Michael Carrick has a decision to make on Bruno Fernandes before Manchester United host Bournemouth in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Sunday, according to BBC Sport. The United captain's post-match comments following the 4-1 Champions League defeat by Como have left the head coach weighing whether to keep his skipper in the side. Carrick is due to hold a news conference to preview the Bournemouth match at 1330 BST on Friday.
Why it matters
United go into the weekend without a win in seven matches. A defeat or draw against Bournemouth would match the club's worst run since Louis van Gaal's side went seven games without a victory in 2015-16, BBC reports. The last time a United team had a longer barren stretch was in 1988-89, when a Ferguson-managed side recorded eight draws and a loss.
Carrick's handling of the Fernandes situation also carries weight beyond one fixture. BBC notes that the club's hierarchy want to break with a recent pattern of changing managers, having parted with Ruben Amorim last season and Erik ten Hag the campaign before. How the coach asserts authority over his captain will shape that project.
Divided views on dropping the captain
Opinion around Old Trafford is split. Duncan Ferguson, speaking on The Overlap podcast, said the situation is a serious problem for Carrick and argued the manager should leave Fernandes out. According to BBC, Ferguson said the captain had undermined his coach and that he would not select him even though he is United's best player.
Joe Smith, who hosts the Stretford Paddock fan channel, took the same line, telling BBC he does not think Fernandes should feature this weekend. He also questioned the earlier decision to play Lisandro Martinez against Leeds.
Others are more sympathetic. BBC reports that some at the club feel Fernandes, 32, was placed in a difficult position after the Como loss, having carried out ten post-match interviews. The outlet adds that his words sounded less inflammatory when spoken than they read in text, and that while he did not defend Carrick, his remarks were not made in the heat of the moment the way Martinez's were.
Martinez was fined after criticising the club hierarchy following the 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid eight days before the Como game. BBC reports that many observers were surprised Fernandes escaped discipline and kept the captaincy. One person who has worked with the midfielder previously described Wednesday's comments to BBC Sport as "an assassination."
The substance of the dispute is whether Fernandes overstepped by questioning Carrick's tactics against Como and by saying the coaching staff on the touchline, rather than the players, should have identified the problem and adjusted. BBC notes that Fernandes is among the most tactically aware players in the squad and is eager to succeed.
Selection questions beyond the captaincy
Even if Carrick wanted to leave Fernandes out, the options are thin. Benjamin Sesko, Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford are all unavailable through injury, BBC reports.
Fernandes's form is also under scrutiny. His partnership with Youri Tielemans has not developed as hoped, and BBC notes that his only goal contributions this season have been a hat-trick and an assist in the 5-2 win over Ipswich in August and a goal against Azerbaijan champions Sabah FK on 10 September. He was last season's PFA player of the year.
Carrick has drawn advice from several directions. On the United Stand podcast, one contributor said the Martinez episode was the beginning of a wider problem and that more players would follow because they do not want to take responsibility. That speaker, who managed Plymouth and Birmingham City, said Carrick should respond firmly and that there is no more room to be accommodating.
BBC also points to Sir Alex Ferguson's insistence on managerial control, noting that challenges to his authority usually ended with the player leaving. It adds, however, that some of Ferguson's methods at Aberdeen, as recounted by Gordon Strachan, would not be accepted today.
Carrick will give his own view when he faces the media on Friday afternoon. His team selection on Sunday will answer the question more plainly.
