Few Manchester United players divide opinion quite like skipper Bruno Fernandes. And with Michael Carrick under mounting pressure ahead of Sunday’s vital Premier League game against Bournemouth at Old Trafford, the debate is raging: should the head coach drop his captain?
Bruno Fernandes (Credits: BBC Sport)
Bruno Fernandes Dropped? The Case For
Former Everton and Rangers striker Duncan Ferguson has no doubts. “It is a big problem for Michael,” he told The Overlap podcast. “Put people in the team you trust. Your captain has thrown you under the bus. If you don’t think he is playing for you, get him out. I wouldn’t pick him even though he is their best player.“
Joe Smith, respected host of fan channel Stretford Paddock, agrees: “I don’t think Fernandes should play on the weekend.” And United fans heading back from Como on flights to Manchester carried a similar sentiment, wrapped in broader frustration about the club.
Carrick, Rooney and the Dressing Room
Fernandes — who has scored 111 goals in 338 appearances for United — was replaced by Joshua Zirkzee after 67 minutes of the Champions League defeat in Como. But only one man’s opinion truly counts: Carrick is the man who picks the team.
His friend and former team-mate Wayne Rooney has a view on that. “When Martinez came out, I said this is an absolute nightmare because it will rip the dressing room apart,” he said on the United Stand podcast. “That was the start. We’ve seen it now with Bruno and you’re going to see it with more players because they don’t want to take responsibility.” Drawing on his own time as manager at Plymouth and Birmingham City, Rooney added: “If I was in Carrick’s position now, I’d come out fighting. There’s no more Mr Nice Guy.”
Carrick is due to speak in a news conference to preview the Bournemouth game at 13:30 BST — and he will almost certainly be asked whether Bruno Fernandes is going to be dropped.
Also Read: Fernandes Stays Man Utd Captain After Como Outburst as Rooney Calls Players ‘Babies’ | Have Man Utd Become the Unmanageable Club? Carrick the Latest Trapped in the Post-Ferguson Cycle of Doom
Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
