Bruno Fernandes is a "brilliant footballer" but not captain material, according to Roy Keane, who felt the midfielder's attitude was "unacceptable" in Sunday's harrowing Manchester derby defeat to Man City at Old Trafford; Fernandes was only given the armband in the summer
Monday 30 October 2023 11:34, UK
Roy Keane says Bruno Fernandes should be stripped of the Manchester United captaincy.
Keane, the former United skipper, was scathing of Fernandes' behaviour in Sunday's Manchester derby defeat as City dismantled their rivals in their own backyard to win 3-0.
Erik ten Hag only made Fernandes his captain in the summer after stripping Harry Maguire of the armband, but Keane says the Man Utd manager should hold his hands up and say 'I got it wrong'.
"Today having watched him again I would take the captaincy off him 100 per cent," Sky Sports pundit Keane said on Super Sunday.
"I know it's a big decision, obviously they changed the captaincy with Maguire, but Fernandes is not captain material.
"He is a talented player no doubt about it. But what I saw today - we've discussed many times before, it was last season at Liverpool - his whinging, his moaning and throwing his arms up in the air constantly.
"It really isn't acceptable. From what we saw today, I'm thinking I would take that off him.
"You have to start somewhere. We were talking about where do you start [fixing the problems] - the manager, board level. I would start with that because the manager is capable of doing that.
"Fernandes is a brilliant footballer but in terms of captain material he is the opposite to what I would want in a captain."
Man Utd were "obliterated" in the Manchester derby by Pep Guardiola's City, according to Gary Neville, but the Sky Sports pundit has insisted United should stick with the increasingly beleaguered Ten Hag.
Erling Haaland's penalty separated the sides at half-time before City turned on the style to seal an emphatic 3-0 win.
"It was a footballing lesson. Manchester United didn't know what to do," concluded Micah Richards.
Even the scoreline, one-sided though it was, flattered United; City's end-of-game XG stood at 3.94.
"The first half was a contest," observed Neville. "The second half wasn't a contest. It became a shambles. United went missing in the second half."
Rasmus Hojlund's second-half substitution was widely booed by the Old Trafford crowd as Ten Hag's selections, which included replacing Sofyan Amrabat with Mason Mount at half-time, came under a harsh spotlight.
"It wasn't a great day for his substitutions," reflected Neville. "They were incredible last season but they made the team worse today.
"He went too early. He opened up his midfield and got exposed.
"But my anger isn't with Ten Hag. I don't think he is the fundamental problem. The toxicity at this club is eating alive every manager and every player that comes here."
However, United's lack of recognisable playing style under Ten Hag drew further condemnation from Jamie Carragher.
"He has been here 18 months and none of us here can explain what Manchester United try to do with how they play. They play underdog football. They play counter-attack and long balls - no other top team plays that way.
"It's really shocking when you see them try to play out from the back."
