The magnifico just isn't magnifico-ing at the moment. I find that he's almost unrecognizable.
The MUFC skipper has come under immense (and warranted) criticism for his recent performances. And when I say recent, I mean for pretty much the last year.
For most of last season, Fernandes wasn't playing at the level we all know he can. Sure he got the odd goal and/or assist which is something we've come to expect from him but beyond that, he hasn't really lit the world up.
When looking at his earlier performances for the club, he was involved with absolutely everything. He was up and down the pitch, he was talking and coaching his team, he created chances out of his arse and of course, scored and assisted a lot.
The last 12 months though, he just hasn't appeared to be himself. The work rate is there but it is a little haphazrad. Ok, a lot haphazard.
There isn't as much commanding of his troops as we saw before which is a problem as he is now the captain which Erik ten Hag made him towards the end of the 22/23 season.
The creativity isn't as profound, the assists aren't as frequent, the goals have sort of dried up.
His last truly good performance was in the FA Cup final back in May. That too was his first good performance in a while. We haven't seen anything near that level since.
Something that he's now added to his game is missing chances. In front of goal in his first few seasons, Bruno was very clinical and rarely missed the type of opportunities he's missing now. The captain should've scored at least 3 goals this season when looking at the good opportunities he's spurned.
He has no goals in the first seven games and has 3 assists, 2 of which came against Barnsley in last week's 7-0 thrashing even if it was in a substitute appearance. His 3 big chances missed in the league means he is 8th in that table and 3rd when it comes to United players.
His strike rates across his time at United is still pretty good. In 241 games for the club, Fernandes has 79 goals and 70 assists giving him a strike rate of 62% which is very decent indeed. He is also the most creative player in Europe as from his first full season at United (20/21), he has created 422 chances which is 74 more than any other player in Europa and 87 more than anyone else in the Premier League via Statman Dave.
On top of it all, he is ever present which is a skill in itself. Fernandes missed two games last season due to injury which was his first in his entire career.
His endeavour and availibilty are two things we cannot question. His dedication and professionalism are also attributes of his that are super valuable.
But obviously, something is just not right with him.
Why have we seen so many average to poor performances over the past year in particular?
Could it be simply because he's played too much football in this time? Burnout is something that players who play as much as he does will eventually face.
As I said, he's hardly missed games for United and whenever he is available, he always plays. He is ever-present for Portugal as well. Over playing players isn't necessarily a great thing even if the player is as good as he is.
Last season was perhaps the only one where I would be inclined to agree with playing him over much just because we had no one else due to all the other injuries we had.
Now with the squad improving and us having options on the bench, I think that this is where man management comes in. Erik ten Hag can now rotate Bruno (and anyone else he needs to) thanks to the availability of players.
The manager also spoke about rotation and how it is important. He's even rotated Rashford recently which is something none of us saw coming. So if he can rotate him, a player that ten Hag clearly loves, surely he can do the same with Bruno?
Garnacho and Amad have come in and done a great job whenever called upon in place of Rashford so perhaps that could be the same for someone like Eriksen - who's been brilliant lately, and Mount, now that he has returned, in place of Bruno.
Both are more than capable of playing in that number 10 rolse and considering Bruno's habit of trying the extraordinary and giving the ball away all the time, players like Eriksen and Mount could be more suited to our current possession-based style than the magnifico.
Even new striker Zirkzee has shown signs of how good he can be as a creative playing in a deeper position.
People are calling for Bruno to be dropped. I wouldn't disagree. I would like to see what others can do in his position and whether we are better with or without him. He should've been substituted in the draw against Twente as he really couldn't have performed any worse.
Unfortunately, I don't see the manager dropping or rotating him any time soon. If he wanted to, he would've done so by now.
But I think that this constant playing of Bruno is working against him and ten Hag. Bruno is being over played and as he can't find any form, is just causing the fan base to be utterly frustrated with him. I also feel that he's trying too hard simply because the manager is showing faith in him during this tough period and he wants to repay him for his faith.
Others who can come on and perform instead of him are also not getting the chances they deserve which has the potential to cause unrest in the dressing room.
It works against the manager too because he isn't taking a player off or rotating him when he clearly isn't performing at his best. This results in the fan base getting frustrated with the boss as well as he is the one who has the power to make the changes.
Something else that could be the cause of his poor form is the armband. We saw what it did with Harry Maguire and ever since it was taken off him, his form has improved dramatically.
Perhaps the same could be said of Bruno? But that would be a problem as ten Hag took the captaincy off Maguire and gave it to Bruno. Taking it off him maybe the right decision but could be taken in the wrong way as for a manager to have two captains in just over two seasons isn't a great look.
Whatever the case is with Bruno, something's gotta give. After signing a new contract extension just before the start of the season, we really should be expecting more from our captain.
We see what he can do for Portugal so there is hope. But it's almost as if he needs to improve every aspect of his game given his shiteness. Even his bickering and whining isn't as evident as it usually is.
What do you think is the problem with Fernandes?
Background Image: Bruno Fernandes | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal