Erik ten Hag urged to remove Manchester United captaincy from Bruno Fernandes
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has been ordered to take a drastic decision and remove Bruno Fernandes as club captain.
Fernandes was He was not at his best in United's 3-0 defeat against Liverpool on Sunday, although the same can be said of many of his teammates.
However, As Fernandes puts on the captain's armbandTheir actions will be scrutinized more than most.
But the former Newcastle manager Alan Pardew He believes that handing the captain's armband to the Portuguese international was “dangerous” given the type of player he is.
“You've got your captain out there, you've got a managerial captain, when you've got a manager as captain I think it's always dangerous because they're going to have bad games,” Pardew told talkSPORT.
“Even (Christian) Eriksen at his best, (Michel) Platini at his best, they had an off day. They were technical players.”
Pardew also felt Fernandes' creativity is somewhat limited by the armband and believes the attacking midfielder is bogged down by worrying about what his teammates are doing.
This led the former Crystal Palace boss to make an extremely bold claim.
“Today it was never Fernandes because they[United]never had the ball enough,” Pardew said.
“Defensively he hasn't had much of a role. How can he lead the team? It's a very difficult situation for him.
“I actually think it would be better for him as a footballer if he took that burden off. I think it might free him up a bit, allow him to have a bit more freedom of thought. He's probably worried about the back four, worried about the wingers. You don't really know how to deal with that.
-I don't know, I think it's an obstacle for him.
Fernandes was named club captain at the start of the 2023-24 season, replacing defender Harry Maguire.
The defender was named captain in January 2020 by then-manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer but was relieved of his role by Ten Hag just days before Fernandes was announced as his replacement.
“He (Ten Hag) explained his reasons to me and although I am personally very disappointed, I will continue to give my best every time I wear the shirt,” Maguire posted on social media at the time.
Fernandes' captaincy announcement didn't exactly come as a surprise, given he's worn the armband several times in place of Maguire during the 2022-23 season.
In his first full season as United captain, Fernandes scored 10 goals and provided eight assists in the Premier League.
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Fernandes could have opened his scoring in the opening game of this season against Fulham, but he missed two golden opportunities in the first half.
The slow start comes after the The 29-year-old signed a new contract with United in Augustwhich links him to the club until the end of June 2027, with the option of a further year.
Fernandes' new deal, which talkSPORT reports has made him one of the club's highest-earning players, comes after he was linked with moves to Bayern Munich and Inter Milan in the summer.
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