TheRedDevil'sAdvocate
Full Member
If he lost the moaning, he could become somewhat of a **** figure like Riquelme. A maverick that can produce moments of magic and is admired by the fans for it but, unfortunately for him, born 15-20 years too late. Demanding to be at the heart of everything in this age of system teams and requiring a group of workhorses in the midfield to allow him his free role at a time when technique and ball retention is paramount in the midfield battle. A super player for a team that possibly won't win anything of notice. Still, you could get to work on Monday and brag: "I was at the game on Saturday and i saw first hand that Bruno pass/goal/move".
I don't get why people get so worked up. You can believe that he's a great player and fun to watch when he finds a good vein of form and still be of the opinion that he is not the best thing since sliced bread. There have been players whose impact had been far greater than Bruno's at the highest level, players whose individual skills were much better and they were worshipped by the fans, yet their teams were better off without them in the end. It's a mix of "once in a lifetime" like individual skills and a **** of personality aura about them. I think Bruno falls short on both accounts and his impact has been overstated by a fanbase that's desperate for silver linings. A radio producer in my part of the world mentioned the other day that United have gone from a high water mark of 68 goals without him (Martial, Rashford and Lukaku up front) to one of 73 goals (Greenwood and Cavani instead of Lukaku) with him. That's how big his impact has been.
Anyway, it would be a more interesting discussion about Rashford. In the, sadly quite possible, scenario of United remaining a 3-7 team with the occasional good run in the domestic cups or in the Europa/Conference League in the foreseeable, Rash could stay here until his mid 30s, not improving a single bit as a footballer, and still manage to become United's top goal scorer of all time by delivering 15-20 goals p/s in all competitions. I don't think he's fit to lace Rooney's boots and i won't even mention the late Sir Bobby. But StatmanDave may think otherwise.
I don't get why people get so worked up. You can believe that he's a great player and fun to watch when he finds a good vein of form and still be of the opinion that he is not the best thing since sliced bread. There have been players whose impact had been far greater than Bruno's at the highest level, players whose individual skills were much better and they were worshipped by the fans, yet their teams were better off without them in the end. It's a mix of "once in a lifetime" like individual skills and a **** of personality aura about them. I think Bruno falls short on both accounts and his impact has been overstated by a fanbase that's desperate for silver linings. A radio producer in my part of the world mentioned the other day that United have gone from a high water mark of 68 goals without him (Martial, Rashford and Lukaku up front) to one of 73 goals (Greenwood and Cavani instead of Lukaku) with him. That's how big his impact has been.
Anyway, it would be a more interesting discussion about Rashford. In the, sadly quite possible, scenario of United remaining a 3-7 team with the occasional good run in the domestic cups or in the Europa/Conference League in the foreseeable, Rash could stay here until his mid 30s, not improving a single bit as a footballer, and still manage to become United's top goal scorer of all time by delivering 15-20 goals p/s in all competitions. I don't think he's fit to lace Rooney's boots and i won't even mention the late Sir Bobby. But StatmanDave may think otherwise.