Michael Carrick’s decision to leave Bruno Fernandes on the bench as Manchester United were thrashed by Bournemouth was ‘silly’ and one he got ‘massively wrong,’ reckons Danny Murphy.
Fernandes was dropped from the starting XI on Sunday after he spoke out against the manager and coaching staff, criticising their tactics in a 4-1 Champions League defeat to Como.
It is extremely rare for the midfielder to be out of the side and it was clear that Carrick was sending a message to him as he remained on the bench for the entirety of the 3-0 loss.
The punishing home defeat made it eight winless games for the Red Devils and Carrick’s job looked in serious danger, but he will be in charge this weekend when they play Chelsea.
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Manager and captain held positive talks on Tuesday to move forward from the situation, but former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder Murphy feels Carrick made a big mistake with how he treated Fernandes at Old Trafford on Sunday.
‘I’m surprised they didn’t get it all sorted before the weekend’s game against Bournemouth because he’s your best player,’ Murphy told talkSPORT.
‘He could have given him a rollicking in front of the boys regarding the comments which were ill-advised and bad timing with everything going on.
‘Even if he was to put him on the bench against Bournemouth to make a point, not bringing him on was silly. If you’ve got no intention of bringing him on and punishing him, don’t put him in the squad.
‘But when you’ve got your best player on the bench and you’re 2-0 down at half-time, that’s the time to say: “Go on then, show me how much you care, show me I was wrong.”
‘He got that massively wrong. I don’t mind him not starting him, giving him a kick in front of the lads and setting boundaries, no problem. Even leaving him out of the squad.
‘But when you’ve got your best player who’s a leader and the other lads look up to him and probably like him. You’re punishing him in front of the world and you’re 2-0 down against Bournemouth.
‘This is about United, it’s not about you and Bruno.’
Chelsea host Manchester United at 12.30pm on Saturday in what should be a fascinating contest, but Murphy fears that no amount of clear-the-air talks will solve the Red Devils’ most serious problem on the pitch.
‘The bigger concern in terms of trying to change what’s going on with the team is their inability to do the yards,’ he said.
‘The numbers around their running, the running stats are really concerning. That, to me, can only be one of two things. One: they’re not capable because of pre-season not being up to the level to get them to the
physical standards you need to compete and match the teams in the Prem.
‘Or the players are switching off. People say it’s tactical, but the tactics aren’t that different from last season.
‘They’re always massively worrying when you’re at the lower end of the running stats and losing games.’