Bruno Fernandes in 2020 had the best calendar year of any player in PL history

[RashyForPM]

Games: 29
Goals: 18
Assists: 14
Goal contributions per game: 1.1
Player of the month awards: 4
Our league position before he came: 6th

Starting line-up in the last game before his debut, a 0-2 home loss to Burnley:

DDG
AWB Jones Maguire Williams
Fred Matic
Mata Pereira James
Martial

He single-handedly transformed a floundering team into a visibly good one who can do something really good if we just keep our feet on the ground and stay focused.

The likes of Henry, Ronaldo, RvN, RvP, Suarez and even King Eric have never had a better year for my money.

 

[Trequarista10]

Difficult to compare but I think Ronaldo had a couple better years. Love Bruno though, and it's remarkable to join a side mid season and make such an immediate impact.

 

[harms]

The fact that Cristiano, Henry etc. played for better teams doesn’t mean that they’ve played worse. They’ve played better. They’re the only two that I can name with confidence without checking additional stats etc., and that’s (positively) insane.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Still not world-class in the view of the professor @RobinLFC

 

[RashyForPM]

Difficult to compare but I think Ronaldo had a couple better years. Love Bruno though, and it's remarkable to join a side mid season and make such an immediate impact.

Ronaldo 2008 was sensational but his level dipped at the start of 2008-09 because he already wanted a move (shows you how good he is that he was still the best player in the league in spite of that). The only player comparable to Bruno 2020 was Ronaldo 2007, but considering Bruno got more POTM awards and has been the catalyst for a full revitalisation of a stale club into what is currently a happy, challenging one, I must say Bruno tops Ronaldo.

 

[Trequarista10]

Ronaldo 2008 was sensational but his level dipped at the start of 2008-09 because he already wanted a move (shows you how good he is that he was still the best player in the league in spite of that). The only player comparable to Bruno 2020 was Ronaldo 2007, but considering Bruno got more POTM awards and has been the catalyst for a full revitalisation of a stale club into what is currently a happy, challenging one, I must say Bruno tops Ronaldo.

I mean it's comparing apples and oranges. Ronaldo won the PL and CL, Bruno won some PotMs. Ronaldo was in a better side. Bruno scored more penalties. Played different positions. There probably can't be a right or wrong answer, but I suspect there's some recency bias. In 10 years time when people discuss the best calender year of a PL player, Ronaldo, Suarez, Henry and Co will be in the mix, Bruno's 4 potm awards maybe a largely forgotten footnote.

 

[PieCrust]

Bruno has been such an amazing signing and it felt like after the club durdled around in the summer that we'd miss out on him.

He still frustrates at times with errant passes that lose possession, but small price to pay for his overwhelming contribution since coming onboard.

 

[Amar__]

Has the OP actually checked stats and seasons of those players mentioned and compared it with Bruno or is this just click bait title of the thread, but the OP just expresses his opinion rather than express some facts/arguments?

 

[cyberman]

Calender year is a weird one. Ronaldos 42 goals season ended in May and he suffered and injury and was slow to get back into form until October odd?
Bruno wont be that far off

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Is it me or has calender year only really become a thing in the last few years or so?

Just feels quite irrelevant to me... Football is literally played in seasons.

 

[Andy_Cole]

Is it me or has calender year only really become a thing in the last few years or so?

Just feels quite irrelevant to me... Football is literally played in seasons.

Seems so but it’s a good indication that it’s more than just form. Think I remember Liverpool having a good calander year before winning the league. Spurs had an excellent one with Pochettino however but that wasn’t sustained.

 

[ROFLUTION]

Imagine if he had gone to Spurs that summer. They probably would have won something

 

[RashyForPM]

Has the OP actually checked stats and seasons of those players mentioned and compared it with Bruno or is this just click bait title of the thread, but the OP just expresses his opinion rather than express some facts/arguments?

No but using my eyes and combining all those factors, I can come to the conclusion that Bruno had the best calendar year of any PL player since 1992.

 

[RashyForPM]

Imagine if he had gone to Spurs that summer. They probably would have won something

He would have been the leader they desperately need alongside world class but shy, probably timid players like Kane and Son. They would have have won something. Thank God he came to us.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Think Ronaldo, Salah, Suarez and Bale's seasons will push him close - but what a transformation he's had.

