Bruno Fernandes is an imposter captain whose theatrical petulance is keeping Manchester United stuck in the mud, according to Daily Star senior sports writer Harry Brent. Michael Carrick was absolutely right to drop the midfielder for Sunday's defeat to Bournemouth, even if it costs him his job.
Fernandes at the centre of United chaos
Fernandes isn't the only reason Manchester United are a mess, but his Cristiano-ified petulance is keeping the club firmly stuck. Brent compares it to a suffocating, main-character pantomime, with theatrical arm-waving and blaming everybody else. He says Fernandes is about as qualified to wear the armband as Captain Birdseye.
Brent argues that with Ronaldo, the delusion is genuine, but Bruno is sneakier. He is a performative, imposter of a captain. His arm-flapping, constant moaning, and half-hearted pressing are all cheap theatre to let fans know he's the only one trying.
Carrick's decision justified
Carrick dropped Fernandes for Sunday's defeat after the midfielder appeared to take a swipe at the manager following United's defeat to Como last week. Brent says Fernandes will rack up his cheap penalties and corner assists as usual, but when United need a talisman, he's absent.
Kane's Ballon d'Or near miss
Harry Kane only narrowly scraped winning the Ballon d'Or, which Brent calls a total farce. He says handing the award to anyone else would have been obscenely dumb. Kane outscored, outperformed and outclassed everyone, but because England and Bayern lost in the semi-finals, he almost got robbed.
