Can Bruno regain his old productivity?

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In his first season and a half at the club, Bruno managed 40 goals 25 assists in 81 games. 0.8 g/a per game.

In the last 2 seasons he's come down to a mortal 20 goals and 26 assists in 91 games. 0.5 g/a per game.

Can he ever get back to the same level of productivity which made his high octane approach worth it? I know he's playing a deeper role now, but isn't it then just worth exploring getting a player who's more natural in the position if we're willing to give up that attacking production?
 

Desert Eagle

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In his first season and a half at the club, Bruno managed 40 goals 25 assists in 81 games. 0.8 g/a per game.

In the last 2 seasons he's come down to a mortal 20 goals and 26 assists in 91 games. 0.5 g/a per game.

Can he ever get back to the same level of productivity which made his high octane approach worth it? I know he's playing a deeper role now, but isn't it then just worth exploring getting a player who's more natural in the position if we're willing to give up that attacking production?
No for two reasons , he's not on penalties anymore and we had an incredible run of getting penalties when he first arrived. He's also not as good of a shooter as we once thought, his ball striking is as hit and miss as his technique in general. Bruno can play well without the goal and assist numbers and that is what he should focus on.
 

bosnian_red

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His non penalty xG per 90:
  • 0.23 in 19/20
  • 0.24 in 20/21
  • 0.23 in 21/22
  • 0.18 in 22/23
He's been playing more as a midfielder under Ten Hag pretty clearly, so that explains the little drop off.

Non pen xG + x assists per 90:
  • 0.42 in 19/20
  • 0.57 in 20/21
  • 0.49 in 21/22
  • 0.58 in 22/23
Basically... The only real difference in his productivity was that we got a shit ton of penalties in his first 2 seasons, a disproportionately, record breaking amount of penalties which is always a fluke. And now the past 2 seasons we're regressing to the mean. He's having his best season from a creativity POV.
 

Bondi77

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No for two reasons , he's not on penalties anymore and we had an incredible run of getting penalties when he first arrived. He's also not as good of a shooter as we once thought, his ball striking is as hit and miss as his technique in general. Bruno can play well without the goal and assist numbers and that is what he should focus on.
Who is on penalties then??
 

Bondi77

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He probably just means our rate of penalties have normalized. Obviously he's still on them. Just we don't get a stupid amount.
It was a statement and he was wrong and if he meant what you think he meant then he really needs to have a look at how he constructs a post :eek:
 

bosnian_red

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It was a statement and he was wrong and if he meant what you think he meant then he really needs to have a look at how he constructs a post :eek:
Oh never mind he doubled down. Weird. Bruno is obviously on pens. He wasn't while Ronaldo was here despite Bruno being better at them. But yeah.
 

croadyman

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We've had 5 penalties this season and Bruno has taken 2 of them.

Our big money striker signing will probably be on pens starting next year as well.
If it's Kane that's fine,don't know the penalty taking ability of the other striker targets
 

DWelbz19

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I don’t think so. And that begs the question — for a player who plays how Fernandes does, where his ‘productivity’ is normally the caveat — is 6 goals and 8 assists in 35 matches worth the squeeze?
 

KikiDaKats

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He is still productive. Just rubbish at helping the team control games.
 

Belisarius

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In his first season and a half at the club, Bruno managed 40 goals 25 assists in 81 games. 0.8 g/a per game.

In the last 2 seasons he's come down to a mortal 20 goals and 26 assists in 91 games. 0.5 g/a per game.

Can he ever get back to the same level of productivity which made his high octane approach worth it? I know he's playing a deeper role now, but isn't it then just worth exploring getting a player who's more natural in the position if we're willing to give up that attacking production?
Does anyone have the data on what his g/a per game have been this season after the World Cup? (i.e. since Ronaldo left). Suspect it will have gone up but would be interested in knowing if true.
 

KikiDaKats

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What would give us better control
It’s broader question to answer because this team was constructed to get best out of players like Bruno and Rashford, their best attributes come to fore when we have to hit teams on the break.
Till that changes we can’t control games because we are set up to get the best out of these two.
 

Chief123

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I would fully expect his assists stats to drop dramatically when the striker he’s feeding has an average of 0 goals per game.

Martial and to some extent Greenwood not playing as much as they haven’t last 2 seasons has a big impact. We did get a lot of penalties first couple of seasons but they were warranted due to the ability of our forwards to constantly draw the tackle with quick foot work.
 

