That’s him yeah. Inter not a big team?
Bruno is underrated thread
- Thread starter Samid
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Yeah he definitely gets a lot of stick on here - so definitely underrated but I’m sort of with you on the post above. He could have been someone we built our team around - he’s talented enough but the games moved away from these type individual systems to team systems - if that makes sense. Meaning Bruno is sort of a tough player to mould into such a system (hybrid 8/10 role I guess). One things for sure though, he’d hve absolutely thrived in a SAF team IMO.
Well the conversation was about NOT selling our players to big teams.
I think he’s kind of rated about right. Most think he’s a very good player but his style and personality are very suited to a certain type of football and role.
When has a top team besides Real Madrid ever bid for a starter of ours?
I got a warning for saying the same about Pogba around 5 years back, so let me try to phrase this as gently as possible.
He is class and it is a shame he has spent his prime years playing with this dross.
Trophy-wise, a Totti-level waste of a career. Without the cult status.
He is class and it is a shame he has spent his prime years playing with this dross.
Trophy-wise, a Totti-level waste of a career. Without the cult status.
Pogba will go down as one of the most overrated players of all time in my opinion. I am critical of Bruno but he’s a better player than Pogba even though he has about half the natural ability and talent.
To my defence, I made that point before it became obvious what his attitude was like.
Don’t worry you won’t get one for saying Bruno is underrated…Absolutely ridiculous to get one for saying that of any player but no surprise to me.
How? He was slated for any mistake he made no matter how small, if he had dummied the ball in the way Bruno did on Saturday or not tracked the runner like Bruno against West Ham etc etc etc etc he’d have been singled out during and after the game 100%. He was slated for getting blocked off at a corner, for getting tackled in the opposition half, for taking a penalty he won, and slated for not playing fantastically every game or being a player he never was.
He was scrutinised in the media like no player I’ve ever seen and that had a huge impact on the way he was perceived. No he was t brilliant but he wasn’t close to being overrated, I’d struggle to suggest he was even rated.
Pogba’s time at United is largely underrated. It doesn’t take much just to look at performance threads and see how often he played well in comparison to the narrative and how many times he played well against the big teams.
Then do the same with Bruno maybe?
He was excellent in a stacked Juve team full of big characters and leaders. Comes to United and is good for the season where there’s a more dominant player (Ibra) and then just goes through a series of seasons of ups and downs when he becomes the main man. He had 2 good seasons. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad player but this is a player people would genuinely talk about as a potential Balón D’Or winner or the best in the world - he was never even close to that. He was a good but inconsistent player who never reached close to what he could have done.
Bruno I’d say is the opposite, he’s not that great a player naturally - he’s quite slow, not a great dribbler, erratic as feck, inconsistent with his shooting and passing but his attitude makes up for all of that. Guy is a machine, never injured and, even though I dislike his antics, every game he’s leaving the pitch having given everything.
Pogba we all wanted to be great, particularly because he’d ’come home’ and the. Natural talent and technique were so evident but when you strip it back and look at the level he was it’s comparable to someone like Santi Carzola for Arsenal who was a very good player but not more than that and nowhere near the elite levels people spoke about Pogba at.
Yeah I think that’s the issue though…He’s a cherry on the cake player, build a team that functions and Pogba on top improves the overall quality of it. At United he was played as an actual CM. I also think that with regards to the type of player he was expected to be, he just wasn’t. He wasn’t as good as people expected ie he was never a balon dor player, but as a result he’s massively underrated rather than the opposite. Perhaps if Pogba was 5”9 expectations would have been more realistic.
He was a good player for United who performed consistently better in terms of quality than Bruno has. We had better control of games when he played and played well, which was far more often than most allow themselves to believe. He also had 90 g+a from the positions he played which were generally deep midfield and won two trophies and had some periods where we looked like a good team.
Bruno to me currently is living off workrate and his reputation is based on stats and his first 12 calendar months. Performance wise I reckon it’s close to 1 good game in 8. He’s so regularly awful that it’s ridiculous and you go back to the season we signed Ronaldo…that is most of his time here.
Underrated and out of form.
I'm not a particularly big Bruno fan so you won't find much disagreement from me on what you say above although maybe I value work ethic higher. Both of them had 2 really standout seasons for their respective roles, Pogba season 1 and Ole interim + Bruno first 2 seasons. I think people will always wonder where Pogba should have played, many thought he should be a 10, an 8, part of a sitting pair...people even said he should play wide at one point. Personally I think he should have been further forward and, conversely, I think Bruno should be further back, away from goal where he shoots less.
Maybe they'll be viewed similarly when Bruno leaves but I expect there'll be a lot more 'what could have been' with Pogba. Also hard to judge the control of games, Mou's football after the first season was very low risk - whereas Ten Hag to his detriment so far is making the game super open this season.
Being at Manchester United used to be the biggest stage other than Madrid so that’s why our players never used to leave.
