Michael Carrick Refuses to Rule Out Dropping Bruno Fernandes in Emotional Address

• Michael Carrick opened Friday’s pre-match media conference with an address lasting five minutes and 30 seconds, before a single question was asked.
• The Manchester United manager would not rule out dropping captain Bruno Fernandes for Sunday’s home game against Bournemouth.
• United have gone seven games without a win, the latest a 4-1 Champions League defeat by Como on Wednesday.

Carrick Takes the Floor Before a Single Question

Michael Carrick did not wait for a question. Manchester United’s manager opened Friday’s pre-match media conference at Carrington by speaking for five minutes and 30 seconds. When he was later asked whether he would drop captain Bruno Fernandes for Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Bournemouth at Old Trafford, he would not rule it out.

The address followed Wednesday’s 4-1 Champions League defeat by Como, which left United without a win in seven games. Carrick is battling to save his job, according to BBC Sport’s Simon Stone, and he wanted to restate what he believes the club stands for. Instead of taking his seat and answering questions as normal, he chose to start himself. Sir Alex Ferguson used the same tactic, but Stone notes the former manager rarely spoke at such length.

What Carrick Told the Room

He began with an admission. “Recently we haven’t had a good time, I think that’s pretty obvious,” Carrick said. “Wednesday was a bad night, and it hurt me to see us play like that. It was unacceptable.”

He then described his own job. His responsibility, he said, is to put a team on the pitch that “represents this football club, and the supporters”, and he told the room United had “gone away from that recently”. He added: “It’s important we all recognise that.”

Humility ran through the rest of the speech. “Entitlement cannot be at this football club,” Carrick said. “It was based on being humble, having humility, and hard work. We can never lose that, and I won’t let us lose that.” He named Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney and Ferguson as examples of the sacrifice and hard work expected of United players.

“There’s a resilience about this football club that runs very deep,” he said. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes, I’ve felt it.”

The Fernandes Question

The speech came after a bruising few days inside the squad. Defender Lisandro Martinez had attacked the club’s hierarchy, and Fernandes then spoke out after the Como match. In a further interview with Sky Italia on Wednesday night, the Portugal international spoke about the club’s history. “At this club, there’s too much focus on what’s been done in the past,” Fernandes said. “But we’re not those people anymore. The club and the players need to understand that.”

Club sources said on Thursday that Fernandes would not lose the captaincy or be fined for his comments. Carrick gave no such guarantee. Asked again whether he would strip the 32-year-old of the armband, he repeated: “I will always do what is best for the football club.”

He also declined to say whether he had spoken to Fernandes about his conduct. “I don’t think this is the time to go into too much detail,” Carrick said. Asked whether the dressing room was divided, he was direct. “No, it’s not,” he said. “We just need to get back to doing what we do best.”

Carrick said the club were “doing everything” to support Fernandes and his family, whose Cheshire home was burgled on Wednesday. “Thankfully they weren’t directly affected,” he said, calling it “an awful situation”.

Hurt as Fuel

Carrick closed by turning the defeat into a promise. “What we look like as a group is my responsibility,” he said. “That’s the privileged position I am in. I’ll hold that umbrella for me to get wet and everyone else to stay dry.”

“[Wednesday] hurts an awful lot, but that doesn’t stop me,” he added. “That hurt is used as pure motivation and inspiration to want more, expect more and get us going in a different direction.”

United won 12 of their 17 games under Carrick last season. They have not won one of their last seven, and Sunday’s meeting with Bournemouth at Old Trafford is the next test of whether the squad has listened.