[Sylar]

It was the same last season with us. I'm not worried at all. I have no doubt he's still a brilliant player.

Think he didn't really start until after the city game right ?

 

[Chief123]

Whatever the outcome today, he is the biggest worry for me this season. I’m not convinced his pattern of slow start season starts is going to be his saviour.

He’s a brilliant player and I love him but I worry about his ability to stay with the pace all season.

He genuinely looks to be struggling far too often. There were signs of it second half of season. We’re not going to be able to keep getting away with it.

 

[KjaAnd]

Brilliant player but he really needs someone more mobile next to him. He cannot track his man or cover the whole DM on his own. It’s borderline negligent that EtH is refusing to acknowledge this.

 

[Litch]

3 games in......some of the comments are bloody ridiculous

 

[MetoTTT]

We'll need him badly on form but my biggest worry is the Glazers are still here.

 

[Escobar]

Did better today and got an important goal. Not sure he has the legs to carry the load this season

 

[redNATION]

It was foolish signing an ageing player from Real, they know when to sell, and bought Bellingham with the money and suddenly their midfield is sorted for the next decade.

Same for Varane, meanwhile solid young CBs like De Light and Gvardiol have moved to rival clubs.

Our lack of squad planning is shocking, it’s why every summer we need to sign 5-6 players just to keep keep in touch with top 4, never mind challenging Ciry

 

[Yagami]

It was foolish signing an ageing player from Real, they know when to sell, and bought Bellingham with the money and suddenly their midfield is sorted for the next decade.

Same for Varane, meanwhile solid young CBs like De Light and Gvardiol have moved to rival clubs.

Our lack of squad planning is shocking, it’s why every summer we need to sign 5-6 players just to keep keep in touch with top 4, never mind challenging Ciry

The problem is these signings are championed so they will continue.

They're terrible and short-sighted. Our last successful team was based off of good young signings in the mid 2000s that lasted to the early 2010s. Van der Sar was the exception.

 

[Plastic Evra]

For all his faults so far and the fact he is so up the pitch at points, one massive opportunity and a goal today... Do we need him as a scoring threat (and in the air) ?

 

[AneRu]

The problem is these signings are championed so they will continue.

They're terrible and short-sighted. Our last successful team was based off of good young signings in the mid 2000s that lasted to the early 2010s. Van der Sar was the exception.

Casemiro and Varane aren't poor signings at all it's just we do them without any sort of succession planning and in the former's he doesn't even have a reliable deputy/cover/competitor. What we need to nip in the bud is this tendency of paying 70 - 80m for project signings or gambles we hope to convert to new roles.

 

[sillwuka]

Is anyone surprised by his attacking output?
He's someone we can rely on when chasing game and looking for a goal.

 

[Malkovich]

He also put the ball through for the red card right?

 

[In Rainbows]

It was foolish signing an ageing player from Real, they know when to sell, and bought Bellingham with the money and suddenly their midfield is sorted for the next decade.

Same for Varane, meanwhile solid young CBs like De Light and Gvardiol have moved to rival clubs.

Our lack of squad planning is shocking, it’s why every summer we need to sign 5-6 players just to keep keep in touch with top 4, never mind challenging Ciry

I mean, we went for Bellingham and he didn't choose us. There is nothing wrong with signing Casemiro in and of itself, provided that you also look to bring in midfielders who are younger. I'd say as long as we bring in another younger CB by next transfer window, I would not classify the Varane situation as shockingly poor.

It's not like I don't agree with your overall sentiment. I think we've been poor with some of our planning. For example, the midfield should have been overhauled massively. It's not really a case of being bad with getting in younger talents. It's just poor for our midfield all around. But as for youth injection, what can you do when Greenwood did what he did, Sancho did not continue progressing like his Bundesliga play suggested he would, and Bellingham rejected us?

 

[amolbhatia50k]

He’s a fine player but the cracks in his defensive game are very apparent. He’s lunging in and getting caught out a lot not to mention failing to track runners. We need someone else to rotate with him and take over eventually. Maddison exposed him last weekend and I can see more of that this season. Hopefully once Mount and Mainoo integrate he’ll get more support.

In the short term he was a quality signing but in the long run a pure DM who is losing his legs needs to be complimented with additional signings / promotions that fit.

