Michael Carrick Must Axe Bruno Fernandes to Save His Man Utd Job

· GiveMeSport

One undroppable Man Utd star must be axed from the starting lineup after a horror show in the draw against Tottenham.

Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Saturday night in one of their worst performances of the season.

The Red Devils were dominated throughout the game as the visitors missed several big chances to claim their first win of the campaign. Bryan Mbeumo put the hosts ahead with a fine left-footed strike in the 73rd minute, before substitute Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off for a bust-up with Luke Shaw.

But Dominic Solanke held off Lisandro Martinez in stoppage time to head home an equaliser, meaning United have won just one of their first six Premier League games, and have had their worst start to a season since 1996.

Part of the reason for the poor performance was that United's top players simply couldn't get into the game.

Youri Tielemans found himself being dispossessed regularly by the Spurs midfield, while Kobbie Mainoo had limited options to pass to, and Senne Lammens was being pressed to death. But, perhaps most importantly, was the fact that Bruno Fernandes was invisible.

The skipper had a poor performance by his own high standards, but also by any normal standards. That was summed up by the fact that it took him until the 23rd minute before he was able to complete his first pass of the game.

He also completed just two of six cross attempts, lost possession 16 times, won just four of eight ground duel attempts, didn't win a tackle, and showed his petulant side late on in the game when the team was battling to hold on to their point.

Fernandes missed one game during the international break with an injury, and he looked to be carrying that injury again as he regularly looked like he was struggling for mobility. Instead of running, he would often stop and look for a Hollywood pass, which would not come off.

For as good as Fernandes has been, and as important as he is, he is still a human being. Now 32-years-old, the Portugal international may not necessarily be as effective as he once was physically, and it's up to Michael Carrick to be able to work without him.

Against Spurs, the team would almost certainly have benefited from having someone else in his position to help with the running, while also keeping possession more. Mason Mount was on the bench, as was Marcus Rashford, which could have seen Matheus Cunha move into his preferred role.

Instead, Fernandes played the entire game and could do nothing to prevent Spurs' late equaliser, while also playing no part in the goal Man Utd scored.

If Carrick is going to save his job as manager at Old Trafford, he needs to become less dependant on his captain. Dropping him for the next game would likely be a big help, but also just not being afraid of taking him off when he isn't playing well would send a message to the rest of the squad that nobody is safe from being left out if they aren't delivering.

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