The fact that I feel the need to have to come out and speak about Bruno every now and then is a problem in itself. If a player is that good one shouldn't have to be coming out and talking about them so regularly.
Before anyone starts thinking I dislike or am negative towards the skipper, think again because he's one of my favorite players and has been since he arrived at the club in 2020.
And before I get into why I'm having a problem with him I want to add that I'd rather have a player like him in the team as his professionalism, endeavor and availability is something that I'd rather have in a player than not.
I'd also rather have that than a player who has the ability but none of those things I just mentioned regarding the captain.
How he is available ALL the time as well is a skill in itself especially in this non-stop, heavily-scheduled day-and-age of football.
It's honestly unbelievable 👏.
Now, with all that being said, this is why I have a problem with him. Some people will probably hate on all I'm about to say but I believe it needs to be said.
For all his availibility and quality, the guy just isn't consistent enough in terms of his overall performances. It's very rare that we see Bruno have three or four good games in a row and by good, I don't mean anything amazing like 9/10 but more 6-7/10, something that is adequate.
People will wonder what I'm talking about because he had a man of the match performance at Everton in which he scored a cracking free-kick that got us back in the game.
But other than that, what else did he do?
Many seem to get carried away with that one good thing that a player does in a game and make it like they were like prime Messi.
Bruno was crap against the Toffees. He's been crap for a long time. Ever since he got the armband, he hasn't been himself in my opinion and I feel that the same happened with Maguire.
While the former captain's ability may not match that of the current, he was still better before the captaincy than he was after. Only now is Maguire truly showing the form that the club spent all that money for.
Maybe it's something to do with the armband of Man Utd that causes these players to drop off or, maybe it's the players who aren't good enough to be wearing it?
And by good enough I don't mean just in terms of quality as a player but as a leader too.
There is hardly any leadership from Bruno in the times where we truly need it and yes you can say that leadership is scoring goals to get us back in games but it's more than that as you're tasked with lifting the team when they're underperforming and sometimes shouting at them when they make silly errors.
As I said in my 5 things learned about this game, there was very little communication from anyone and there were ample opportunities where someone needed to speak up. Bruno as the captain probably has the responsibility to do this more than others as he is the captain.
But there was nothing.
He also kept giving the ball away a lot and far too easily at Goodison. This is a problem of his that has been there for a long time. This habit of his of trying the spectacular as regularly as he does gets found out in certain systems like Amorim's.
When it came to his deliveries, those were nowhere near the level you would expect of a player of his quality as well. Most of the time, he fails to clear the first man and for some reason, he chose to float the ball in against Everton rather than hit it with any venom.
Why not put some power and whip on it to give our players a better chance of stronger headers as there is enough pace on the ball for them to generate power, if he beats the first man that is.
When United have to have more of the ball and have to keep things simple, he struggles to do it. When we play on the break and he has time and space however, deadly. Bruno is untouched.
Maybe that is the player he is? Maybe in a system like Solskjaer's that was more counter-attacking, that is where Bruno shines. It is something that could be said of most of this squad as some of the best football we've seen at United post Sir Alex Ferguson was Ole's MUFC. Those lockdown periods 👌.
Bruno played a big part in that which is why we saw that football.
The Portuguese is also very il-disciplined in terms of his positioning as he can appear everywhere and nowhere but not in the place he needs to be. This could be the manager's instructions but I doubt he's telling him to be all over the pitch.
Ever since those COVID-hit seasons though, he hasn't been as good as that.
What Bruno will always have is the numbers. He is a player who's always managed to produce a brilliant output and to think that he is just a midfielder makes it all the more impressive.
In 271 appearances for the club, the skipper has amassed a total of 89 goals and 78 assists meaning that he has a goal contribution every 0.6 games. In other words, he scores or assists almost every game.
This season, it's no surprise that he sits on top of the charts for United with 10 goals and 12 assists. This is now the eighth season in a row where the 30-year-old has produced double-digit goals and assists.
But while those numbers are seriously awesome, it can mask the overall performance.
This is something that I truly hate ⬇
This isn't me hating on Statman Dave but again, these numbers 🙄. Doesn't it make it look like he was prime Messi?
Even these ratings of his.
I'm not sure how they work these out as he was nowhere near that good. As I said, I believe he was shit until that goal. That boosted his rating from me from a 4 to a 5.
Maybe you have a differing opinion on his rating and agree that he had a good game but for me, no. Absolutely not.
People will then believe this sort of thing and believe those stats. If he were a striker then yeah, he's brilliant but he isn't, he is a midfielder and you need to do more in the centre of the park than up top.
I will admit that if we had better finishers Bruno's numbers would've been even better and maybe this has caused him to want to do more by himself but it still doesn't mean that Hollywood passes and shots should be taken as often as he does nor does it mean he should be giving the ball away as stupidly as he does.
This may sound silly but I'd rather he had 50 fewer goals and assists but more consistently good performances that were genuinely 7 or 8/10. Maybe he might not score or assist in a game but his overall performance is so good. I believe that if his game was more consistent, we would still be scoring as much anyway because he will still create the chances.
The reason why I'm so critical of him and certain others is because the expectation I have of them is far greater than most in the squad. I know that Bruno can be much better than he is in terms of those overall performances. You only truly criticize those you rate highly whereas you'd probably say 'what else do you expect' from a player whom you know isn't good enough.
He is an epic player but for all his qualities, he is much too frustrating for one so experienced and brilliant as he is.
Forgive me for ranting a little but please try not to let numbers and stats mask overall performances with Bruno or anyone else. The captain hasn't been a 7.7/10 this season, not even close. I can't even remember how many games he had in which he had such a high rating.
I believe he can be so much better in terms of his overall performances. It's not only about numbers.
What are your opinions about the skipper?
Background Image: Bruno Fernandes | Creator: Zohaib Alam - MUFC | Credit: Manchester United via Getty Images -SuperSport