There was no wake-up performance from Man Utd as they limply surrendered to Bournemouth, and Bruno Fernandes set the tone.
After his comments questioning Michael Carrick’s tactics after the loss against Como, the Man Utd manager wanted to send a message to Bruno Fernandes.
The club captain was dropped for the visit of Bournemouth to Old Trafford, and Carrick hammered home his message by not even bringing him off the bench.
However, the manager had no chance even before the ball was kicked, and that is because Fernandes set the tone with what he did when he arrived for the game.
Bruno Fernandes summed up Man Utd dressing room
The captain sets the tone at the club as the man at the top of the dressing room hierarchy, and for better or worse, Fernandes questioning Carrick was always going to be a huge blow.
To make matters worse, Fernandes didn’t even make any effort to think about the team when he was dropped, making his displeasure clear for all to see.
When arriving at the ground before kick-off, Fernandes had his hood fully up and largely ignored the fans there as he sulked his way into the stadium.
That was noticed by Ashley Young, who said that this reaction doesn’t help anyone, least of all the manager, who’s under pressure already.
Young said: “Okay, you’ve been dropped as a player. It happens to players. I’ve been there. But you want to see a reaction. He’s got his hood up, he’s walking in, he’s telling the fans that he’s still upset. But that’s not the reaction you want from a captain.
“You want to see him, ‘okay, right, I’ve been dropped. I know what I’ve done wrong. I’m going to walk in, and when I get the opportunity to come on the pitch, I’m going to show what I’m actually about.
“Okay, my comments in the week were said and directed to Michael Carrick, but I don’t want to show everyone else. What I’ve said is already out there. Now I need to show what I’m about, my personality.
“Showing that [his hood being up] when he walks in, that’s not what you want to see.”
Things are magnified at Man Utd
This could seem like nitpicking from Young, but it’s hard to argue against the captain summing up the mood of a deflated dressing room with antics like these.
Fernandes has been here for six years, so he knows very well what he’s doing and how it will be nitpicked and scrutinised.
He made a conscious decision to send a subliminal message with his antics before the game, and it doesn’t help anyone.
The players subconsciously put less effort in for a dead man walking in the managerial seat, he takes himself off as an option off the bench, and the club suffers as a result.
Fernandes could easily rally the troops and ask them to make a difference, even if Carrick looks out of his depth at the moment.
Instead, he’s played his part in throwing the manager under the bus.
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