 

[lex talionis]

Hilarious reading sone of the comments on the caf re Casemiro.

 

[Gordon S]

He’s a fine player but the cracks in his defensive game are very apparent. He’s lunging in and getting caught out a lot not to mention failing to track runners. We need someone else to rotate with him and take over eventually. Maddison exposed him last weekend and I can see more of that this season. Hopefully once Mount and Mainoo integrate he’ll get more support.

In the short term he was a quality signing but in the long run a pure DM who is losing his legs needs to be complimented with additional signings / promotions that fit.

I honestly don`t see a DM when i see him play. More like a regular box to box mid. He is very rash in his tackling and loves to bomb forward. Like he is enjoying himself a bit to much to care about the other boring parts of being a midfielder. Maybe a stretch to make comparisons to Pogba, but that is where my mind took it when watching the game yesterday. He is actually as good as any player when he goes forward imo. He is creative, has a good eye for a killer pass, he can shoot from distance, and he is great when running into the box. Just NOT the player i expected when we got him..We definitely need someone behind him that actually loves the other stuff.

 

[OrcaFat]

I honestly don`t see a DM when i see him play. More like a regular box to box mid. He is very rash in his tackling and loves to bomb forward. Like he is enjoying himself a bit to much to care about the other boring parts of being a midfielder. Maybe a stretch to make comparisons to Pogba, but that is where my mind took it when watching the game yesterday. He is actually as good as any player when he goes forward imo. He is creative, has a good eye for a killer pass, he can shoot from distance, and he is great when running into the box. Just NOT the player i expected when we got him..We definitely need someone behind him that actually loves the other stuff.

He is coming back to form. I think I agree with most of what you’re saying here. He is certainly very able to play DM to an elite level but he has to be fit and he has to be focused. At this stage of his career he needs competition for his place imo.

That’s the main reason I want us to get Amrabat. The absolute quality of Amrabat is debatable (I rate him but the jury hasn’t seen him play much), but he is a wily, aggressively competitive pro and having that kind of character about and going after your place in the team is going to sharpen you up no matter who you are.

 

[Bobski]

The incident in the first half when he just let Gibbs White run into the right channel while gently jogging back is an example of the frustrating moments. That and the constant lunging in, think he went to ground 4/5 times yesterday, won the ball once and was beaten and out of the game on the others. Focus not completely there on the defensive side of the game, he still has amazing moments of reading the game, teleporting to the perfect position to win or intercept a ball, still an elite tackler when he stands up.

Not really having a true playmaker alongside him, especially without Eriksen alongside him expands the requirements of his role too much. Given our defensive struggles and how wide open Utd are getting back to the basics of the role, at least for a period, could be valuable.

 

[Catalandevil]

He is a winner and a player you want to have in your squad. He plays better with a #6 next to him rather than a #8. I would not be surprised if, in some months, our main midfield is Case Mainoo Bruno.

Case surprised many of us, including rival teams, with his attacking output. We need to exploit that and the best way of doing it is to partner him with another midfield such as Mainoo or Amrabat next to him.

Also, when we want to play with two #8, the defense should be higher up the pitch and be more aggressive. If not, we are asking Case to stop an avalanche of quick players when there is simply too much space between him and the centrebacks.

 

[OrcaFat]

The incident in the first half when he just let Gibbs White run into the right channel while gently jogging back is an example of the frustrating moments. That and the constant lunging in, think he went to ground 4/5 times yesterday, won the ball once and was beaten and out of the game on the others. Focus not completely there on the defensive side of the game, he still has amazing moments of reading the game, teleporting to the perfect position to win or intercept a ball, still an elite tackler when he stands up.

Not really having a true playmaker alongside him, especially without Eriksen alongside him expands the requirements of his role too much. Given our defensive struggles and how wide open Utd are getting back to the basics of the role, at least for a period, could be valuable.

Yeah, I don’t think he is 100% match fit but, also, I don’t think he is following his rules perfectly. That is true of most of the team and should improve with games.

Part of the problem, for the whole team, is that the system is mentally challenging until it becomes second nature. EtH keeps urging the players to concentrate and it takes a great effort of application to do it for 90 mins. The players have to demand this of themselves but when there is no consequence, players will naturally ease off at times.

Casemiro is a good pro but he’s playing like there is no pressure on his place which is true.

