The uncomfortable reason why Bruno Fernandes had to remain Man United captain

Michael Carrick can be Manchester United ’s conciliator in chief. When his relationship with Bruno Fernandes seemed to have broken down , it has been patched up . United’s manager and captain held talks at their Carrington training ground this week. Fernandes was dropped for defeat to Bournemouth, snubbed as a series of others came on instead of him. But he will not be stripped of the captaincy. “There's no decision to be made on that,” said Carrick. He played for Sir Alex Ferguson but has not inherited his old manager’s ruthlessness or, some might say, brutality. A couple of decades ago, the United skipper made some critical comments in an interview and never played for the club again. But that was Roy Keane. Fernandes is back in the fold for Saturday’s trip to Chelsea. He will presumably start, his exile a one-game affair. Carrick hopes United’s salvation can come from togetherness. “Between us, we've got to make a difference and we've got to push things in a good direction,” he said; after eight games without a win, they have been going in the wrong way. Yet in recent years, United’s plight would have been still worse but for Fernandes; he has had chances to leave, the opportunity to earn far more in the Saudi Pro-League. Sometimes staying at United has brought rewards – the Footballer of the Year award, the sense he is the one club great to join after Ferguson – but sometimes it has seemed a thankless task. “He's fully committed to this football club, he's fully committed to making things better,” said Carrick. “It doesn't change for me. He's the one that's kind of led the team so well for many a game and many a year, and he'll continue to do that.” There was a common-sense element to his choice. Fernandes is his likeliest match-winner, whether against Chelsea, or Roma on Tuesday, or Aston Villa next Sunday. If Carrick is to keep his job, it may be because of Fernandes. Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes watches on (Reuters) If he does not, removing the captaincy could only be a three-game affair before someone else restores it. It might look a desperate last gamble of a man who said he was not surprised he is still in a job; many others are, though. And an examination of this United squad suggests there are few other alternatives, let alone better ones. Against Bournemouth, the armband went to Harry Maguire; elevated from the ranks by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, when Carrick was on his coaching staff, and demoted back to them by Erik ten Hag. Maguire is a loyal soldier but his own form scarcely indicates he should be an automatic choice. Who else is there? Lisandro Martinez led United at the end of Ruben Amorim’s reign, when Fernandes was injured. But it is barely two weeks since he criticised the sporting director Jason Wilcox in another post-match interview United must wish was never aired. When Amorim assembled a six-man leadership group, it also included Tom Heaton, Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui. Heaton is liked and respected. He is also the third-choice goalkeeper whose last Premier League game came on New Year’s Day; and in 2020, not 2026. Dalot’s performance level this season has been undistinguished, to put it mildly. He has still kept Mazraoui out of the team. It was an indictment of quite a few others when, with Fernandes rested, Youri Tielemans led United on just his sixth appearance for them; but that was in the Carabao Cup defeat to Brighton, so it was hardly encouraging. Tielemans was preferred to Fernandes against Bournemouth but was taken off at half-time. He captains Belgium and is blessed with quality but a lack of mobility makes it hard for him to lead by example. There are reasons to put him on the bench at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Under other circumstances, the two longest-serving players could be captaincy candidates. Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford were not, though, even before each was sidelined of late. A familiar criticism is that United have lacked leadership; sometimes it has been directed at Carrick, who can appear too passive. Manchester United manager Michael Carrick speaks to Bruno Fernandes (Reuters) United have looked lacklustre too often this season, whether with or without Fernandes. His capacity to castigate his teammates and his body language do not always endear him to everyone. Keane has been among his critics, though he was still more vitriolic about Maguire in his time as skipper. The current manager and captain are the opposites in some respects. Carrick is the calmer, Fernandes the more emotional. Carrick can take the drama out of anything, Fernandes injects it. Their alliance was initially a remarkable success, the Portuguese breaking the record for most assists in a Premier League season because of his performances for the Englishman. Now Carrick needs Fernandes to assist him in a bigger quest, to turn around United’s fortunes and his own prospects of staying at Old Trafford. Despite Fernandes’ dissent, despite the sense the captain undermined his manager, perhaps he had no real decision to make about the captaincy. He has to place his hopes, even more than his trust, in Fernandes.