Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has been critical of Erik ten Hag’s decision to hand the armband to Bruno Fernandes after taking the role away from Harry Maguire
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Football Digest: Man Utd urged to give Ten Hag time he needs
Bruno Fernandes has been scrutinised by many since he was named Manchester United captain in the summer, but Harry Maguire - the man he replaced - is not one of them.
Maguire had the captaincy stripped from him ahead of the 2023/24 campaign after losing his spot in Erik ten Hag’s team. The Dutchman subsequently handed the armband to Fernandes, who is widely recognised as United’s best player.
However, there have been question marks over the Portuguese midfielder’s suitability for such a role in the past after some divisive on-field antics. And those concerns have been raised again in the wake of United’s chastening 3-0 loss in the Manchester derby.
After watching Fernandes lose his head in the closing stages of the match, Roy Keane gave his verdict on the controversial decision to hand him the armband, implying that he believes Ten Hag has made a mistake.
Keane, a former Manchester United captain in his own right, said on Sky Sports post-match: “The one thing I would do, after today having watched him again, I would definitely take the captaincy off him, 100 per cent. I know it was a big decision to change the captaincy with Maguire, but Fernandes is not captain material.
“I think he’s a talented player, but what I saw today, we’ve discussed this before, I was at Liverpool last year, his whinging, his moaning, constantly throwing his arms up in the air. It really isn’t acceptable.
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Bruno Fernandes claimed in the summer that Harry Maguire was “happy” that he was Manchester United’s new captain (
Image:
Mike Owen)
“It has to start somewhere and where do you make changes - manager? board level? It starts with that [the captaincy] because the manager is capable of doing that. Hold his hands up and say he got it wrong. Fernandes is a great player, but he’s the opposite of what I would want in a captain.”
While other people may have a problem with Fernandes donning the captain’s armband, he made it clear during pre-season that there were no issues between him and Maguire.
Intriguingly, Maguire is rebuilding his reputation following a string of impressive performances while Fernandes’ suitability for a leadership role is questioned. However, Fernandes himself stressed that Maguire was quick to throw his support behind him during the club’s pre-season tour.
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“He gave me congratulations and he said he is really happy for me,” Fernandes said prior to the new season. “I understand his position is not the best at the moment. It has to be difficult for him but he came and said congratulations to me and I am happy about that because we have always had a good relationship.
“Everyone already knew about the situation with H [Maguire] but no one knew who would be the next captain. So [Ten Hag broke the news] in a team meeting with everyone together because it’s something we have to do more often, to keep the things inside and give the compliments inside to ourselves.”
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