 

[Steve 007]

The problem is these signings are championed so they will continue.

They're terrible and short-sighted. Our last successful team was based off of good young signings in the mid 2000s that lasted to the early 2010s. Van der Sar was the exception.

In 2000s we had a team full of experienced winnners with winning mentality who could show the youngsters the way forward. Fast forward to 2020’s and we didn’t. With buying Varane and Casimeiro you are not just buying good players you are buying high standards, wining mentality, experience and role models for those younger players. Both players are still outstanding. Casimeiro If he scores twice yesterday gets man of the match. He won’t miss a chance like that too often. His fitness and sharpness is coming back.

 

[simplyared]

That lunge when he tried to stop Elanga on the wing wasn't pretty. He was way off and crazy to even attempt it. If he'd have connected with the player it would have been a red and he's out again for important games. He's becoming a risk. However I still want to see him on the team sheet as his overall contribution out on the pitch is paramount imho.

 

[DJ_21]

He’s a fine player but the cracks in his defensive game are very apparent. He’s lunging in and getting caught out a lot not to mention failing to track runners. We need someone else to rotate with him and take over eventually. Maddison exposed him last weekend and I can see more of that this season. Hopefully once Mount and Mainoo integrate he’ll get more support.

In the short term he was a quality signing but in the long run a pure DM who is losing his legs needs to be complimented with additional signings / promotions that fit.

That’s where we missed out on Lavia, a young player we missed out on who could have became a great player here. We need to stop signing over 30 year olds who we have to replace in a few years time.

 

[ThatGreyKit]

The problem is these signings are championed so they will continue.

They're terrible and short-sighted. Our last successful team was based off of good young signings in the mid 2000s that lasted to the early 2010s. Van der Sar was the exception.

Didn't you think Arthur would be a good signing though?

 

[Acrobat7]

That’s where we missed out on Lavia, a young player we missed out on who could have became a great player here. We need to stop signing over 30 year olds who we have to replace in a few years time.

It is okay to sign 30+ year olds as stopgaps. The issue is that his fee and wages are not on a 30+yo stopgap level.

 

[Thiagoal]

I think he’s a crucial cog in our team but as others have alluded to he needs a strong energetic, athletic player with him that can snuff out danger- someone like Palhinha at Fulham. Casemiros’s influence, composure and control is vital but playing next to Mount or Eriksen really does expose his flaws. I’m very surprised that ETH thought Mount would work well. I guess Amrabat could be that player if there’s any truth to the links?

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

We’re such a shocking fanbase. Chelsea just finished last season much worse than we’ve ever done post SAF, and that despite a massive spending spree last Summer.
They’ve won 1 in 3 to start the season and yet their fans are bigging up all of their players, Jackson is the new fecking Drogba already.

Meanwhile United fans are slating ETH, Rashford is getting canned despite massive involvement in all 3 goals and and last seasons best player and goalscorer yesterday is apparently a poor signing again.

Most of you deserve an utterly shite football team.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

That’s where we missed out on Lavia, a young player we missed out on who could have became a great player here. We need to stop signing over 30 year olds who we have to replace in a few years time.

I really don't get the fuss about Lavia.

Can see Chelsea selling him to Italy in a few years time.

 

[lex talionis]

The man put in a solid shift for us, even acknowledging his missed a sitter from two yards out. Do we want more? Of course we do. Do we want Amrabat to support him? Of course we do. Is Casemiro still one of top CDMs on the planet? Of course he is.

 

[Ali Dia]

That lunge when he tried to stop Elanga on the wing wasn't pretty. He was way off and crazy to even attempt it. If he'd have connected with the player it would have been a red and he's out again for important games. He's becoming a risk. However I still want to see him on the team sheet as his overall contribution out on the pitch is paramount imho.

He looked like a fighter out on his feet by the end but it was a much better performance and as many have pointed out he seems to start the season slow. I had my doubts about him when we signed him but last year he was in that group of our most important players along with Shaw Bruno Martinez and Rashford. I just wish we had a younger player to bring on when he starts diving into things and looking leggy. We badly need competition in the position

 

[Poborsky's hair]

He's our next big problem. His ground coverage is pretty shit, gets bypassed easily. His passing is worse then Fred often looses the ball in dangerous midfield positions. At least he can compensate with an odd goal but hardly a depandable player going forward, looking at his age and intensity of the game in the premier league.. He's basically our Matic and Eriksen Mata mk2.

