Bruno Fernandes may be Manchester United’s most influential player, but he endured another evening to forget on Boxing Day.
Not for the first time this season, the Portugal international was given his marching orders to leave his team-mates in the lurch. United went on to lose 2-0 to Wolves and now face the prospect of having to do without their captain when they host Newcastle on Monday night in a match they could very much do with winning.
While one of Fernandes’ red cards was later overturned, he’s now seen red three times this season. And that’s sparked a fresh debate over whether or not the midfielder – as supremely talented as he is – is a suitable choice to wear the armband for United.
We asked the Mirror Football team whether they think Fernandes should keep the captaincy and, if not, who Ruben Amorim should give the armband to…
Samuel Meade
Bruno Fernandes: the perception isn’t quite aligned with the reality anymore.
The first 18 months were impressive and that has somewhat carried him since. It’s easy to forget that Fernandes came into a United side that were, it felt, at rock bottom. Any player with an ounce of personality and talent would’ve made an impact – as he did.
Nowadays, though, he is not having anywhere near the same influence. His attitude and antics on the pitch are almost toxic and only those with a misconstrued idea of what a “desire to win” is would claim what he does is, in some way, driving standards.
Roy Keane really did drive standards in Manchester once upon a time and if he is saying the captaincy needs to be taken away from him, that probably says it all.
His red card was born out of frustration and, whilst it is his third this year, can happen. Keane wasn’t immune to a red card or two, but the two are not cut from the same cloth.
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Ben Husband
The first part of this question is simple, Fernandes shouldn’t be United’s captain. Frankly he never should have been in the first place.
When the chips are down, he is constantly found wanting – and moaning. And while he’s undoubtedly United’s best player, he doesn’t ever appear like their best leader.
The second part of this question is the really tricky one, however. Who is a leader in this squad? They are so devoid of personality and character that giving anyone the armband is difficult.
In reality, the only real leader United have is Harry Maguire. He took the decision from Erik ten Hag to remove the captaincy in his stride, and for all of his faults remains their best defender – particularly in the shape Amorim wants to deploy.
Much of the next few months will be Amorim working his way through the litany of mistakes his predecessor made, reverting Ten Hag’s decision on the club captain should probably be the easiest.
Mike Walters
United should have taken the armband off Fernandes after that 7-0 shelling at Anfield.
He is a fine, progressive player who prefers a forward pass to the shrinking violet’s sideways-or-backwards mantra, but as a leader of men I wouldn’t follow him into the chip shop, let alone the trenches.
This is your captain sinking: Three red cards in one season is too many for anyone, let alone the leader of a global institution like Manchester United.
The problem for Ruben Amorim is finding viable alternatives as captain because there are few players in that squad who are guaranteed a place in the starting XI.
Maybe Erik ten Hag should not have taken the job away from Harry Maguire in the first place.
Matthew Cooper
Bruno Fernandes has always divided opinion as Manchester United captain, but even if Ruben Amorim decides he no longer wants him, the issue then becomes the sheer lack of alternatives.
Aside from Fernandes, only Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui, Amad Diallo and Manuel Ugarte have featured in all 10 of Amorim’s games in charge so far and none of them feel like realistic captaincy candidates right now.
As a result, it feels like Amorim may as well stick with Fernandes for the time being. But the lack of real leadership in his squad is something he certainly needs to address. And when he does have some genuine candidates to replace Fernandes, it would not be a surprise to see Amorim strip him of the captaincy.
He did not seem happy at all after Fernandes’ latest red card and United could clearly do with an inspirational captain to lead by example.
Jacob Leeks
Bruno Fernandes is an undoubtedly quality footballer, but his time as captain should be cut short.
His attitude too often leaves much to be desired and his tendency to throw his toys out of the pram is something which spreads throughout the team. Three red cards before the end of the year is also unacceptable.
With Ruben Amorim needing to lay down the law to his ill-disciplined and struggling team, stripping Fernandes of the captaincy should be a move he makes soon.
In terms of who steps up, there are few clear candidates. But once he returns from illness, Matthijs de Ligt would be my pick. The defender previously skippered arguably the biggest club in the Netherlands in Ajax.
He captained them to the semi-finals of the Champions League and, in Amorim’s system, he is likely to be a regular starter once he returns. De Ligt is a commanding figure and as a summer signing is less stained with the errors of the past than some of his team-mates.
