Ten Hag dealing with same Bruno Fernandes problems Solskjaer was told to fix
In the eyes of many, Erik ten Hag has not made enough improvement at Manchester United since he was named as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's permanent successor.
The Dutchman is still having to deal with plenty of issues that plagued his predcessor, one of which is the conduct of Bruno Fernandes. Ten Hag has, if anything, placed even more faith in the Portugal international than Solskjaer, given it was Ten Hag who named Fernandes as club captain at the start of the season.
The attacking midfielder has not exactly repaid the faith that was shown in him, with the current campaign arguably Fernandes' most underwhelming one in a United shirt from an individual perspective. He has just three league goals to his name this term, the most recent of which came nearly four months ago away at Fulham.
To make matters worse, he is still guilty of some of the lesser attractive parts of the game that saw him criticised while Solskjaer was still at the helm. Back in 2020, after a dodgy dive away at Tottenham, then-boss Solskjaer was urged to "have a word" with the former Sporting star to prevent any repeat incidents.
"Bruno Fernandes was the best player on the pitch for Manchester United against Tottenham on Friday," ex-Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy told the Daily Mail. "But if you hate diving with a passion like I do, he has to be called out for conning referee Jonathan Moss by leaning into Eric Dier and then falling over.
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"But no matter how good you are or how well you speak off the pitch, if you make a habit of trying to win penalties and free-kicks, you won't be admired in the same way. At Spurs, he deserved a yellow card for his tumble and as a fan of his I don't want to see him start doing that.
"I'm sure Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have a word with him about it, and he should do."
HAVE YOUR SAY!Is Fernandes a problem for Ten Hag? Comment below
Bruno Fernandes was accused of diving against Fulham (James Gill/Danehouse)If Solskjaer did, it clearly hasn't done the trick, as nearly four years down the line Fernandes is facing criticism for the same sort of antics - only this time, the backlash is coming from his own supporters. During Saturday's dismal 2-1 home defeat by Fulham, the 29-year-old was up to his old tricks.
After having a shot saved by Bernd Leno, Fernandes was caught feigning injury as replays showed minimal contact was made by Fulham midfielder Sasa Lukic. He was quickly told to get up by referee Michael Oliver and eventually did, but only once it was clear no free-kick was going to be given and United were still on the attack.
A large number of United fans voiced their frustrations with Fernandes online after a clip of the exchange went viral. One Red Devils supporter wrote: "Normally a big Bruno fan but this is PATHETIC."
Another added: "As a United supporter I can almost see why so many people say Bruno isn’t fit to be captain. I just think he’s really passionate though."
One fan claimed: "Manchester United should better give back the captain armband to Maguire before they regret it." Another simply declared: " Bruno Fernandes is embarrassing...."
This may be an issue Ten Hag feels he has to address internally, though in truth the Dutchman has bigger problems at the moment, as United languish in sixth eight points adrift of fourth spot.
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