Looking at previous editions of this fixture, it's difficult to think that Roy Keane would have accepted the type of performance that the Manchester United players produced against Manchester City this afternoon during his own playing days.
It would not be an overstatement to call Erik ten Hag's side an embarrassment in this fixture. Not only did they completely fail to perform, but they also behaved in an incredibly poor manner during the closing stages of the game. Even Gary Neville had enough by the the end, hammering a number of United players for their actions.
This match hammered home the current gap between these two sides, while also summing up the issues with this Manchester United side. That relates to both the players and the manager, both of whom have been well short of the required standard so far this season.
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Roy Keane says Bruno Fernandes an example of Manchester United problems
When it comes to that poor attitude, Bruno Fernandes is one the main culprits. There is no doubt that he is a hugely talented player, but his actions at times are embarrassing to watch.
He spent the last few minutes of this afternoon's game attempting to kick opposition players and complaining to the referee, actions that are hardly befitting of the club captain.
The fact that Fernandes was made Man United captain last summer seems like a damning indictment of the lack of personality in that dressing room, with Roy Keane having already seen enough of him in that particular role.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, the Irishman slammed Bruno Fernandes and said he would strip him on the captaincy just a few months after he stepped into the role.
"He's the opposite to what I would want in a captain!"
Roy Keane says he would take the captaincy off Bruno Fernandes 😳 pic.twitter.com/r8ynceAum8— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 29, 2023
When things aren't right at a club, one bad decision seems to follow the other. We have seen that at other clubs. Man United were doing it great 10 or 15 years ago, they got a lot of credit when you had the manager there in [Alex] Ferguson and David Gill. They got the plaudits for the structure of the club.
But now it seems to be chaos at board level, which there is. They are taking that onto the pitch...
The first thing I would do, after watching him again today, I would definitely take the captaincy off of Bruno Fernandes, 100 per cent.
I know it's a big decision and they changed the captaincy with Harry Maguire, but Fernandes is not captaincy material. He is a talented player, no doubt about it.
But what I saw from him today again, and we saw it at Liverpool last year, his whinging, his moaning, constantly throwing his arms up in the air, it really isn't acceptable what we saw
I would really take that off him. You have to start somewhere. You're talking about board level, managers, I would start at that because the manager is capable of doing that.
The manager should hold his hands up and say 'I got it wrong'. Fernandes is a brilliant footballer, but in terms of captain material, he is the opposite of what I would want in a captain.
For Roy Keane, one of the best captains Manchester United have ever had, to make a statement like that is sure to carry plenty of weight among the club's fan base.
There are a lot of problems at that club right now, ones that don't look likely to be fixed any time soon.
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