Andy Dunn
Of the many indictments of this Manchester United squad, here is a truly damning one.
Bruno Fernandes should remain as club captain … because there is no-one qualified to take his place.
Harry Maguire has plenty of leadership qualities but should not be an automatic starter in a Premier League team that has elite aspirations. And to be fair, that goes for the majority of the players on United’s books.
Fernandes is, for most of the time, United’s most effective player and he actually represents the club well when he is away from the pitch.
And while it is hard to get a 30-year-old professional to change his ways, Ruben Amorim should be on his countryman’s case, instructing him to curb his whingeing and cut out the sly, nasty fouls.
Amorim has a plethora of problems to deal with and the captaincy issue is some way down the list. Stick with Fernandes for now but recruiting a genuine leader in the summer should be one of Amorim’s long-term priorities.
John Cross
Ruben Amorim must be ruthless and bold and strip Bruno Fernandes of the captaincy.
Wearing the armband does Fernandes no favours in terms of performances and his red cards this season prove that he is not a leader. The sending-off at Wolves left his teammates staring at defeat because once they were down to ten men, there was no way back.
Even though his sending-off against Tottenham was rescinded, he did not learn from that nor his red card against Porto in the Europa League.
Fernandes is also neither a tub-thumping leader and therefore it leaves the obvious question: how does he inspire as captain?
Manchester United boss Amorim would have an easy choice to make if Harry Maguire was a definite pick in his line-up. Maguire would be a great choice.
But it remains to be seen whether Maguire will become a regular under the new manager. I suspect not and therefore Lisandro Martinez might be the next best choice. A great player, warrior and he inspires.
But let’s be honest, the fact we’re struggling for names and candidates is revealing in itself about United’s squad.
David McDonnell
Bruno Fernandes polarises opinion like few other players in football today – you either love him or hate him, there is rarely anything in between. Mr Marmite, essentially.
To his supporters, the Manchester United skipper is a player who can be relied upon in a squad packed with flakey characters. He rarely misses a game, is willing to play through the pain barrier and his commitment to the team cannot be questioned, unlike many of his team-mates.
His detractors paint a different picture, pointing to his indiscipline, petulance and recklessness – as evidenced by his latest red card against Wolves – as to why he is wholly unsuited to wear the United captain’s armband and take on the responsibilities that come with such a prestigious role.
The tackle by Fernandes on Nelson Semedo, two minutes into the second-half, amounted to a dereliction of duty from a captain who should be leading by example, not allowing his frustrations to get the better of him to the extent he leaves his team down to 10 men.
Yet even if Ruben Amorim is thinking of replacing Fernandes as captain, there are few suitable candidates for him to choose from, such are the lack of genuine leaders within the current United squad, which speaks volumes about the mess the team is in right now.
Fernandes should keep the armband, if only because of a lack of alternatives, and Amorim should reassess the captaincy in the summer, by which time he will likely have been able to bring in some of his own players and make one of them his leader on and off the pitch.
Alan Smith
Throughout Bruno Fernandes’ career there has been a level of petulance and whining that has always jarred with the perception of how a Manchester United captain should behave – although history says poor challenges and red cards are not that big an issue.
The problem for Ruben Amorim is that he has no obvious alternative available.
Harry Maguire is the only other option but no one is sure if he will be a constant fixture in the starting XI. Then there are the optics of going back to the centre half after Erik ten Hag took the armband from him. Amorim may feel differently about Maguire and Ten Hag’s decision should have no influence on how his replacement reacts. But for the club a U-turn would be another admission of failure.
Fernandes, with all his faults, should keep it until the summer. Then there needs to be a seismic overhaul.
Neil Moxley
For me, Bruno Fernandes is under pressure for his place in the team, never mind the captaincy.
If Ruben Amorim sticks with the 3-4-3 formation that enabled him to prosper at Sporting, then where does Fernandes fit into that? Can he be trusted to play as two of the central midfielders? Doubtful. He’s a free spirit and has prospered as such at Old Trafford in a bang-average side.
But Amorim cannot afford to carry passengers and Fernandes doesn’t give off the kind of warrior spirit the club now needs to survive in the Premier League.
He’s not going to be captain for the game against Newcastle United. Personally, I’d give it to Harry Maguire – and I’d leave it with him.
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