 

[Oranges038]

He was good, better than previous games.

I think maybe his role should be more restricted to sitting back and controlling the defensive side and mopping up loose balls.

But he's getting too much involved in the attack and going ahead of the ball and not able to get back. Whether that's instruction or not I don't know. But he's one of the players most capable of creating a space and movement in and around the box with his quick passing and movement.

 

[OrcaFat]

I really don't get the fuss about Lavia.

Can see Chelsea selling him to Italy in a few years time.

Yeah Lavia is a good prospect but no more at this stage, imo.

 

[Abraxas]

He's a very good player. Just an aging one. But not actually old or lacking performance. If he went to a team like Bayern or City there wouldn't ever be a question about him. He can still do all the things he did at Madrid for my money.

What exposes him is a couple of things. We're not actually that good or structured, which creates a lot of gaps and ground to cover. Some of it simply isn't possible for one player. He also will have too much work to do over a season due to our deficient squad and that will catch up, and then people will blame him for a forseeable problem. He's a man not a machine.

The second thing is that we spent 60 million on him at that stage of his career and we're not actually ready to compete. Nobody is going to get excited about Casemiro "propelling" us to a top 4 position. When viewed through the lens that the likes of him and Varane are supposed to be players to win trophies, it will appear like he's underperforming. But he's not really, he is capable of doing a job at the required level but if the team is not at that same level it isn't happening. Then eventually he will age, probably that process is starting to begin, or it's on the cusp and then it looks kind of shortsighted and people will say we should have gone for younger. But we still do need to keep getting in the CL or we're stuffed, so least he helps provide the quality to do that.

 

[Giggsy13]

The general mood of this thread will be very different in a month or so. Casemiro is a slow starter but once he hits form he’s arguably the best DM in the world.

 

[Jericho]

He's really good. Please get some quality in beside him before he gets too old!

 

[OrcaFat]

He's a very good player. Just an aging one. But not actually old or lacking performance. If he went to a team like Bayern or City there wouldn't ever be a question about him. He can still do all the things he did at Madrid for my money.

What exposes him is a couple of things. We're not actually that good or structured, which creates a lot of gaps and ground to cover. Some of it simply isn't possible for one player. He also will have too much work to do over a season due to our deficient squad and that will catch up, and then people will blame him for a forseeable problem. He's a man not a machine.

The second thing is that we spent 60 million on him at that stage of his career and we're not actually ready to compete. Nobody is going to get excited about Casemiro "propelling" us to a top 4 position. When viewed through the lens that the likes of him and Varane are supposed to be players to win trophies, it will appear like he's underperforming. But he's not really, he is capable of doing a job at the required level but if the team is not at that same level it isn't happening. Then eventually he will age, probably that process is starting to begin, or it's on the cusp and then it looks kind of shortsighted and people will say we should have gone for younger. But we still do need to keep getting in the CL or we're stuffed, so least he helps provide the quality to do that.

All good points.

We were fairly terrible when he was unavailable last season. He also has the slow start thing when coming back from an absence and imo, if he didn’t play well, the team didn’t. A fit, in-form Casemiro - the guy we usually get - is essential to us.

As he hits the age where decline becomes difficult to fend off, he’ll need to work harder than he has ever done before. That’s why it is imperative that we recruit some sort of viable competition for his place - to give him that extra push and keep him maxed.

 

[SilentWitness]

You need a DM who is disciplined…and give licence to Casemiro to do box to box. I think Mount was probably the wrong signing and you should have got Amrabat instead.

 

[OrcaFat]

You need a DM who is disciplined…and give licence to Casemiro to do box to box. I think Mount was probably the wrong signing and you should have got Amrabat instead.

I don’t think that is EtH’s plan. Mount was the right signing for the plan. The Plan might not work but we won’t know that for a while (months probably).

 

[Dve]

As long as Ten Had does not insist on possession, but rather playing on the counter - Casemiro has a lot of the tool, both as a ball winner and his sometimes brilliant forward passes. If we want to be better at keeping possession, Casemiro will fall short. He struggles in small spaces and has too many ball losses to play DM in a possession based side.