[Aint gota Kalou]

Was he ever at that rash at Madrid? With the ball and without it? He has moments of pure quality but also a lot of times where he makes overly aggressive decisions. Probably overcompensating as he doesn't trust anyone else

 

[Matt851]

Still think it's clear the balance in midfield is off but eth doesn't seem to agree

 

[Champ]

will have to agree to disagree. His positioning has always been suspect with us, relies way too much on slide tackles, and cant catch up to me in a foot race. This was literally making the same mistake as matic-buying a player a year or two too late to do any good for us. The fact that we gave real madrid 70 million to reinvest in younger talent is just another reason why the shitshow goes so much higher than the manager.

I definitely agree with the last point for sure.

 

[Idxomer]

Was he ever at that rash at Madrid? With the ball and without it? He has moments of pure quality but also a lot of times where he makes overly aggressive decisions. Probably overcompensating as he doesn't trust anyone else

He was a bit rash without the ball but not to this degree.

He was simply not allowed to take many risks on the ball with Modric and Kroos always coming deep to pick up the ball.

 

[Trex]

Its odd how often he's trying to play the hero ball, I wonder if its tactical. How do you maintain pressure when everyone is trying to be the virtuoso.

 

[Bwuk]

Its odd how often he's trying to play the hero ball, I wonder if its tactical. How do you maintain pressure when everyone is trying to be the virtuoso.

it is tactical. They all do it. First time over the top.

 

[Sylar]

Onana pass out was shit but as soon as I saw him run back I knew we were going to get a stupid tackle from him. If he's not on a yellow or it's last minute I'd understand, but it's basically brainless the way he does this.

 

[prateik]

2 completely avoidable bookings and another sending off.

 

[CloneMC16]

Took him longer than I thought it would to get sent off this season. Onana put him in a bad position, but he can't afford to make that tackle on a yellow.

72% pass completion.

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

Was he ever at that rash at Madrid? With the ball and without it? He has moments of pure quality but also a lot of times where he makes overly aggressive decisions. Probably overcompensating as he doesn't trust anyone else

He got a very specific role at Madrid. Having Kroos and Modric alongside you means zero need for hero ball.

It was clear that we needed a controller in the same mold, and we got Mount instead, who is a good player, but coupled with a player as profligate and physically weak as Bruno ahead of a lone DM, it was always a disaster waiting to happen, and we are also rather shit at goalscoring at the moment so Case feels the need to play as this weird hybrid DM/B2B that doesnt help his game one bit, there's only so much energy you can expend.

 

[FreakyJim]

Fecking shite. He's not a DM, he's here on vacation to do whatever he wants - be a playmaker, score goals, try hoofballs. Doesn't give a feck if we win or lose, his last big contract.

Him and Bruno can go to Saudi Arabia tomorrow for all I care.

 

[RuudTom83]

Instead of being the calming influence in the midfield he has taken Bruno on for the mantle of being the most chaotic.

They need to learn they can't all play the same way it's a recipe for disaster.

 

[Abraxas]

Not really worth addressing the sending off, ridiculous situation.

However I'm not really pleased with the risks taken with his passing. I'm not sure he's that guy. It's almost as if he came from a completely different role at Real Madrid and took on more responsibility here but he/the manager have got carried away with themselves and the additional creativity/goals he has demonstrated and he's now trying to play like Steven Gerrard. Problem is he's got the recovery pace of current Gerrard so when we're losing it high up the pitch he's no where to be found and many of these ambitious passes are not really working out well.

Maybe it's time to cut that out and go back to basics. Shield the back 4, because bloody hell we need it. Keep it simple, put the onus and responsibility on the likes of Mount to contribute more. Use Eriksen if we have to. Bring Amrabat into midfield to take up responsibilities in build up. I don't care how but this balance in his play isn't working well. Why not just strip it down, save his energy for where his strengths are.

 

[Strats]

Thought he’d be experienced and mature enough to not make that tackle. He knows he’s going to get sent off and they will have a penalty. Brain dead stuff

 

[2cents]

He’s awful, at the heart of so many problems we have in terms of our lack of control and our general vulnerability.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Fecking shite. He's not a DM, he's here on vacation to do whatever he wants - be a playmaker, score goals, try hoofballs. Doesn't give a feck if we win or lose, his last big contract.

Him and Bruno can go to Saudi Arabia tomorrow for all I care.

This is not even a joke anymore. The tactics seem to be let the best players express themselves, and casemiro tries to do the Superman thing every game. We're reliant on it. No discipline in his position whatsoever.

