Manchester United icon Roy Keane has criticized Bruno Fernandes’ attitude and body language in Sunday’s (October 29) defeat to Manchester City, urging Erik ten Hag to take the armband off him.
Manchester United boss Ten Hag took the captaincy off Harry Maguire and installed Fernandes as the club’s captain during the summer. The Portuguese, who acted as United’s captain for the majority of last season as Maguire was benched, has struggled to inspire his team this season, scoring just twice in 13 appearances across competitions.
Keane Wants Ten Hag To Make Fernandes Call After Manchester City Defeat
Fernandes, who was criticized for his poor body language and lack of aggression in the 7-0 defeat to Liverpool in March, witnessed another onslaught on Sunday evening. Manchester City ran circles around the Red Devils, walking away with a 3-0 victory. Just like against Liverpool, he proved to be ineffective as a captain, failing to spur his teammates on when their backs were against the wall.
Having seen his former team get outclassed by their noisy neighbors, Keane tore into Fernandes, claiming he was not “captain material.”
The Irishman told Sky Sports:
“The one thing I would do, after today having watched him again, I would definitely take the captaincy off him, 100 percent.
“It was a big decision to change the captaincy with Maguire, but Fernandes is not captain material. I think he’s a talented player, but what I saw today, we’ve discussed this before. I was at Liverpool last year.”
He continued:
“His whinging, his moaning, constantly throwing his arms up in the air. It really isn’t acceptable. It has to start somewhere and where do you make changes – manager? board level? It starts with that (the captaincy) because the manager is capable of doing that.
“Hold his hands up and say he got it wrong. Fernandes is a great player, but he’s the opposite of what I would want in a captain.”
The Manchester United Skipper Was All Over The Place Against City
Fernandes was outclassed and outpaced by Manchester City’s dynamic midfield on Sunday evening. He struggled to put string passes together, came out second best in most one-on-one duels, and committed fouls out of frustration.
Throughout the game, Fernandes completed just 25 passes, had one shot on target, and misplaced two of three long balls. Additionally, he lost a game-high eight duels, was dribbled past four times, and committed three fouls. It was a night to forget the gifted attacking midfielder.
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