Not sure this is the right approach here. Even if Bruno would lose the ball more often, it wouldn't automatically make him a bad player per se, because it really depends on the role he has within the team. It was always a bad idea to bring his pass completion stat into the debate because it doesn't really help any side of the argument. Because yes, an attacking midfielder is supposed to attempt riskier passes than for example a CB. But at the same time, you can make 4 key passes that your team mates squander but you'll get flack for the one misplaced pass that led to a goal. Lets look at a few stats and lets see, which narrative I can create, when I want to
Player | Passes Attempted per 90 | Long Passes Attempted per 90 | Take ons attempted (successful take ons) | Dispossessed | Errors (leading to shots) | Passes blocked |
Bruno (3413minutes) | 62.63 (75%) | 10.5 (54%) | 1.53 (0.66) | 1.11 | 0.05 | 1.77 |
De Bruyne (2388minutes) | 71.80 (75%) | 9.08 (50%) | 2.19 (0.75) | 1.70 | 0.04 | 2.26 |
Odegard (3152minutes) | 56.19 (84%) | 3.7 (64%) | 2.46 (1.46) | 1.91 | 0.00 | 1.03 |
Maddison (2695minutes) | 64.72 (81%) | 7.6 (47%) | 3.44 (1.5) | 1.34 | 0.00 | 1.24 |
Guimaraes (3335minutes) | 55.21 (82.4%) | 6.64 (58.5%) | 3.35 (1.62) | 2.48 | 0.05 | 1.03 |
He is 2nd in this group for attempted passes but joined last for completion, he attempts the most long passes and only completes slightly more than half of them, he takes on the least amount of players but is dipossessed more often than one could expect, given that the other players attempt (way) more takeons than him. He is right up there with Errors leading to shots and he and De Bruyne are up there in terms of passes blocked.
(all data is from fbref advanced scouting report, based on the last 365 days, percentiles aren't really useful here as not all players are compared into the same category, even though Bruno is deployed as midfielder, in terms of percentiles, he is only compared to Attacking midfielders and wingers, De Bruyne and Maddison can be viewed as that OR as midfielders, for Odegard and Guimaraes they can only be viewed as midfielders)
In isolation nothing of those things make him a bad player. He takes on risks and we want him to do it.
BUT
a) we don't want him to do it all the time and
b) we don't want him to do it at the same rate when he fills a midfield position.
And no, this isn't a crazy expectation, even Ruben said something along those lines and against Liverpool, we saw him keeping it in check in an almost unfamiliar way.
Nobody doesn't want him to take risks. What people get frustrated with is the impression, that there are phases during games, where it seems he is pure instinct and no thinking at all. And while that is fine here and there, with Bruno it happened on a regular basis. And for all the good things he does to the team, those turnovers can be a negative. And we can discuss into eternity about whether that negative is outweighed by all the positives, thats a valid discussion. But I sometimes get the feel that his fans deny those negative effects alltogether.
I am not aware of reading something like that. I know I said that for all his business, there are times where there isn't really much output but I can't remember anybody questioning his workrate.
Sounds good but at the end of the day, it is one opinion of many possible opinions. You could just as well say that Brunos numbers are as good as they are because at United, everything is channeled through him. We'll never know what assumption holds more "truth", with the most likely factor to sway ones opinion is that ones general stance towards the player in the first place.
But on the last sentence, no question, this United team is quite useless without him. But this is an issue we shouldn't just adress my playing him as much as possible. Hopefully.
I think the last one to bring such numbers is yourself, but we will make sure to remind you that those stats are one of the least useful stats next time you do it.
But conformation bias and human nature apply to both sides of the argument, which makes this argument worthless. Except the assumption is that it is only the others who fell victim to their bias's.
No question about it, but not every team is starting from the same starting positions. If your defence is solid then you should take different risks than when it is shaky. When your team is athletic and fit, risks are easier handled than when your team isn't all these things. That is my personal main issue with Bruno at United, I can live with him being on the pitch as I know about the obvious upsides. I am starting to struggle when I see him being deployed in the heart of midfield often with next to nobody but the defence behind him.
I think he is pretty damn good at finding runners with his vision and fast execution. I think he is a very instinctive footballer that is able to create fantastic moments.
But in times where so many teams are as organised as our rivals and as we aspire to be as well, players need to find a way to control their instincts to a degree. Which is something I don't consider Bruno to be pretty good in. Whether thats down to instructions or ability, I don't know, I just think that there isn't much that indicates that he can be just as good in a an organized environment as he can be when it gets frantic and chaotic. Other than belief and optimism of course