Villarreal go first in the penalty shootout in the Europa League Final after winning the coin toss.
 

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe

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Worse.

McTominay won the coin toss and changed the ends around, meaning Liverpool were playing towards the Kop in the first half instead of the second half. Only a small detail but it clearly disrupted the Liverpool team and their fans.

On the other hand, if Bruno was playing and won the coin toss he would have let Liverpool play towards the Kop in their preferred second half of the match; just like he let Villarreal go first in the penalty shootout in the Europa League Final after winning the coin toss.
:lol: that's not what happened. There are 2 coin tosses before a penalty shootout. One decides which end you shoot in front of, and the other decides which team takes their penalty first. I remember we lost both coin tosses before the shootout vs Brighton at Wembley, so Brighton took the first penalty and were at the end in front of their fans. Whereas Mctominay won the coin toss today. The only conclusion to be drawn from that is that Mctominay might have better luck at a casino than Bruno when backing red or black at the roulette table.
 
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lex talionis

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Bruno creates chances that McTominay can’t even see watching a YouTube video, yet Bruno is a chaos merchant. The only rationale for bringing in Mount is to succeed Bruno and I’d like to see what Mount can do when given 3-4 starts in place of Bruno.
 

gza the genius

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I think Bruno is looking worse right now because we're basically letting Mctominay play further forward so Bruno has to sit a little. We're basically sacrificing him for Mctominay goals and it's making the team pretty horrible at attacking.
 

Vernon Philander

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Bruno isn’t going to get dropped and nor should he, so that nonsense talk should be stopped. As others have said, it has to be either him or McT in that advanced role and leave the deeper positions to those with better actual positioning and passing accuracy.
 

Ali Dia

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It’s hard to know. He would have invited more pressure on us but he was also most likely to create something on the counter. I think he needs to play closer to goal as a support striker. He presses very well and has a great shot on him but him popping up everywhere over complicating things isn’t the right role. I’m all for a player tracking back but he doesn’t need to play make all over the pitch. If he can be explosive around the area that’s all we need with two sitting behind him.
 

Martial

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We really missed Bruno today, we should have made them pay with their missed chances.