Bruno Fernandes was back in Manchester United's starting line-up to face Chelsea, having been dropped from the previous match after criticising Michael Carrick's tactics. Despite his return, former Premier League star Glenn Murray has told the club to take the captaincy off the 32-year-old.
Return to the Starting XI
Fernandes returned to United's starting line-up against Chelsea on Saturday, having watched from the bench in last Sunday's 3-0 loss at home to Bournemouth. The Portuguese had been dropped after criticising Carrick's tactics in a post-match interview following their 4-1 defeat away to Como in the Champions League.
Carrick described the decision as a 'football decision', and Fernandes came straight back into the side following clear-the-air talks between the pair.
Murray's Call to Strip Captaincy
Before the game at Stamford Bridge, Murray told United to take the captaincy off Fernandes, pointing out how legendary former boss Sir Alex Ferguson would have likely acted differently. "It is a football club that isn't united in their process," Murray told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"We saw back in the day, where Jaap Stam released his book, and it was 72 hours later he was out of the door. There was one man in charge and that was Sir Alex Ferguson."
Murray added: "Managers have less power in a football club now because of the way they have been set up. You wonder who is going to be making the decisions at Manchester United. If I am the manager of a football club, you have got to act with integrity. Your manager and captain are normally pretty in sync. For me, Bruno Fernandes cannot be the captain of the football club."
Carrick's Stance
Carrick, though, is standing by Fernandes and believes that the midfielder is 'fully committed' to United. The Red Devils boss made his stance clear during his pre-match press conference, saying: "He's the captain of our football club. There are different personalities, different characteristics, different ways to lead. It all comes down to what happens on the football pitch and whether you win or not in the end."
Carrick added: "He cares deeply about this football club and the team and he's desperate to do well. We'll lead that together." He also said: "It was a decision for the game. That's it. Bruno is fully committed to this football club. I've got no issues with that, we move forward."
