Season not as bad as it looks for Fernandes
LIKE pretty much every member of the United squad, Bruno Fernandes has had a difficult season.
Only David de Gea, who has had more shots to face than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League, and Cristiano Ronaldo, with his never-fading ability to hit the back of the net, could be said to have had good campaigns.
While Fred and Anthony Elanga are the only other players to have seen their stock rise.
For everyone else, it’s been a dreary death march, with the Reds lurching from one disaster to the next. At the start of the season, a Premier League title challenge was expected and claiming silverware again was a prime objective.
A 5-1 hammering of Leeds on the opening day, which saw United play exciting, fluid football, only saw hopes rise. Ronaldo’s arrival on deadline day made them skyrocket. Yet, none of that came to pass. Instead, the Reds suffered embarrassing defeat after embarrassing defeat and the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer didn’t stem the decline, with Ralf Rangnick also struggling to get a tune out of such a poorly-organised and assembled group of players.
Poor coaching by both managers, or players being unable or unwilling to take on basic instructions, has meant United have had no discernable attacking plan this season.
If you look at pretty much every other team in the division, they all have specific, pre-mediated ways that they look to break down teams.
City wear out other sides with long spells of possession, seeking gaps in back-lines to get in behind and pull the ball back for a tap-in.
Liverpool can do that as well when teams sit deep, but they’re amazing at winning the ball high up the pitch and quickly turning it into a scoring opportunity. Even Burnley have a plan, even if it is getting balls up to the big lads.
Yet United have had no patterns of play, no drilled tactics other than giving the ball to the talented players and hoping they can work some magic.
It’s no shock that hasn’t worked, though it’s a wonder Ronaldo has managed to still bag 24 goals.
One player who has struggled, though, is Fernandes, who has seen his own goal tally reduce dramatically.
It’s hardly surprising considering the remarkable impact he made upon arriving at Old Trafford, with the 40 goals and 25 assists he grabbed in his first 18 months at the club, as those sorts of numbers are unsustainable in such a flailing side. Yet, his comparatively meagre – but by no means bad – return of 10 goals and 14 assists in this campaign is bound to sting. Although it’s not goal contributions that have been the main source of frustration for Fernandes, it has been his attitude on the pitch. The Portuguese has cut an agitated figure for months and his constant pointing and complaining at his team-mates rather than taking up personal responsibility hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Also, while Fernandes’ game has always been fraught with risk due to the ambitious passes he tries to make, the risks have been paying off
Even when not reaching his lofty standards, Fernandes is still absolutely crucial to United Daniel Murphy
on fewer and fewer occasions as the campaign has gone on.
It’s led to him coming in for some stiff criticism from pundits and supporters, especially as his spot in the side seems iron clad having started 16 of the last 17 league games – missing one due to illness.
Yet, despite the sour feeling around the player, one stat shows that the perception may be a little warped.
Despite United’s attacking failings and Fernandes’ own struggles for form, the 27-year-old actually tops the ‘chances created from open play in the Premier League’ chart this season with one game remaining.
He has created 109 opportunities, with Martin Odegaard (102), Bernardo Silva (99), Mohamed Salah (93) and Kevin de Bruyne (92) left in his wake.
Now, the stat is skewed slightly as Fernandes has played more minutes than the majority of players on the list, but that can be offset by the fact the other players are members of much better sides. Regardless, even when Fernandes has had a poor season he has still delivered.
If a few more of those chances were converted then his assists numbers would be looking much rosier and the negativity around him may not be as strong. Even when not reaching his lofty standards, Fernandes is still absolutely crucial to United.
Which bodes well for Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman will, without question, work to establish attacking tactics for United’s misused forwards to follow and the prospect of that is thrilling. If Fernandes has done so well without any to speak of, he could thrive when he has a defined structure to work within.