Carrick drops United captain Fernandes to bench against Bournemouth
MANU•MANU•MANU•MANU•Manchester United manager Michael Carrick left captain Bruno Fernandes on the bench for Sunday's game against Bournemouth, saying the decision was based solely on football considerations. United began the day 15th in the Premier League with one win from seven matches.
Carrick said Fernandes was dropped for “Pure football” reasons after the midfielder criticized United's approach in Wednesday's 4-1 Champions League loss at Como. Harry Maguire wore the captain's armband instead.
Fernandes said United had sat back rather than press aggressively and that teams under pressure sometimes needed to be “braver.” Carrick had declined to rule out disciplinary action over the comments. Since Carrick's first game in charge in January, Fernandes had registered 14 assists and created 96 chances, more than any player in Europe's big five leagues.