 

[bond19821982]

Problem is , both he and Bruno tries the same shit and we lose the ball in midfield. One of them needs to be benched.

 

[Leftback99]

£300k a week deadwood soon enough.

 

[avgp_1]

I dont agree with the thinking he needs more cover in midfield.

How much more cover? We've dropped Eriksen, got Hannibal in, Mount in, Bruno pushed wide and Amrabat tucking in. The entire midfield is built around to allow him to act like prime Pirlo but all he does is give stupid passes away, rush forward trying the glory stuff and be second best in duels.

 

[gaffs]

What makes this guy think he is the fecking playmaker all of a sudden? Every time he gets the ball he tries to loop it up to the forwards.

He does not track runners through midfield. He is supposed to be a defensive mid. Did he never have to track a man at Madrid? The Galatasaray number 7 was ghosting in behind him time and again. He did nothing to track him for the second goal.

He is done. Cooked. He is at United for a pension, just like Varane.

 

[gaffs]

I dont agree with the thinking he needs more cover in midfield.

How much more cover? We've dropped Eriksen, got Hannibal in, Mount in, Bruno pushed wide and Amrabat tucking in. The entire midfield is built around to allow him to act like prime Pirlo but all he does is give stupid passes away, rush forward trying the glory stuff and be second best in duels.

I agree with this. He is meant to be a solution. He is a problem and we are now having to move players around to cover for him.

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

72% pass accuracy playing as a DM

 

[RedC]

He's properly thick.

 

[El Jefe]

The eye test tells me he should have about 50% pass completion in most games. Every pass seems to be an attempt to unlock a team.

It's great when it comes off but it's a completely irresponsible way of playing football, he's giving the ball away most of the time. It was bad last season but it's much worse this year which makes me think EtH is okay with it.

He's been horrid this season at tracking runs, what the hell is going on with him. He's playing like Bruno and seems to have forgotten he's a defensive midfielder that needs to protect the back four.

 

[Marwood]

ETH needs to get a grip of him. I don't mind the odd long ball over the top but he keeps getting caught ahead of the play. Criminal for a DM. The one thing you can't do.

But he is a major presence. At the centre of everything we do. So if you drop him the guy coming in would really have to step up.

 

[Borys]

What makes this guy think he is the fecking playmaker all of a sudden? Every time he gets the ball he tries to loop it up to the forwards.

He does not track runners through midfield. He is supposed to be a defensive mid. Did he never have to track a man at Madrid? The Galatasaray number 7 was ghosting in behind him time and again. He did nothing to track him for the second goal.

He is done. Cooked. He is at United for a pension, just like Varane.

This I also don't understand. He plays DM in the most bizarre way I've ever seen.
But it's clearly by design. Everytime he gets on the ball he just launches it forward. This is how eth wants us to play now Imo, it's just revert to very basic play.

 

[gaffs]

This I also don't understand. He plays DM in the most bizarre way I've ever seen.
But it's clearly by design. Everytime he gets on the ball he just launches it forward. This is how eth wants us to play now Imo, it's just revert to very basic play.

It is crazy. I mean, it worked a couple of times as Galatasarty left loads of space for Rashford and Hojland to run into.

But its because he cant pass the ball through midfield.

 

[tomaldinho1]

The drop off in him and Varane is so evident now. Why did Case non stop just hoof that same ball as well. It was a great pass to Rashford but then they cottoned onto it but we just kept doing it over and over.

 

[AneRu]

Was he ever at that rash at Madrid? With the ball and without it? He has moments of pure quality but also a lot of times where he makes overly aggressive decisions. Probably overcompensating as he doesn't trust anyone else

I think when he first came in he surprised all with how good he was on the ball as we all assumed he was so limited but now, just like a guy finding out why he found his girlfriend single, we are finally seeing why Madrid had him on lock down. He is all action and when it works it looks good but like Bruno he will cost you the chance to exert any form of control on teams.

ETH needs to stop indulging his top 3 - Bruno, Casemiro and Rashford - because its reducing our level of control on games. Guys like Scholes and Carrick were much better passers than either of Casemiro and Fernandes could ever hope to be but they didn't seek to break defenses open each time they got the ball.

 

[NZT-One]

Not really worth addressing the sending off, ridiculous situation.

