Carragher attacks Bruno Fernandes: without Carrick you would not have won the Premier League Player of the Season award
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has slammed Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes for questioning the tactics of manager Michael Carrick after yesterday's 4-1 defeat to Como in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. Yet he reckons this could spell the end for the Red Devils boss.
Fernandes had queried the decision not to press Como man to man after the match. Carrick hit back in his press conference: "If you don't run back, you won't win."
Bruno's comments came barely a week after teammate Lisandro Martinez criticised the club's management following a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid. Carragher laid into the Argentine's remarks, and he took a similar line on the United captain's opinion.
Carragher told "CBS Sports": "We said that Lisandro Martinez completely overstepped the mark when he criticised the hierarchy."
He added, as reported by "Sky Sports": "But for Bruno Fernandes to do it is a disgrace. Last season, he won the Player of the Year award, and the credit for that goes to Michael Carrick, who took over the role of manager. He would not have won that award without Carrick, who put him back in his proper place."
He continued: "His behaviour and the way he deals with things are completely wrong. He acted this way because he was substituted and felt embarrassed tonight by the manager."
On the pressing debate, he went on: "When he talks about pressing, whether it's man to man or zonal pressing, Bruno Fernandes has meant for years that Manchester United cannot press."
The former Liverpool star added: "He runs everywhere like a child in a school playground for the fans. They all think he puts in a lot of effort, but he doesn't. He is exhausting the rest of the team by doing this."
He explained: "He is not playing in a successful era at Manchester United, but years ago there was a captain called Bryan Robson, one of the greatest players ever to have played for Manchester United."
Drawing the comparison, he noted: "He did not play for teams that win the league or European cups every year, yet he is still considered one of the greatest players ever to have played for the club. He never betrayed the manager or the players, but kept defending Manchester United with all his might."
He went on: "Watching Bruno play week in, week out, constantly raising his arms in the faces of the players, it's a disgrace that he criticises the manager given his performance this season on the pitch. Very bad behaviour, and not befitting the captain of Manchester United."
He continued: "How many managers has he worked with? Did every manager at Manchester United lack a distinctive identity?"
Turning to the opposition dugout, he added: "Cesc Fabregas (Como's manager), I think he is the best young manager technically, but Manchester United is rotten from the top of the pyramid to the bottom. Everything at the club is rotten."
He continued: "This situation cannot continue for a club of this size. I am glad that Michael Carrick said that about Bruno Fernandes. They are not running, because they simply are not running. I am very glad that he took him out of the match, and glad too that he responded to him in kind."
Carragher may have welcomed Carrick's response to Fernandes. Even so, he admitted it could prove the straw that breaks the camel's back for the former midfielder as United boss.
Carragher added: "It's an embarrassing matter. But the worst thing about it is that I don't think there were many people who believed Manchester United could win tonight."
He went on: "So, in some respects, the result does not seem shocking. I think the way it happened is the shocking part of it."
He continued: "I think it's such a bad result and a bad performance that it could have serious repercussions for the manager, unfortunately for him."
He concluded: "A good young man, a good player for Manchester United, who put in a great performance last season, but it looks like another Manchester United manager will fall once again."
