Fernandes is good but not a United great.
Talking to some Manchester United friends the other day the conversation turned to journalists’ voting for Footballer of the Year, and the fact that Bruno Fernandes managed to garner some votes. I was certainly surprised, having unhesitatingly cast my vote for Mo Salah, who won by a landslide. Alexander Isak, Virgil van Dijk and Declan Rice were next home, but a way back, and then came the scattered field of 15 others including Fernandes.
One of the United fans present attempted to make a case for Fernandes. He’s carried a poor United team this season, the fan argued. Fernandes actually looks like he cares in games, rallying the players. He’s our captain, a good captain, continued the fan. He supports staff in difficulties off the pitch. Good on him.
And, this is the comment that triggered silence and shock. Fernandes would get in any of the great teams in United’s history, the fan contended. Wow. The debate struggled a bit here. How far back do you go, and who actually saw some of the great sides live? It was generally agreed that Fernandes couldn’t compare with Duncan Edwards or Sir Bobby Charlton. So we moved on to the more familiar Sir Alex Ferguson era and the debate intensified.