31 October 2023 , 11:48
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Micah Richards has piled in on Gary Neville's claim that Bruno Fernandes is attempting to “con” Manchester United fans.
The Portuguese playmaker endured a rotten afternoon at Old Trafford during the weekend. He found himself on the wrong end of a 3-0 defeat by Pep Guardiola’s men.
Fernandes irritated Neville with his performance, having seemingly put in plenty of effort at the end of the game when it was too late. Speaking out on the midfielder’s display, Neville said: "He’s conning no one with what he’s been trying to do over the past few minutes."
His punditry colleague Micah Richards appears to agree with Neville’s assessment. Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, the former Manchester City defender said: "Have you noticed what Fernandes does though?
“When Man United go behind, and he is not having a good game, what he does is he starts running around trying to get the crowd on side.
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"He is running out of position trying to get everyone to believe that he is working really hard for the team, but really he is just playing for himself. It was staggering to see.
Bruno Fernandes earned plenty of criticism after the weekend (Getty Images)Do you agree with Micah Richards' assessment? Share your thoughts in the comments below
"Then, every decision that goes against United, his arms are up in the air. As a captain, I don't know if the pressure is too much, but it is not quite working out."
Richards and Neville were not the only ones to have been dismayed by Fernandes’ contributions in the Manchester derby. Former Man United midfielder Roy Keane suggested that he should have been stripped of the captaincy.
He said: "The one thing I would do after today having watched him again, I would definitely take the captaincy off him, 100 per cent. I know it was a big decision to change the captaincy with Maguire, but Fernandes is not captain material.
"I think he's a talented player, but what I saw today, we've discussed this before, I was at Liverpool last year, his whinging, his moaning, constantly throwing his arms up in the air. It really isn't acceptable.
"It has to start somewhere and where do you make changes - manager? board level? It starts with that (the captaincy) because the manager is capable of doing that. Hold his hands up and say he got it wrong. Fernandes is a great player, but he's the opposite of what I would want in a captain."
Fernandes will hope to prove his commitment to the cause over a testing week for the Red Devils. United at first take on Newcastle in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup before a trip to Craven Cottage for a clash with Fulham.