Two Ten Hag decisions blamed for Man Utd pair going rogue against Man City

Two ex-England internationals have pointed the finger of blame at Erik ten Hag over a Manchester United pair going into business for themselves against Manchester City.

The Red Devils folded in the second half of the Manchester derby on Sunday, with frustrations getting the better of several of their stars as the match wore on.

Captain Bruno Fernandes cut an increasingly agitated figure in the game’s latter moments. The Portuguese continually remonstrated with the referee and displayed negative body language.

Elsewhere, substitute Antony’s only real contribution was to kick out at Jeremy Doku. The Brazilian was perhaps a tad fortunate to escape with just a yellow card.

Now, when speaking on The Kelly and Wrighty Show, Arsenal icon Ian Wright and ex-Man Utd midfielder Owen Hargreaves detailed where the blame should lay for United’s humiliation.

Firstly, Wright added to the growing chorus of claims that Fernandes is not captaincy material.

The playmaker replaced Harry Maguire as skipper in the off-season after Ten Hag stripped the centre-back of the armband.

However, Wright believes Fernandes’ temper and histrionics set a bad example for his teammates and that is part of the reason behind Antony following suit when lashing out at Doku.

Fernandes’ brand of leadership harming Man Utd – Wright

“Bruno sometimes just goes off and they’re not ready. It’s not good for the team,” said Wright (via the Daily Mail).

“Watching Antony come on and his contribution was to kick out at Doku like that, but the example of the captain is seeping in. That’s the captain doing it.”

Former United midfielder Hargreaves then waded in and suggested Ten Hag must shoulder some of the blame for Fernandes going rogue.

The Portuguese is at his best when playing centrally in the No 10 role. However, Ten Hag deployed Fernandes wide right and Hargreaves claimed his inability to influence the game in that position contributed to his frustrations.

“Play [Fernandes] as a No 10 and drop another player!” – Hargreaves

“[Ten Hag] gave it [the captaincy] to Bruno because he’s their most consistent player by a long shot but yesterday [Ten Hag] played him out of position,” continued the ex-England midfielder.

“Play him as a No 10 and drop another player. I think his frustration came a lot from not having any influence on the game.”

Finally, Hargreaves suggested that while Fernandes’ willingness to press is a crowd-pleaser, it’s actually doing the team no good if it’s not a concerted team effort.

“He closes down on his own as well,” Hargreaves said of Fernandes. “That’s a signal to players who you’re playing with that he’s playing for the crowd.

“When you see people just going on their own and you don’t see anyone else backing up, you kind of feel like he’s looking out for himself.”

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