Nowadays it’s for a totally different reason, none of our players are good enough to attract moves to better clubs. Pogba was wanted by Zidane for years at Madrid and Di Maria was sold to PSG, PSG were also interested in Rashford. Other than that our stars have been linked with or moved to clubs on the same level or lower.
If Bruno was as good as some on here think I see no reason why the likes of Madrid and Bayern wouldn’t go for him. The obvious answer is he’s not good enough for these type of teams as they have better players more suited to their system or there are better players in the market for them to try and get.
Let's not forget that Pogba left United when he was supposedly in his prime, so had an opportunity to prove his talent transcends the shit show at Manchester United. Even now he is still 'only' 30 years old. Lo and behold, his career since then has been a series of injuries, interspersed with being dropped from the squad for failing to turn up to a team meeting and now facing a lengthy ban for failing a drug's test. He's played a grand total of 2 matches for France since 2021. Fairly fecking obvious the guy lacked the professionalism and durability needed to be a really top player. Which was evident in what he produced on the pitch for most of his United career.
Yet no bids for Pogba or Rashford. Rumors but no actual movement.
Not only did no other club bid for Pogba when we bought him, but he left us on a free and no one competed for him.
Pogba was damaged goods by the time of leaving in 2022.
He was an option earlier than that but his output wouldn’t have justified the astronomical fee needed to sign him, same with Rashford I guess.
So that pretty much strengthens the point that none of our players have performed well enough to be must buys for bigger clubs, Bruno included.
I agree with you, they might have some good strengths, but at united we seem to ignore the big weaknesses.
Go back to when United were last regularly winning the league and making CL finals. From 2008 to 2012. How often did you read about clubs making bids for our players? Ronaldo was an exception that proved the rule. He was only sold after he made a massive song and dance and basically forced the club to sell him. We’re not a selling club. We don’t sell our best players. So other clubs don’t try to sign them, unless there’s a possibility we want rid of them. It’s always been that way.
Both Bruno and Rashford are underrated even by the United fanbase.
Darn, I thought this was the Bruno is x-rated thread
Do you really think that no big clubs would've been in for our best players, Bruno and Rashford being the biggest examples, if there was a chance of getting them?
22 year old Rashford with 34 G/A in 19/20, or 25 year old Rashford with 41 G/A in 22/23? He was the best possible replacement PSG could get in the event of selling Mbappé basically up until Vinícius raised his game and became one of the best players in the world in the 21/22 season. And he's still one of the few names along with the Brazilian and Leao at Milan as the best left wingers around who aren't named Mbappé.
What about Bruno Fernandes, who carried Manchester United on his own into the top 4 in 2020? The best chance creating machine in world football only behind KDB (an all-timer midfielder)?
I either misunderstand you or you're talking so much nonsense that I doubt even you believe what you're saying.
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What players would other teams be interested in though? Even when Rooney said he wanted to leave no one bid.
You don’t think other teams would have been interested in players from a club that was dominating the PL and consistently getting to the last four of the CL? Come on now.
We had amongst the very best defence in the CL over that period. You wouldn’t seriously try to argue that the likes of Van Der Saar, Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra couldn’t have maybe improved another big European team?
See my post above. It’s true we’ve never been a selling club but it’s for a different reason now.
If we had top players that were good enough for these teams and we continue to yo-yo between being a CL and EL club these players would look to leave and we’d be forced to sell. At the very least players will be trying to run down their contracts to leave to better clubs if we were unwilling to sell.
The main thing keeping players here now is the ridiculous wages we pay. For example who is going to buy Martial on £250k or Antony on £200k. We couldn’t move Maguire this summer for the same reason.
Yeah, people tend to point to his time with Juve and France as proof he was world class - yet one was in the dominant team in the league and the other a stacked national team where Kante/Matuidi ran like nutters for him + also the standard of opposition is generally low.
In Serie A, Juve won the league after he left with the exact same points total, Pjanic came in and basically matched his output (16/17 Pjanic: 5 goals, 10 assists in 30 games, 15/16 Pogba: 8 goals, 10 assists in 35 games). Pjanic also outperformed Pogba in 16/17 when at Roma, so as close to a direct comparison as is possible, same year, same league, same opponents, with 10 goals and 10 assists.
Whilst stats aren't everything, and I think Pogba was a better player than Pjanic overall, I think the gap between them (i.e. two good players) is much closer than the gap to the players Pogba was often actually compared to i.e the best in their respective positions like KBD, Kante, Modric etc. This wasn't his fault by any means and also has a bit part of not really having such a set rolebut then the great players look good even at weaker clubs like Modric at Spurs, Salah at Roma, KDB at Wolfsberg etc.
I'm aware this is Bruno thread though so enough of that! Bruno I think is rated bang on where he is - good player, suited to a specific style of play, frustrating as hell but capable of the sublime.
That can work both ways, though. A player can be both good enough for a better team and still too expensive. Naming players that we don't even particularly want ourselves on top wages doesn't really back up your point.
