Jamie Carragher has suggested that Michael Carrick named Bruno Fernandes on the bench against Bournemouth with no intention of using him, describing the decision as a deliberate attempt to embarrass the Manchester United captain in front of supporters.
Fernandes watched from the sidelines at Old Trafford as Carrick's side fell to a 3-0 defeat to the Cherries, with the manager opting not to call on the Portugal international at any point during the match.
Rare Omission and Poor Form
It is unusual for Fernandes to be left out of the starting XI, but the midfielder had spoken out against his manager and coaching staff following the 4-1 defeat to Como in midweek. United have won just one of their eight Premier League matches so far and sit 16th in the table, having also lost their last two Champions League games.
Carrick insisted before the match that Fernandes was dropped purely for footballing reasons, but Carragher viewed the decision differently. Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: 'I don't think he was ever going to bring him on. I think it was a deliberate decision just to leave him on the bench and almost try to embarrass him a little bit in front of the supporters…I don't know.'
Carrick's Explanation
Asked about his substitutions, which saw Joshua Zirkzee, Matheus Cunha, Shea Lacey and Lisandro Martinez introduced while Fernandes remained unused, Carrick said: 'There's always times in games when you're trying to make decisions to change the course of play, trying to make a difference at times. Those were the decisions we made.'
He added: 'He's fit and available but we decided to pick the team we did. Unfortunately for everyone, we didn't manage to get the right result. There's always times when you're trying to make decisions that make a difference.'
Pressure on Carrick
Carragher believes Carrick's position has become untenable and expects the manager to move on. 'It's become untenable,' he said. 'Carrick wants to be changed. He doesn't want to be sat in the dugout with those players. Can you imagine going into the training ground tomorrow with Bruno Fernandes after not bringing him on? It's a rancid dressing room. He wants to be put out of his misery tonight.'
United legend Gary Neville also commented on the situation, saying: 'It is going to get ridiculously difficult for Michael Carrick to be Manchester United manager moving forward. That's the problem the club have got. It is horrible to say that. I did think that last season that the club should have gone for the best manager they could have got and not given the job to Michael Carrick. Because I felt this might happen, not this quickly but this has gone very, very sour very quickly and the club is a mess.'
Carrick said of his own future: 'It's a tough situation. What is next? I don't know. I'll always do what's best for this football club. I don't change that now. I love what I do. I love the responsibility. But we'll have to wait and see.'
