Looking beyond Bruno

 I should get the usual disclaimer out of the way at the outset. I'm not an expert at the game of football. Sure - i've played it, know most of the rules, have been a fan - of the game, and then for the last 2 decades - of a club. But I can't lay any claim on being a tactician supreme. Can't say I know my second balls from my inside channels.

I know how gross that sounds, but given that these are legitimate expressions used in football media, any puns here are well intended, and have no other connotations than the strictly non-sexual, pro-sporting ones.

With that out of the way, let's come to the topic at hand. Why I think Bruno Fernandes is the main reason Manchester United will not make any progress as a team - a footballing force. This opinion - in a week that saw the man score twice, add an assist in a game that United needed to come back after falling behind twice, against bottom dwellers and soon relegated Sheffield United - would seem like utter nonsense. In a failing team of constant under performers, here's someone who has played every single game that he was not suspended or (on one occasion) not nursing a slight niggle, has given it all, is the highest scorer, has been the only person who seems to give a shit, and is constantly coming up with man-of-the-match performances. And he's the reason we are not progressing? Yes - IMWO...(W standing in for worthless, in case someone in 2427 finds this while trawling for United related content and finds this).

Why?

Reason 1: I can't really tell the position that he's meant to play. He professes to perform best in the no. 10, and always seems to start there, but as the game progresses I've seen him roving around - 6, 8, 11, even 9 (true and false). One of Bruno's best characteristics is his anticipation of where the ball will be, and 70% of the time, he's not very far from where it ends up. If you drew a heat map of Bruno's position in juxtaposition to where the ball is, I'd be willing to bet he's not far off every single second of the game.

So he roves around a lot, and that makes it difficult for a coach to devise strategies around him, or to frame tactics around other positions. One commentator said recently, he plays anywhere he wants, and while that is fine these days, and is precisely the brand of football that Guardiola plays at Man City- it just brings more unpredictability (and not in a nice way) to an already chaotic style (if there is one) of play that Erik Ten Hag is trying to enforce.

Reason 2: There are better no 10s in this United team. We bought one in the form of Mason Mount last year, and one of the reasons we have not seen the best of this fine Chelsea import is the fact that he is not being played in the position Bruno hogs. So Mount plays at an improvised 8, sometimes along with Bruno, and they's often competing for the same ball when playing together. Maybe Mount is not that great off the ball, but he's a more direct, better passer through the central lines that Bruno is, and he would be a better foil for Hojlund, setting up more chances for him, rather than the indirect methods Bruno employs - squirt the ball to the flanks for Garnacho or Rashford, who then try to cut in rather than cross it to the Danish no 9. Not that crossing to him is of much use - the success percentage of that sort of play is negligible, and Hojlund doesn't win a lot in the air.

Reason 3: Bruno's short passing isn't the best. I don't have the stats, but I'm sure he's had more accurate long passes than short ones. And his tendency to rely on fancy flicks, side-boots, jinxy leaves often leads to losing possession in the most critical phases of the game, and the worst possible positions on the pitch.

Reason 4: I dont know if ETH will continue in the new season, but even with someone new, i think the challenge is to define a style of play that revolves around Bruno and his role. Unfortunately, years of giving him a free rein means that it's difficult to now define a role for him. In all the discussions previous managers have had with him, I'm sure Bruno has insisted on being able to decide where he wants to play - or has simply ignored any instructions to the contrary - like C Ronaldo used to do. so with the midfield pivot not in control, its difficult to piece together a coherent strategy for everybody around him. At the beginning of the season, I had dreams of Rice coming in before he eventually pitched up at Arsenal, but I think he would have been lost in a system where Bruno poached into his territory amongst others

In some ways, Bruno is the sweet poison that seems to revive a flagging body, but is actually just causing other parts of the body to rot away and die...like CR7 in a lot of ways. the guy would score, but was effectively killing off United's ability to really form a strong team around him.

If this sounds ungrateful, and entirely out of touch with reality - and I don't deny it could very well be - I would agree...but a large part of me wants Bruno to be out for a while so we can try and see what we can build without him in the team. We would probably lose a lot of games before it started to work, but I think we would start seeing other areas of the pitch wake up and start to shine. 

I've never had regrets of the club having signed him - there's no one more hard working, with a better work rate, or having more influence on the game than Bruno. He has over the last 4 to 5 years been the most effective players in the club whether it was in terms of creating chances, or with his record of always being available to play. But I think in the season of renewal, if this club is to change its trajectory to a winning one, we may need to have a lesser role for the man.