{"id":682781,"date":"2026-01-08T18:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T18:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/682781\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T18:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T18:34:16","slug":"darren-fletcher-made-one-change-that-immediately-improved-man-united","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/682781\/","title":{"rendered":"Darren Fletcher made one change that immediately improved Man United"},"content":{"rendered":"

Darren Fletcher will be back in the dugout for Manchester United on Sunday when they host Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup third round.\"ManchesterManchester United interim head coach Darren Fletcher(Image: Michael Regan\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

When Darren Fletcher was announced as the interim head coach of Manchester United, there was an immediate expectation that the Scot would make changes when he took charge of the Reds for the trip to Burnley. The first expected change was confirmed in his team selection as the Reds reverted to a back four.<\/p>\n

Changing their defensive shape was almost a guarantee considering the issues raised with Ruben Amorim’s<\/a> three-at-the-back system. Amorim’s most fatal failing was persisting with his preferred formation when all the signs showed it couldn’t be done with the players available.<\/p>\n

After a 2-2 draw to struggling Burnley, the jury remains firmly out on whether the back four will make United <\/a>noticeably better in the long term. However, another change Fletcher<\/a> made has brought about instant results for the Reds.<\/p>\n

Since the summer, Bruno Fernandes has been playing deeper in midfield to make room for Bryan Mbeumo<\/a> and Matheus Cunha<\/a> in the No.10 roles.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s a position that I want Bruno more deep, to have more possession, to try to control the game more – and we’re doing that,” Amorim said in September before admitting: “Sometimes we miss a little bit Bruno in front, maybe because Matheus Cunha was not there.<\/p>\n

“But if Cunha is there, we have one extra player. So I’m trying just to balance the team and trying to imagine the game, and we’ll try to put the best starting line-up there.”<\/p>\n

As Amorim explained, even in the deeper role Fernandes<\/a> was still influential for the Reds, but there was always the feeling he could offer more if played further forward. In his first game in charge, Fletcher scrapped the Fernandes experiment and put him back into attacking midfield.<\/p>\n

\"BrunoBruno Fernandes with Darren Fletcher after being substituted vs Burnley<\/p>\n

Fernandes will always play wherever the manager wants him, but United fans have been crying out for him to play more advanced and despite only just coming back from injury this week, the captain showed why this is a better option for United. Within five minutes of the restart, the 31-year-old produced a sublime through ball for Benjamin Sesko to finish.<\/p>\n

Due to his minutes being managed, Fernandes only lasted another ten minutes before being substituted but the promising signs are there. United look a better team when Fernandes is playing behind the striker and considering he scored 19 goals from this role last season, moving him further up the pitch makes sense.<\/p>\n

This decision is not just better for Fernandes<\/a>, it also improves the United squad as a whole. When everyone is back fit and available, Mbeumo can play off the right in a 4-2-3-1 system with Cunha cutting in from the left and Fernandes down the middle.<\/p>\n

Those wishing to see more of Kobbie Mainoo will also be pleased. With Fernandes pushed further up-field, Mainoo could slot alongside Casemiro to provide a stronger central midfield partnership. A change to Fernandes’ role is best for United, his teammates and the captain.<\/p>\n

Fernandes has still been influential in midfield this season, but United look a better team when he’s played further forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Darren Fletcher will be back in the dugout for Manchester United on Sunday when they host Brighton and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682782,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,873,206144,393,4884,2465,423,99,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-682781","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-bruno-fernandes","10":"tag-darren-fletcher","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-manchester","14":"tag-manchester-united-fc","15":"tag-ruben-amorim","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115860921759375009","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}