TEDDY SHERINGHAM EXCLUSIVE: FERNANDES NO CAPTAIN; AMORIM TOO HONEST
Former England international, Spurs legend and treble-winning Manchester United great Teddy Sheringham sat down with BetMGM ambassador Laura Woods to exclusively discuss the latest turmoil at Old Trafford.
Sheringham, scorer of the famous United equaliser in the 1999 Champions League final, told Laura why he thinks Bruno Fernandes is ‘not captain material’, why Ruben Amorim was ‘too honest’ before his Red Devils sacking and how Michael Carrick can earn himself the job full-time.
Here are the best bits from our exclusive sitdown…
FERNANDES NOT TRUE CAPTAIN MATERIAL
“In terms of Bruno [Fernandes] you’re looking at two different things,” Sheringham said. “You're looking at him as captain material and whether he’s an identity which is what the club stands for. I don't think he's that because he doesn't lead by example in his manner on the pitch.
“We've seen him throw his arms up in the air and all that which I don’t think is a good look and not something a captain should be doing.
“Don’t get me wrong, the way he's performed on the pitch over the last couple of years, he's definitely a type of leader but I’m not sure he’s a captain.
“There’s been a lot of speculation about his future. First of all, you don't want to lose your top players and without a doubt, Bruno has been one of Manchester United’s top performers over the last two-and-a-half years in a team full of players who have been underperforming.
“I don't listen too much to speculation but, of course, he’d be a huge loss if he did move on at the end of the season.”
Fernandes to have most Premier League assists this season is 6/4 with BetMGM
UNITED SHOULD’VE SIGNED RICE
Sheringham feels decisions in the transfer market have left the Red Devils a long way behind where they should be.
“I wouldn't say there are many top players at Manchester United,” he said. “They've missed out on players like Declan Rice and Harry Kane when both were up for transfer. United weren't even in the equation for either of them.
“They are both top, top England internationals who lead by example and don't just go into football clubs to play well – they go in and lead and say to everybody else.
“A bit like the way Eric Cantona went in at United; he was made for it. Declan and Harry would have been absolutely fantastic for the football club.”
“So they didn't buy those top players, they went under the card for a few million less and that's what you end up with,” Sheringham added.
“You end up with players that are okay in the situation, but not great. You need great players to play for Manchester United, and even more so now, to turn the club around. You need leaders.
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“Rice is the one I think they’ll really regret. He leads by example on the football pitch and he doesn't care who he's playing against; he just says, ‘give me the ball’, a bit like Gazza [Paul Gascoigne] all those years ago.
“He’s thinking ‘I don't care who we're playing against, give me the ball, I'll out-trick him, I'll outrun him, I'll out-fight him, you name it… and I've got quality on top of all that to prove it’.
“He's made a massive difference at Arsenal. I said it two and a half years ago, they should have been in for him and should have got it done. There's no chance of getting him now, so it's all too late, but this is what Sir Alex Ferguson did all those years ago – he got players early, before anybody else noticed them.
“He went out and bought Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Cristiano Ronaldo. They hear about these players around the world and they go and get them before everybody else has even heard about them.
“They know they're going to be top players, so they go out and get them. Unfortunately they're not doing that anymore.”
AMORIM COST HIMSELF JOB IN THE END
Sheringham explained to Laura why he feels the Red Devils were right to sack Ruben Amorim – and why being ‘too honest’ cost the Portuguese in the end.
He said: “Yes, I think Ruben Amorim had to go. There was a lot of straight talking going on which is not always great when you're a football manager. I think there are certain things you've got to hide and keep behind closed doors.
“Amorim was very, very honest, probably too honest, and I think he put himself under unnecessary pressure by the way he spoke. At the end of the day, it's all about performances and results and neither were very good. So I think it was inevitable really.
“You can’t keep carrying on and trying to find excuses or saying that the team were playing well because they most definitely weren't.
“Manchester United are better than that and I think they had to make a change.”
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HOW CARRICK CAN EARN PERMANENT JOB
Sheringham also discussed Amorim’s temporary replacement Carrick – and believes a place in next season’s Champions League would guarantee him the United manager's position permanently.
“Terry Venables always used to say to us ‘when you're losing games you can never see yourself winning but when you're winning games you can never see yourself losing’,” Sheringham said.
“There’s been a funny vibe at the football club for a while and Michael Carrick's gone in there and he's changed that vibe straight away.
“Under Amorim there was no way you could see Manchester United beating Manchester City but now, all of a sudden, they've beaten them!
“He’s instilled a real optimism within the club after only a few days of getting the job. They’ll be thinking they can go to Arsenal and get a result there now.
“Football clubs can be changed around. You’ve just got to get the right vibe and the right way of getting around your players.
“There's a lot of big egos in a football club but, if you rub them up the right way, those big performances can return very quickly.
“I know he’s only taken charge of one game but Carrick has to be the favourite for the job after that Manchester City performance.
“He looks comfortable there, he's a Manchester United man and, with a bit of luck, which all managers need early on in their careers, I can see him doing really well.
“I’d like to see a United personality in there. They understand the football club and what’s required to move the club forward.
“I think if they got into a Champions League spot, you've got to give Carrick the job. That would be an amazing achievement and I can’t really see how the United board could choose someone else.
“It’s a tough ask but that’s surely got to be the aim? We saw the way these players can perform against City.”
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