I think it's the best "rookie" year I've ever seen from a player that's for sure. The fact he might only get better too? it's an exciting thought

He would have been the leader they desperately need alongside world class but shy, probably timid players like Kane and Son. They would have have won something. Thank God he came to us.

3-5-2 with Kane and Son up top with Bruno feeding them and a midfield of hojberg and Ndombele? Spurs genuinely could have won.

Thank god Poch had already gone for Lo Celso instead.

 

[JPRouve]

The fact that Cristiano, Henry etc. played for better teams doesn’t mean that they’ve played worse. They’ve played better. They’re the only two that I can name with confidence without checking additional stats etc., and that’s (positively) insane.

I think that there has been other players that have been better even if you limit it to attacking players. But for me the problem with the metrics used is that they are extremely biased in favor of attacking players(goalscorers). IIRC the PL player of the month has been won 4 times by a none attacking player in the last 10 years, even the season when Kanté won the player of the year award he didn't won the player of the month once.

 

[RUCK4444]

No but using my eyes and combining all those factors, I can come to the conclusion that Bruno had the best calendar year of any PL player since 1992.

Then you must not have seen Ronaldo play for United?

Feck me, I love Bruno but we’re stretching it here me thinks.

07/08 Ronnie had like 31 goals and 6 assists in the PL alone, god knows what his calendar year numbers were, not accounting for CL.

 

[RUCK4444]

I think that there has been other players that have been better even if you limit it to attacking players. But for me the problem with the metrics used is that they are extremely biased in favor of attacking players(goalscorers). IIRC the PL player of the month has been won 4 times by a none attacking player in the last 10 years, even the season when Kanté won the player of the year award he didn't won the player of the month once.

Yes but on the flip side Ronaldo has only one four player of the month awards in the PL.

Which is crazy, I mean who was winning them when he wasn’t in those two unreal seasons?

 

[TheNewEra]

When Bruno came I saw him have a big impact, but I did think that perhaps his influence would lessen with time and that perhaps it was just good form (which he has shown otherwise).

He's really lifted the team and he has really made United look like a force again.

My only gripe with Bruno is sometimes he gives the ball away when United are a goal ahead and there's 5 minutes to go, or he takes a risk where he shouldn't take one when It's a time to see the game out.

Terrific player though, easily worth €80-90M in the current market, world-class.

Well done Bruno.

 

[Mart1974]

Much as I rate Bruno. Cantona transformed a good team into a title winning team. Bergkamp did a similar job for Arsenal. Henry helped Arsenal win a league title. Ronny helped us to a league and champions league. Van Persie took us to the League title.

I think he has been outstanding but until they are engraving our club name onto the Premier league or Champions league trophy I think he will be considered as not quite in the same category as those I've listed.

 

[JPRouve]

Yes but on the flip side Ronaldo has only one four player of the month awards in the PL.

Which is crazy, I mean who was winning them when he wasn’t in those two unreal seasons?

That's not a flip side. If you take 2007-2008 as an example Torres was also having a great season and he won it once, while Ronaldo won it twice, the thing about the award is that it doesn't mean much outside of the month where it is is given. Rooney was clearly the best player in the league in 2009-2010, he won the PL of the year award but only won the PL of month award once during that season. It's a weak award that puts too much emphasis on who scored goals during the month regardless of how they did it and if they were actually the best player outside of those goals.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Much as I rate Bruno. Cantona transformed a good team into a title winning team. Bergkamp did a similar job for Arsenal. Henry helped Arsenal win a league title. Ronny helped us to a league and champions league. Van Persie took us to the League title.

I think he has been outstanding but until they are engraving our club name onto the Premier league or Champions league trophy I think he will be considered as not quite in the same category as those I've listed.

This is true. Because the team has lacked strong characters for years and hasn't won any silverware of real note, we've put Bruno on a pedestal which is IMO one above his contributions so far.

Not putting him down at all by the way, but he's a bit behind having the same impact as RvP for #20 IMO. Comparisons with Ronaldo are even worse.

