Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has dropped captain Bruno Fernandes to the bench for Sunday’s Premier League clash against Bournemouth, days after the midfielder criticised the team’s tactics following their 4-1 defeat to Como.
Carrick described the decision as a “pure football” choice, insisting that Fernandes’ public comments about the team’s approach were not responsible for his omission from the starting line-up.
“When you have options it’s always a difficult decision. We have to make the right one for today and the team to get that performance we want,” Carrick said.
United head into the match at Old Trafford desperate for a victory after going seven games without a win in all competitions. The club began the day 15th in the Premier League table, with just seven points from their opening seven matches.
Fernandes had criticised United’s passive approach without the ball during Wednesday’s heavy defeat in Italy, as Champions League debutants Como took advantage of the visitors’ defensive weaknesses.
The Portugal international was one of United’s standout performers last season, sweeping the club’s individual awards after setting a Premier League record with 21 assists as the team finished third.
However, his influence has been more limited this season, apart from a hat-trick against Ipswich in August.
Carrick made four changes to his starting line-up, with Matheus Cunha, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui also dropping to the bench. Ayden Heaven, Leny Yoro, Carlos Baleba and Amad Diallo were brought into the team.
Fernandes’ omission comes just over a week after defender Lisandro Martinez criticised the club’s board for failing to do enough to strengthen Carrick’s squad during the transfer window.
Martinez was not dropped immediately after his remarks but was substituted at half-time during last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Leeds after sustaining an injury. He was only fit enough to return to the bench against Bournemouth.
Former United captain and the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, Wayne Rooney, said players had to take responsibility for their performances rather than shift blame to their manager.
“You can say whether Bruno was right or wrong in what he said but you have to take responsibility on the pitch. You have to take responsibility as a group of players,” Rooney said.
He added: “These players, they’re selfish. They don’t care about their team-mates, don’t care about the manager, the staff or the fans, they care about themselves.
“If they’re not getting what’s right for them, they’re like babies and just throw their toys out of the pram and go and deflect the blame on to anyone else but themselves.”
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