[Iker Quesadillas]

We'll take him back.

 

[gaffs]

Terrible yesterday.
He wouldn’t even get in a Soccer Aid team.

 

[gaffs]

This is the problem with United we tried to buy De Jong (ETH boy) and when we couldn't land him we went for Casemiro who Madrid were happy to sell to us just like Chelsea were happy to sell Matic to us and Bayern Schweinsteiger. We never learn!
Just look at Arsenal and how Arteta brought the average age of their team down by getting rid of the likes of Ozil and Aubameyang. How can you build a team for the future with players who have their best years behind them, isn't it funny. Yet we started our rebuild under ETH with two older midfielders (Casemiro and Eriksen). We could have landed Enzo and a younger DM for the price of Casemiro and we'll have a more dynamic midfield. We went for the shortcuts of 'proven players'. SAF always bought them young and moulded them. I hope players like Hannibal and Mainoo will prove to be good enough because its obvious this older lads are struggling to keep up with the game.
PS. I love Casemiro.

So true. Always looking for a quick fix.

We are committing over £150mil to Casemiro over the length of his contract.

Hope Saudi can save us.

 

[sullydnl]

He was very poor yesterday, though obviously he could just be in bad form rather than anything more permanent. As with the team generally, we'll have to wait and see.

That said, it does highlight the risk we took in signing a player of his age profile for that sort of money. There's always the risk that they suddenly decline, in the not-entirely-predictable way players often do at around that age.

It was also the concern some of us had at the idea of spending huge money on a 30 year old Harry Kane who has already clearly lost some of the legs he had when he was younger. It might have worked out, but there was also a very obvious danger it wouldn't and he'd look a severely lessened player within a season or two.

Whatever happens with Casemiro specifically, there's a lesson to be learned about the importance of targeting the right age profile of player, especially when you're going to commit a significant amount of money towards them. Hopefully in this case we get lucky and he still has a few more years in him.

 

[Lee565]

Hopefully a Saudi side will fancy him and him fancying an even better payday if this is going to be his level this season

 

[Katy Cat]

Transformational last season. Terrible on what we've seen this time round.

He was a reactive signing, is yet another player on a ludicrous deal (it seems obvious we need to overpay for high-profile 'names') and where I hoped we might get another 1-2 years of sustained quality performances from him, I'm starting to worry we've already seen the best.

It's going to be interesting to see how he goes in the next 6-8 games - a big month coming up for him and us.

 

[jesperjaap]

He was very poor yesterday, though obviously he could just be in bad form rather than anything more permanent. As with the team generally, we'll have to wait and see.

That said, it does highlight the risk we took in signing a player of his age profile for that sort of money. There's always the risk that they suddenly decline, in the not-entirely-predictable way players often do at around that age.

It was also the concern some of us had at the idea of spending huge money on a 30 year old Harry Kane who has already clearly lost some of the legs he had when he was younger. It might have worked out, but there was also a very obvious danger it wouldn't and he'd look a severely lessened player within a season or two.

Whatever happens with Casemiro specifically, there's a lesson to be learned about the importance of targeting the right age profile of player, especially when you're going to commit a significant amount of money towards them. Hopefully in this case we get lucky and he still has a few more years in him.

I agree, but its strange for a lot of people on here it seems it was a hug failure that we didnt go and sign Kane. for the very reasoning you are presenting above, I was gload we didnt

 

[Still ill]

I agree, but its strange for a lot of people on here it seems it was a hug failure that we didnt go and sign Kane. for the very reasoning you are presenting above, I was gload we didnt

So what you're saying is he needed an arm round the shoulder, a bit of loving, a bit of human contact? Interesting. I guess we'll never know.

 

[UnofficialDevil]

You do all realise that he has another 4 years left on his £300.000 a week contract.
Let's hope he can refind his form.

 

[The Corinthian]

There's still quality in him - his fitness just looks way way off.

I also think someone like Amrabat next to him will be much better. Eriksen is class but we're too immobile in the middle.

 

[RuudTom83]

We all know any big decision EtH makes is going to cause a massive media storm now...so if the manager ever did decide to take Rashford or Casemiro out of the team, there would be an entire tv crew positioned in the dugout to show them every 5 seconds.

We all need to wait and see what the on loan Amrabat can bring to the team. If that doesn't help Casemiro then we really are in trouble :/

 

[poleglass red]

We saw how he finished last season, plenty on here also expressed concerns about Varane's fitness levels. What's happened, Varane is injured and Casemiro has carried how he finished last season into this season. He can't play as the defensive mid anymore, he's too slow, he can't track runners, people dribble by him much too easily and he gets pickpocketed too easily as well. Anything he does decently is in the opposition half and even that isn't great. Amrabat as the 6 maybe and Casemiro as the 8, too be honest though I wouldn't have him anywhere near the first 11. He doesn't look fit which is a concern as we are now 5 weeks or so into the new season.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

Bayern would probably take him in January. Otherwise, looks like a more expensive version of the Matic purchase for a good season.

