Effort
United are playing at home this weekend, so there’ll be nowhere to hide. The players have spoken a lot in the last couple of weeks, but talk is cheap at Old Trafford. They’ll have to put in the effort, and not just look like they are. This is a patient fanbase. The fans have no love for those making the big decisions at the club, but even the most supportive fans won’t tolerate what transpired against Como, regardless of what’s going on around the club.
Reaction to Setbacks
This was one of the
key features of Michael Carrick’s interim period. When the team conceded a goal, heads didn’t drop. Even after a loss or an unconvincing draw, Carrick found a way to get the team back to winning ways, unlike other managers hired midseason. It’s what separated Michael Carrick from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
It helped that United collected plenty of points in those initial games under his interim spell and had a very clear objective: qualifying for the Champions League. Michael Carrick’s got to find something to motivate this squad. The players will be aware that he’s close to the sack, and the fans will not like to see a beloved former player who salvaged last season under such scrutiny. It’ll be important to tap into the emotion.
This is also a home game, so any momentum will be cheered on by the fans regardless of what’s occurred in recent weeks. The players need to remember that ahead of this game and keep going.
Bruno Fernandes
The captain has had a difficult week after burglars broke into his home and fled with some items, following an abysmal performance in midweek. Fernandes also pointed to the coaching staff in his post-match interview for the team’s awful approach against Como.
The Portuguese made a similar start two seasons ago before Erik Ten Hag’s sacking, but he turned things around eventually. Fernandes also scored a hat-trick not too long ago, and we’re not even a quarter of the way through the league season, so there’s plenty of time for him to regain the form he showed last season. That’s not the problem, though.
Fernandes, like Lisandro Martinez, seems frustrated and angry. That’s not a problem that can be solved by a manager this season because the team’s not set up for the ambitions that every fan, the manager, and the players desire. If he can’t reconcile this, Michael Carrick has to make a decision about him for this game and about his future at the club.