However I'm not really pleased with the risks taken with his passing. I'm not sure he's that guy. It's almost as if he came from a completely different role at Real Madrid and took on more responsibility here but he/the manager have got carried away with themselves and the additional creativity/goals he has demonstrated and he's now trying to play like Steven Gerrard. Problem is he's got the recovery pace of current Gerrard so when we're losing it high up the pitch he's no where to be found and many of these ambitious passes are not really working out well.

Maybe it's time to cut that out and go back to basics. Shield the back 4, because bloody hell we need it. Keep it simple, put the onus and responsibility on the likes of Mount to contribute more. Use Eriksen if we have to. Bring Amrabat into midfield to take up responsibilities in build up. I don't care how but this balance in his play isn't working well. Why not just strip it down, save his energy for where his strengths are.

I agree with this.

 

[groovyalbert]

Doesn't look bothered

 

[Ali Dia]

will have to agree to disagree. His positioning has always been suspect with us, relies way too much on slide tackles, and cant catch up to me in a foot race. This was literally making the same mistake as matic-buying a player a year or two too late to do any good for us. The fact that we gave real madrid 70 million to reinvest in younger talent is just another reason why the shitshow goes so much higher than the manager.

I also agree with the last part of this post. We are in transition anyway, we don't need older players for huge fees and wages when we are already struggling with FFP. We have been so short term with our strikers and midfield and let the competition hoover up the best players who are yet to peak. Build a team. Why are we so terrible at this? Even when we do go for players who are the right age they turn out to be mentally weak. Its madness

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

He got a very specific role at Madrid. Having Kroos and Modric alongside you means zero need for hero ball.

It was clear that we needed a controller in the same mold, and we got Mount instead, who is a good player, but coupled with a player as profligate and physically weak as Bruno ahead of a lone DM, it was always a disaster waiting to happen, and we are also rather shit at goalscoring at the moment so Case feels the need to play as this weird hybrid DM/B2B that doesnt help his game one bit, there's only so much energy you can expend.

I'd like to see a Amrabat/Case/Mount type midfield where Casemiro is free to play higher up and actually do stuff in the final third without leaving us completely exposed. Either that or stick him at CB instead of Lindelof. But he's simply a step slow at DM now and it's exposing his lack of composure on the ball as he can't go misplace a pass but immediately win it back like he did last season.

 

[fallengt]

Probably daydreaming about Camel league already. Can't wait to meet his former Real Madrid teammates ?

 

[dcrompton]

For a defensive midfielder why does he not bother to track runs into our box?

 

[InfiniteBoredom]

I'd like to see a Amrabat/Case/Mount type midfield where Casemiro is free to play higher up and actually do stuff in the final third without leaving us completely exposed. Either that or stick him at CB instead of Lindelof. But he's simply a step slow at DM now and it's exposing his lack of composure on the ball as he can't go misplace a pass but immediately win it back like he did last season.

Theres a compilation of our goals conceded from cutbacks this season in the EtH thread and you can see that he wasn't even there most of the time. Failed interception/duel is one thing but the way he plays at the moment he is just caught out of position trying to play hero ball all the time, that is not sustainable. We know he can do the basic well, stay in front of the defense, pick up the ball from deep, play it to feet for another midfielder or fullback/winger, dont try to be fancy. I think he has the wrong idea about what he should be doing based on the goals he scored and EtH is indulging him, but we are leaking goals like a sieve as a result of that.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Problem is , both he and Bruno tries the same shit and we lose the ball in midfield. One of them needs to be benched.

How do you know ten hag is not telling them to do this, he wants to be quick in transition, I think they are being instructed to play a quick ball over the top as soon as they get it or win it no matter if it’s risky or if we lose the ball again

 

[Idxomer]

I'd like to see a Amrabat/Case/Mount type midfield where Casemiro is free to play higher up and actually do stuff in the final third without leaving us completely exposed. Either that or stick him at CB instead of Lindelof. But he's simply a step slow at DM now and it's exposing his lack of composure on the ball as he can't go misplace a pass but immediately win it back like he did last season.

No, he's also too slow for that role. See the type of players other teams play in those advanced positions and they are nothing like Casemiro. Goal contributions aren't everything, we need to start looking beyond that.

 

[Lay]

He ill disciplined which surprises me because he was like this at the start of his career before learning his role. Why’s he everywhere but where he should be?

I also don’t think he should have made the challenge but I’m still debating it in my head

 

[The United]

So I am not the only one who thought he didn't have to get a second yellow card for that incident? I don't mind conceding at that point but we can't keep losing our defensive players right now.