Manchester United’s form this season has been abysmal and a lot of the criticism has been aimed at captain Bruno Fernandes.
The Portugal international was at his worst yesterday – but people are quick to forget that creative players only really shine in teams that are creating opportunities. United have not been doing that in the Premier League this season.
Fernandes, 29, was shown a yellow card for arguing with referee Peter Bankes late in the game.
It was his fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he will now serve a one-match ban and miss United’s trip to Liverpool next Sunday.
Former United striker Michael Owen was first to jokingly suggest Fernandes got booked on purpose to avoid the game, but Richard Keys the latest pundit to do so – on a more serious note, too.
Keys said Fernandes “knows that next week could be a bad day out,” while speaking to Andy Gray on beIN Sports. “Do you think Fernandes knew that if he got booked, he was going to miss the Liverpool game?”
Gray replied: “Of course he would know.”
Keys went on: “So he has got himself booked on purpose, knowing it is a good one to miss?”
Gray was not completely convinced of the accusation, adding: “Well, his memories of Anfield from last season are not very good. He had a dreadful time at Anfield last season. If you’re asking me whether the captain of Manchester United knowingly gets himself booked so he would be unavailable for his team and fans, I hope not. I would be horrified if a footballer did that.”
Keys doubled down on his comments and criticised Fernandes further: “I think he knows at 3-0 down, United stopped playing and it could have been four or five. I think he knows that next week could be a bad day out for the football club.
“If we’re all agreed that if he knew he got booked he would miss the game, I can’t think of any other scenario whereby I could allow him the room to manoeuvre on that and say ‘it was a heated moment’. It wasn’t.
“I think he knew he gets booked and misses the game. That, for me, sums him up. He is not a captain, he is not a leader and his position there has been questioned by proper Manchester United captains.”
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