 

[adexkola]

Is it me or has calender year only really become a thing in the last few years or so?

Just feels quite irrelevant to me... Football is literally played in seasons.

It started when Messi was on course to score 100 goals in 2010

 

[Mrs Smoker]

Dwight Yorke 21 goals, 11 assists in 1999 Premiership only. Probably no penalties taken.

What a guy, and what a year for him.

 

[RUCK4444]

That's not a flip side. If you take 2007-2008 as an example Torres was also having a great season and he won it once, while Ronaldo won it twice, the thing about the award is that it doesn't mean much outside of the month where it is is given. Rooney was clearly the best player in the league in 2009-2010, he won the PL of the year award but only won the PL of month award once during that season. It's a weak award that puts too much emphasis on who scored goals during the month regardless of how they did it and if they were actually the best player outside of those goals.

Yeah ok I agree with that. But I mean in Ronaldo’s peak season he was super consistent influencing every game.

Was there really a period of four or so games where he wasn’t better than the rest of the league? Cant see that, not enough to limit him to only two awards, he was head and shoulders above everything in Europe that season. Which shows it’s a strange award really.

That said Bruno has definitely deserved his four for the numbers he’s put in.

 

[JPRouve]

Yeah ok I agree with that. But I mean in Ronaldo’s peak season he was super consistent influencing every game.

Was there really a period of four or so games where he wasn’t better than the rest of the league? Cant see that, not enough to limit him to only two awards, he was head and shoulders above everything in Europe that season. Which shows it’s a strange award really.

That said Bruno has definitely deserved his four for the numbers he’s put in.

But that's not what the award judges, that's my point. During his pick Ronaldo wasn't always the best scorer/assister in the month, so the award went to someone else. The PL player of the season award is what you are looking for if you want to know who was the most consistent player.

 

[dal]

Games: 29
Goals: 18
Assists: 14
Goal contributions per game: 1.1
Player of the month awards: 4
Our league position before he came: 6th

Starting line-up in the last game before his debut, a 0-2 home loss to Burnley:

DDG
AWB Jones Maguire Williams
Fred Matic
Mata Pereira James
Martial

He single-handedly transformed a floundering team into a visibly good one who can do something really good if we just keep our feet on the ground and stay focused.

The likes of Henry, Ronaldo, RvN, RvP, Suarez and even King Eric have never had a better year for my money.

It’s easy to see why we struggled a bit before he arrived, our front 4 regularly consisted of Mata, James, Lingard and pereira. No offence to these players but that is shocking for Manchester United, Solskjaer was very brave and unselfish in not buying a forward and persisting with the unproven, Rashford, Greenwood, Martial (partially).

How he got third last year is nothing short of a minor miracle.

I’m not overreacting here but all things considered I believe it was our best achievement post fergie in the league. Yes Jose finished second but I just believe it was a tremendous achievement, we pulled a rabbit out of a hat with Bruno.

We usually don’t buy stars, we make them, we should continue this.

 

[James Peril]

Nah, hell no. In terms of goal contributions it’s obviously a slam dunk, but in terms of general play and influence he is far behind the best. KdB showed us how a game in controlled, at the same time Fernandes showed how little influence he has outside of assisting or scoring. Now... football is about scoring goals, so my point becomes a bit moot.... but still. Bruno struggles against top teams, his returns against the best teams is very poor - let’s hope he rectifies this against Liverpool. This is corona season and nothing is normal, let’s wait with the recency bias and accolades until he has played a normal season next year.

 

[RooneyLegend]

Crazy talk

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Is it me or has calender year only really become a thing in the last few years or so?

Just feels quite irrelevant to me... Football is literally played in seasons.

was Going to post the same.

it’s completely irrelevant in my opinion.

as someone else posted it seems to have come about due to Messi.

all it is, in an exercise in stats.

what if he now has a horrendous end to the season? This ‘great record’ means the square route of zero.

I think it’s potentially interesting, but not something to celebrate.

