Rio Ferdinand vehemently defends Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes from Roy Keane’s accusations
Manchester United legend Roy Keane had some unsavoury truths to air regarding Red Devils’ skipper Bruno Fernandes following the shambolic defeat to Manchester City but the Portuguese ace has now found an ally in Rio Ferdinand.
Fernandes took over as the skipper earlier this summer and has presided over what has been a rather poor start to the campaign. The 29-year-old has had his moments of magic and often makes a telling contribution but as a leader, Keane has found him lacking.
Speaking after the game, the Irishman attested that Fernandes needs to be stripped of the armband. Keane was a former Red Devils skipper and should know a thing or two about what it means to don the role. But his former teammate, Ferdinand has now come out and called him ‘crazy’.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand presents Five via YouTube, Ferdinand has hit back at Keane’s assessment. Terming it ‘crazy’, he goes on to add that the club lacks another alternative to the 29-year-old.
“Who else is there? If there was somebody jumping off the page that you go, ‘Okay yeah he should actually go and get it,’ I would say, ‘Okay you can consider that,’ but throwing out comments like that..”
The Red Devils have been privy to several off-the-field controversies this season and throwing the armband into the mix is something Ferdinand does not want to see. Who dons the armband is a major decision in football and giving up on Fernandes mere months after trusting him with the role screams of a lack of due diligence.
“These are big decisions. The armband at a football club is a massive decision that makes news for all the wrong reasons and you want to bring another saga to the table? I don’t think it’s the right call at all.”
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The former English ace is right in his assessment that United can do with fewer controversies or distractions that can negatively affect morale at the club. However, hiding one’s head under the ground does not make the problem go away.
Ferdinand has his heart in the right place but is too emotional to make an informed decision. What Keane is calling for is drastic but his assessment regarding Fernandes does hit home when one looks at the bare facts.
The United skipper often loses his cool and fails to stand up and be counted as a leader when needed. His shoulders drop when the game is going against us and his football becomes quite erratic. Surely having shared the field with leadership titans at Old Trafford, Ferdinand should hold Fernandes to higher standards.
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Not having a better option should not be an excuse to persevere with incompetence. Adversity often sees leaders come to the fore and now is just one such time. Fernandes is far from the indomitable leader we envisaged and is more of a part of the problem.
The behaviour of players like Antony at the weekend can be attributed to their own skipper losing his head on the field. Attitude reflects leadership and Fernandes’s inability to rise to the occasion as a captain is mirroring the malaise at the club.
