Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick and captain Bruno Fernandes held direct talks at the club's training ground on Tuesday, with both parties determined to move forward after a turbulent week at Old Trafford.
Fernandes had been dropped to the bench — and ultimately left unused — for Sunday's 3-0 Premier League defeat against Bournemouth. Carrick cited "pure football" reasons for the decision, which came after Fernandes publicly questioned the manager's tactics following Manchester United's 4-1 Champions League thrashing at Como.
A frank conversation
Sky Sports News understands the Tuesday meeting between Carrick and Fernandes was open and frank, though it remains unclear whether Fernandes offered a formal apology for his public criticism. Carrick addressed his selection philosophy, telling Sky Sports: "Picking the team is always a difficult decision. We've got to make what we feel is the right one for the team to try to get the performance we want."
The one-on-one conversation was held alongside a full squad meeting, where players and staff united around the need for an immediate improvement in performances. There was also, sources indicate, a collective acknowledgement that the squad as a whole has fallen short of expectations this season.
Fernandes is now expected to return to contention for Manchester United's Premier League fixture against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Neville's verdict
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was direct in his criticism of Fernandes following the Bournemouth defeat, arguing the captain had damaged both himself and his manager.
"Bruno can't press. To come out and whinge after the game about the manager's tactics, when you've just lost 4-1, and a few thousand fans have paid thousands of pounds to travel over in that far corner and get wet through. I'm sorry, read the room, Bruno."
Neville drew comparisons with United's captains of previous eras, noting that Eric Cantona and Roy Keane, however volatile, never publicly undermined team tactics. He added that Fernandes had, in effect, "stuck the knife into his manager" — following a similar episode earlier in October when Lisandro Martinez publicly criticised the club's director of football, Jason Wilcox, after the Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid.
Despite the sharp rebuke, Neville stopped short of writing Fernandes off entirely: "Bruno has delivered for Manchester United in more ways than any other player in the last 13 years. He's the one player I think you could take back in time and he could play in a Manchester United team in the 90s, in the 2000s because he's massively talented. But he let himself down this week."
What Fernandes said after Como
After the 4-1 defeat at Como, Fernandes had questioned Manchester United's decision not to press high, saying the approach allowed the opposition to grow in confidence and left his teammates physically and mentally drained by the time they recovered possession.
When pressed on whether tactics were to blame, Fernandes said: "That's on the manager and on the staff to see it, it's not on me. I just said, I think sometimes we have to be more brave on the pressure, trying to take a risk of getting that press very high and making them uncomfortable — as they did to us."
Sky Sports News had reported on October 22 that Fernandes would not be stripped of the captaincy over the comments. However, at his pre-Bournemouth press conference, Carrick refused to rule out disciplinary action, saying only that he would "always do what is best for the football club." Fernandes's subsequent benching appeared to be Carrick's answer.
Martinez, who had made similarly pointed public remarks earlier in the month, was not dropped for Manchester United's following match — a 1-1 draw at Leeds — but was also left out of the squad against Bournemouth.