 

[Bilbo]

I dont agree with the thread title. What's he's done is put himself in the conversation for best player in the league

 

[charlenefan]

Games: 29
Goals: 18
Assists: 14
Goal contributions per game: 1.1
Player of the month awards: 4
Our league position before he came: 6th

Starting line-up in the last game before his debut, a 0-2 home loss to Burnley:

DDG
AWB Jones Maguire Williams
Fred Matic
Mata Pereira James
Martial

He single-handedly transformed a floundering team into a visibly good one who can do something really good if we just keep our feet on the ground and stay focused.

The likes of Henry, Ronaldo, RvN, RvP, Suarez and even King Eric have never had a better year for my money.

Christ look how far we've come from that line up in just under a year

 

[bsCallout]

Much as I rate Bruno. Cantona transformed a good team into a title winning team. Bergkamp did a similar job for Arsenal. Henry helped Arsenal win a league title. Ronny helped us to a league and champions league. Van Persie took us to the League title.

I think he has been outstanding but until they are engraving our club name onto the Premier league or Champions league trophy I think he will be considered as not quite in the same category as those I've listed.

This is true. Because the team has lacked strong characters for years and hasn't won any silverware of real note, we've put Bruno on a pedestal which is IMO one above his contributions so far.

Not putting him down at all by the way, but he's a bit behind having the same impact as RvP for #20 IMO. Comparisons with Ronaldo are even worse.

Don't think these comparisons are fair at all. IMO Bruno has had a bigger impact than all, Cantona comes closest.
Before RVP MU were a top team, we just needed a finisher.

Bruno came it at a time when United were looking awful after 6 years of mediocrity, looking like it was time to change manager again. Within one calender year we are top of the league for the first time since SAF. We looked like a proper midtable team, not going to get top 4, even top 6 looked questionable before Bruno.

Bruno deserves all the respect he's getting for that turnaround. Even if his play is frustrating to people at times. This weekend is huge for him personally though, if he drives us towards a win he cements himself top of that pile to me.

 

[tenpoless]

His overall stats must be comparable to Cantona's. If he has an excellent record against big teams (including Liverpool) then the comparison gets more relevant. This week will proof it. I personally think he's an excelent player and personality, it could actually happen, he can be our new Cantona.

 

[Oranges038]

The lad has played excellently since he joined, that is true. But, football is counted in seasons to most, this calendar year stuff seems to a recent fad for whatever reason. He's only been here a year, if he keeps it up for the next 5 or 6 then he'll be up there with some of the best. But he's not even close to Cantona, in terms of ability or impact.

Absolutely no contest when it come to Ronaldo either, he has almost a 1 for 1 goal output for over 10 years. In 2018 Ronaldo had 42 goals and 9 assists in 49 games, in 2010 he had 45 goals and 13 assists in 48 games. Take the blinkers off.

 

[M Bison]

Mata, Perreira and James in the AM roles

 

[sparx99]

Is it me or has calender year only really become a thing in the last few years or so?

Just feels quite irrelevant to me... Football is literally played in seasons.

I agree. The only thing I’d consider is that Bruno joined in January so it’s kind of a review of his first 12 months.

Weirdly the Italian league gives calendar years awards. Seems so strange to me.

 

[RUCK4444]

But that's not what the award judges, that's my point. During his pick Ronaldo wasn't always the best scorer/assister in the month, so the award went to someone else. The PL player of the season award is what you are looking for if you want to know who was the most consistent player.

Yeah sorry I do get that but I just refuse to believe anybody was better than Ronaldo in that season to the extent he was limited to only winning it two months in a whole season.

 

[Carl]

Still not world-class in the view of the professor @RobinLFC

Nevermind oppo fans, there are plenty of United fans that criticise him all the time. It's utterly bizarre.

People can't comprehend that you don't have to be amazing at every aspect of football to be an amazing player.

 

[JPRouve]

Yeah sorry I do get that but I just refuse to believe anybody was better than Ronaldo in that season to the extent he was limited to only winning it two months in a whole season.

I don't really know why I persist but Ronaldo won the player of season award, no one was better than him over the course of the season and it was recognized when the season ended. Ronaldo was the most consistent attacker at a high level alongside Torres but it doesn't mean that he was the best performer every months in the PL, he could be the second or third best performer. In fact during that season Ronaldo wasn't the best United performer every months it was sometimes Vidic, Scholes, Rooney, Ferdinand or Van Der Sar.