How is it nonsense if it hasn’t happened? Where was the bid or strong interest from a big club(s) in the way we’ve seen for other top players.
From your post you are clearly one of those who overrates Bruno and Rashford. If they were what you say they are they would have dragged us to more than 1 Carabao cup and a 2nd place finish in a Covid year.
Calling Rashford one of the best left wingers, possibly top 3 in the world going off your post is hilarious when he doesn’t start for club or country at the moment.
Stat bomb me all you like with Bruno but there’s a reason why top teams hardly have No.10s like him anymore. There is no place for him at these sides and as I said if there was they’d be trying to sign him.
This is true but we don’t have players that fit this criteria. You can use that for players already at top teams like Salah, Saka, Haaland etc.
Both Rashford and Bruno were in positions to run down their contracts. Rashford at least tested it a bit and there was PSG interest, however if we’re basing it on today no chance.
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I 100% agree with this statement. I imagine he could've easily had an illustrious career at Real.
Yes we did, but not all of them would suit the other teams that could afford them. Though RIO I could see playing anywhere, though who needed them? Barcelona didn't, RM didn't.
Sometimes I ask myself if some of you are banter kings or just bad posters.
There isn't such a thing as "he would have a career at Real". If he were to have had a career at Real, they would have bought him and he would have picked them over United. But that didn't happen, which shows he is where he needs to be, in an average team as an average to good player.
Isn't it a hypothetical point though?
As in to say had Real brought him, he would have easily been a superb player for them?
Which is a fair statement, albeit somewhat subjective. He would probably excel in a better team then the current United outfit.
Which of their best players are our rivals struggling to keep or have struggled to keep in the past? The transfer market isn't like what you have in FIFA with random offers flying in for your players.
-We are one of the richest clubs in the world with one of the highest wage bills.
-We are not a selling club.
-We play in the Premier League.
-Our best players never really wanted to leave in the last 10 years other than Pogba flirting with other clubs regularly, and De Gea almost forcing a move to Madrid.
Feck me you’re brazen. That’s akin to saying Wayne Rooney was in his prime in2015.Nobody who saw Pogba’s body breaking down in his last couple of seasons, saw the affects covid had on him and saw how he’d lost a yard of pace, would seriously say he was ‘in his fecking prime’ when he left. What any of this has to do with professionalism is beyond me? It’s just absolute bollocks as usual.
Since I’ve put the two together here are Rooneys thoughts on Pogba…
Rooney claims Pogba’s attitude was exemplary from the minute he arrived at Old Trafford.
“After he returned [from Juventus] in 2016, we had a season together under Jose Mourinho. Then, as before, Paul’s application was always fantastic, and his mentality was spot on.
“He wanted to win, he was a strong character, committed to the team. You should ignore all the silly criticism that comes his way. All that stuff about his hair-cuts and dancing – it’s irrelevant. None of it has anything to do with the player that Paul is.”
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The audacity to compare this bum Bruno to Pogba. Pogba was top 5 midfielders of his generation. Had a better career than everyone's favourite KDB. He was better than him too.
Some of you deserve to watch trash like Rashford, Hojlund, Garnacho and Bruno week in week out.
Some of you deserve to watch trash like Rashford, Hojlund, Garnacho and Bruno week in week out.
I don’t understand what you’re on about. There is always interest for top players, whether they move is another thing but big teams have interest in each others players. Obviously centrepieces of these teams are unlikely to leave but in the event there was a window of opportunities, teams will be lined up ready to strike. We’ve seen Mane, Rudiger, Gundogan, Lewandowski, Kim-Min Jae, Griezmann move between big clubs in recent seasons.
You are still caught up in the United of old, we’ve been crap for 10 years and a lot of the prestige has worn off. I hate to break it to you but we don’t even have the opportunity to be a selling club. When Arsenal were a selling club, top teams were queuing up for the likes of Fabregas, Van Persie, Nasri and Sanchez. None of our players are game changers for any of the better teams.
As I said it’s not just about the actual transfer but the open interest and speculation with moves. Julian Alvarez for example has strongly been linked with Madrid, every year Bernardo Silva seems to be linked with Barcelona. Where is the interest for Bruno from better sides?
You're underrating our best players. If we were willing to sell, just from our current team there would be interest from other top teams in Rashford, Bruno, Shaw, Martínez, Mount, possibly Hojlund, Garnacho and Mainoo. Possibly others as well. I didn't list Onana because of his howlers, but we signed him 6 months ago as an established keeper with a really good reputation.
You are also giving credibility to the likes of Daily Mail, the Mirror, Marca and other tabloids linking Álvarez to Madrid, but downplay PSG's long-standing interest in Rashford, even though El-Khelaifi himself admitted his admiration for him. It's clear you have a narrative and now is a good time for doom and gloom posts as we are in a crisis. You wouldn't have argued Rashford not being one of the best left wingers in the world at the end of last season.
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Di Maria?