Bruno Fernandes: Ex-Newcastle boss explains why Carrick was wrong to drop Man United skipper
· Yahoo Sports
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick’s decision to bench Bruno Fernandes for the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Sunday raised quite a few eyebrows. Even with the team chasing a goal in the second half, the Englishman opted not to turn to his talismanic skipper, instead choosing to use Joshua Zirkzee, Matheus Cunha, Lisandro Martinez and Shea Lacey from the bench.
Before the game, Carrick insisted that his decision was based on football reasons, but it was clear that the manager was sending a message to his team. The Portuguese midfielder had questioned the Englishman’s decision following the humiliating 4-1 defeat to Como in the Champions League last week.
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Although Carrick initially played down the incident, his team selection against Bournemouth suggested that he was making a statement. Sadly, the move backfired, with the Red Devils losing the game and dropping further down the league table.
United now sit 16th in the Premier League table, just two points above Sunderland at the bottom. Former Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has now explained how Carrick could have handled the Fernandes situation differently.
Carrick needed to swallow his pride
Speaking on The Final Word, Pardew insisted that Carrick should have kept Fernandes in the team. He said: “I’m thinking I would have played him, personally. There is this other side of the football coin where you go, you don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.”
“You could still be strong by playing him. You say, ‘well, yes, I heard what he said. In my opinion, he’s wrong and I’m still not finished.’ There might be some discipline coming his way on the back of a win, if you know what I mean.”
However, Pardew also acknowledged that it would be wrong to assume Carrick’s reasoning behind the decision without knowing the complete picture. He continued: “So you could turn it around a little bit and still win as the manager, but I don’t know what’s gone on on the training ground. Has Fernandes disrespected Michael on the bus, on the training ground from that evening to this game?”
“Was there an incident? Was he sort of going, ‘the manager isn’t good enough’ in the background and the staff have told him? All those things I’m not privy to, and unless I was, I can’t make that decision. I can only give you the foresight of what happens.”
Fernandes, 2026/27 (to 26 Oct 2026)
Decision has compounded Carrick’s woes
Citing an example from his own managerial career, Pardew added: “I can think of examples. Joey Barton, when I first went to Newcastle, my first day, he said to me, ‘you’re not good enough to be manager here,’ but I played him in the game that came up next against Liverpool and we won.”
“So that’s an example where I could have just left Joey out. He’s not with me, I’ll leave him out. So you can use it, but you have to understand where you were. I watched Joey that week in training. He was on it, he was up for it. I could see that. So I knew that actually his playing side of it, he was going to give us something.”
“And I think that the whole Fernandes one now is in leaving him out and losing the game now becomes even more of an issue.”
Fernandes has registered four goals and one assist in 11 games across competitions this season.
Final Thoughts
Carrick is on borrowed time at Old Trafford and if he is to turn things around, he will need Fernandes performing at the limits of his capabilities. As such, the Englishman should mend fences with the United skipper and resolve the matter at the earliest.