Andycoleno9

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If he will play on his position then yes. This moving him around the pitch shit must stop. He played on the left wing, right wing and as holding midfielder. Everywhere except on no10
 

Martial

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When the main striker in the team isn't Wout Weghorst, or a geriatric Cristiano Ronaldo.
 

Yagami

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For me, Bruno's "high octane approach" was never worth it. The player who's central to all your teams play should excel at general play more so than scoring, and Bruno's general play has always been poor.

When we were linked to him that January, I actually wasn't keen on signing him because I had watched Sporting and his general wastefulness was clearly evident there. We were pretty desperate at the time so I didn't mind too much when we eventually got him. 4(?) years on and he hasn't improved his general play at all.

I look at some of my favourite 10s ever and they didn't get half the goals in a season Bruno did, but they won more because their general play was what mattered. Rui Costa only hit double figures once for Fiorentina and never did for Milan. Zidane at Juventus (my favourite version of him) only hit double figures once for Juve.

We need to look past stats and focus on a players general play. That's what will take us to the next level.
 

Scandi Red

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Non pen xG + x assists per 90:
  • 0.42 in 19/20
  • 0.57 in 20/21
  • 0.49 in 21/22
  • 0.58 in 22/23
When the main striker in the team isn't Wout Weghorst, or a geriatric Cristiano Ronaldo.
And there you have it. I don't like xG and xA, but I'm in the minority so...

This impressive research on the European top leagues was posted on Reddit 4 days ago:


The relevant part:

Bruno Fernandes – looking at the differences chart it becomes very apparent how unlucky Bruno has been this season when his Assists – xAg is at -7 meaning he should have 7 more assists if his team mates were converting the chances he was creating. He also has been struggling a little more in front of goal this season with his Goals – xG being below 0 too. Despite his goal scoring not being is a high compared to when he first joined United, what is clear from these charts and especially the Expected chart – Bruno is a World Class creator being ahead of Kevin de Bruyne this season and only second behind Dusan Tadic in Expected assists.
 

mikeyt

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No. I just don’t see how long term under Ten Hag he’s the answer, and to me that becomes more apparent week after week.
Agree with this, we struggle to retain possession with him in the team, he's a luxury player who occasionally produces magic that pays off but most of the time he's just not a productive player.
 

Relfy

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He has his faults for sure, but he has been moved about all over the midfield this season, so I am not surprised his numbers have dipped, as he isn't getting the ball in the areas he can do most damage in. His wastefulness is covered up when playing the #10 role in the team, as its less likely to be in more dangerous areas of the pitch. We need a proper midfield base and then have him play solely at #10. He's not a winger and can't/shouldn't play #8 either.
 

Lyng

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Yes he has been very bad the last few games, but I think we need to wait and see until Casemiro and Eriksen are back. Bruno with a functioning midfield behind him is a very different player and I am certain he will be good for us again once those two are back.
 

TMDaines

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Penandes ain’t coming back and comparisons to Lampard were always wide of the mark. He’s a midfielder who can chip in with some goals. We need other players to do more than him. Bruno should be the fifth or sixth top scorer in a more balanced squad.
 

buckooo1978

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He has his faults for sure, but he has been moved about all over the midfield this season, so I am not surprised his numbers have dipped, as he isn't getting the ball in the areas he can do most damage in. His wastefulness is covered up when playing the #10 role in the team, as its less likely to be in more dangerous areas of the pitch. We need a proper midfield base and then have him play solely at #10. He's not a winger and can't/shouldn't play #8 either.
agree with all of this

actually think he's been fairly underwhelming in many of the games. No real presence or impact when we are under pressure

a bit wasteful in attack. Pulls out the odd goal or assist to keep things ticking over.

Daft playing him deeper and McTominay advanced yesterday. Not sure what Ten Hag was thinking. I'd have played Fred on Bruno G as he makes them tick.
 

Neil_Buchanan

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When he first arrived it seemed our entire way of playing was ‘built around’ giving the ball to Bruno as soon as possible and hopefully he does something special. We do that a bit less often now, plus penalties, playing out of position and playing with crap strikers this season are likely the main reasons.
 

amolbhatia50k

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The problem is probably that he is also that desperate to get up his productivity when what he really needs to do is contribute to our general play. Having a 10 who is that inconistent in possession hurts us (albeit not as bad as McTominay and Sabitzer behind him do).
 

Jeffthered

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Good question.. I think he can, but he needs better forwards, better players in fact, around him.

I think he needs to be inspired.