Pulis brands Fernandes 'totally unprofessional' as Carrick drops United captain for Bournemouth

Bruno Fernandes has been dropped to the bench for Manchester United’s clash with Bournemouth after former Premier League manager Tony Pulis publicly condemned the captain’s conduct following United’s Champions League defeat to Como, calling his behaviour “totally unprofessional”.

Fernandes drew widespread criticism after taking aim at Michael Carrick’s tactics in the wake of the heavy loss in northern Italy. Pulis, speaking to BBC Sport, argued the comments compounded an already difficult situation for Carrick and reflected poorly on the squad’s leadership at a troubled club.

“You can add that to the list of Michael’s issues right now, but he has an even bigger problem in how he deals with his captain Bruno Fernandes’ comments after United were humbled by Como in the Champions League on Wednesday,” Pulis said.

Pulis was particularly critical of what he saw as a lack of effort in the performance itself, suggesting Fernandes set the wrong tone both on and off the pitch. “Michael’s tactics are there to be followed, yet to do that away to Como on a very wet and windy miserable night, you need men and not boys,” he said.

“Proper captains — and I was lucky to work with some top guys — come to the fore when the team and club needs them most. I’ve always judged leaders by people who follow them when things are going wrong. Unfortunately, many members of that team did follow their captain’s example, but in a totally unprofessional way.”

Carrick made four changes from the Como defeat, with Fernandes, Matheus Cunha, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui all dropped to the bench. Amad, Ayden Heaven, Carlos Baleba and Leny Yoro came into the starting XI.

When asked whether Fernandes’ post-match comments influenced the selection decision, Carrick was measured in his response. “Pure football, pure football reasons,” he said, adding that picking the starting eleven “when you’ve got options to choose is always a difficult decision” and that the team must make “what we feel is the right one for today.”