The Old Trafford was put to mute as Tottenham Hotspur cruised to a 3-0 victory over Manchester United on Sunday. After conceding in the first three minutes, the team never looked in shape to bounce back. Spurs looked all over Erik Ten Hag’s men as they displayed a dominant performance. There were a few incidents where United seemed to dig their holes. For instance, their captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off just before halftime. While many would call it a harsh call, there are a few who might have separate opinions.

Paul Scholes aims to the leadership qualities of Bruno Fernandes 

Bruno Fernandes who’s had a silent season up until now, couldn’t make things any worse for him. While he was sent off with a straight red because of his harsh challenge on James Maddison, his presence of mind has been questioned. With United needing him more than over against worthy opponents, his incident put Ten Hag in a difficult position for the second half. Paul Scholes addressed his perspective on the incident and Fernandes as a captain. According to the Mirror Scholes said:

“We’ve seen a lot of petulance from our captain over the last couple of years, throwing arms about and he knows himself that he needs to get out of his game, but realistically, is that going to happen?”

“He’s of an age where you don’t change that much. The captain has to set an example and yesterday just wasn’t good enough.”

What Scholes emphasises in his comments is the attitude of Fernandes is not captain-worthy. While many could question that, we have seen the quality he possesses on the ball. 

The Portuguese have been their main man for a while now. However, something has been off about his game lately. Scholes also took time to express what is going around with his position on the pitch and loopholes as he continued:

“Look, I think that he needs to play with more discipline, there’s no doubt,” 

“When I say discipline, I mean the position where he plays on the football pitch. As a number 10, he has the responsibility to make his team play good football.”

This isn’t the first time Fernandes, who is on a £300,000 per week contract has been questioned for his captaincy. With only one assist in six starts this season in the Premier League, he surely has seemed out of touch in various aspects. Even though the red card must be a little harsh on him, the Fernandes we were so used to seeing have faded in the past few months. 

More Manchester United news:

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• Manchester United and Arsenal in Tug-of-War for Dutch Sensation with legendary genes

The clouds over Erik Ten Hag and Old Trafford look darker than ever. While they survived to see another day on Sunday, following the red card incident it doesn’t get easy for them. Their skipper Fernandes will be missing out on their next three match days against Aston Villa, Brentford and West Ham United. Ten Hag and Fernandes have been trying to work things out at Old Trafford for over two seasons now. While the management is still in faith with the Dutchman, his clock seems to be clicking. 

With only seven points to show from the 18 and a goal difference of -3, United are far from where they want to be. Furthermore, This was their second loss at home already. It is not to be forgotten that Manchester United finished their last season as their worst in the Premier League era. With things required to be switched around and exit demands, these are some crucial times at the Red Devils’ base camp.