 

[Rockets Redglare]

So what you're saying is he needed an arm round the shoulder, a bit of loving, a bit of human contact? Interesting. I guess we'll never know.

If only Mata was still here.

 

[Em765]

I do think Ambarat and Casemiro will work really well.

 

[flameinthesun]

I do wonder whether the intention was always to try and get Casemiro if we had gotten De Jong so that they play together or if he was the alternative to De Jong. If the latter then that would not be a good sign as they are two completely different types of players.

 

[Abraxas]

Quite worried about him. His form is at a critical stage where he could really go either way. In the worst case scenario we may have seen the best of Casemiro in a United shirt and as a footballer. Well, I guess this is quite likely anyway logically speaking, but the point is he could be on a significant downturn that is hard to stop.

Or maybe it's just a poor patch and he can reverse it, especially if we sort out what is going on around him. Then he'll still do a functional job.

It's always, always a risk with these types of players. You constantly get fans saying "yeah but X played until he was 35" whenever we're linked with an established, proven talent at the back end of his career. What they always fail to calculate in those optimistic readings is that it doesn't matter what reference points you use, there is always, always an inherent risk level that is far in excess of signing younger players that are also proven. Do you really want to play Russian roulette and hope that the 30 year old signings you make on huge fees and wages all fall into the "lasting until 35" camp rather than the ones that just fritter away? Maybe the risk was unacceptably high with Casemiro's body type and the demands of midfield play. Still a little early to say, but we'll certainly have an idea by Christmas.

In general I would not like to see this tactic repeated in future. There's an exception to every rule of course but I think the end of career signings should be coming on frees or low fees to address the risk element in play.

 

[MegadrivePerson]

I remember getting shot down towards the end of last season by a few people for saying that his legs are gone, so I'm glad other people are starting to see it now too.

He was brilliant in the first half of last season, but since the World Cup you can count on one hand the amount of good games he had.

The one good thing about him is that because he's such a high profile player we should be able to get a big offer for him from Saudi Arabia.

 

[flappyjay]

He isn't in great form but I think we also leave so much space. The space between defenders and midfield always looks so big.

 

[Big Ray]

I remember getting shot down towards the end of last season by a few people for saying that his legs are gone, so I'm glad other people are starting to see it now too.

He was brilliant in the first half of last season, but since the World Cup you can count on one hand the amount of games he had.

The one good thing about him is that because he's such a high profile player we should be able to get a big offer for him from Saudi Arabia.

Yeah it’s so much more obvious when you’re in the stadium. He was so off it after about 35minutes. I’m sure jet lag had a part to play with his fatigue but the player from 10 or so months ago may not return. Let’s see what he’s like in a few weeks in a settled more balanced midfield. Hopefully Amrabat can take some of the load and they can complement each other which I think they will. Amrabat has an amazing engine and I think with his desire to be here will mean he’ll show that desire / workrate on a weekly basis. I also wouldn’t be shocked if there was a Mainoo / Amrabat 2 by next month.

 

[OldTrevil]

He looks physically shot but still has that positioning nous in both phases and his experiences will always count. He now in a way needs to be babysat physically, its just sad that the players that can do that are all injured. Once we have players back, I think a midfield of Amrabat-Cas-Mount and one of Amrabat-Cas-Kobbie for tough games have serious potential. For now whenever I see him and Eriksen in the same midfield I'm never shocked when we get overrun.

 

[El Jefe]

When we bought an old ibra we played to his strengths. What ETH has done since Casemiro is here is the equivalent of playing Ibrahimovic the way you would play Rashford.

In possession he’s isolated at the base of our midfield. For a player who isn’t press resistant that isn’t smart and out of possession we push high up and ask him to close huge gaps on the pitch.

He’s still a top player and I believe he will return to form soon but if this is our plan of how we want to play him he will age faster than Fabinho did last season.

 

[UTAretro]

He’d be better for you if he had legs around him. Partnering him with McTominay/Erikssen/Fernandes is asking for trouble because, even in his pomp, he was never known for his incredible speed.

Your midfield is currently very stodgy and lacking in dynamism. Not a deal breaker in itself (Groß, Dahoud, Gilmour are not exactly speed demons) but in the system you played on Saturday, you desperately needed some energy in there.

Casemiro remains an excellent player; but he needs people doing the things he can’t. It has to come collectively. Frankly, I’d pick Groß every time over any of your midfielders, including him, simply because everyone around him fills in for his deficiencies (pace) and accentuates his abilities (progressing passing).

He’d come good with a different profile of player helping him.

 

[VictoriaRed]

4th place cost us $70 mill, which I'm fine with; however, his legs are gone.

 

[1999reddevil]

I think he is not fit physically. He needs to drop a few pounds. He was never about speed. I think the entire team is playing below par. That being said, he needs to find his form and so does most of the players so that our team starts collecting the W. Far too many injuries and that fighting spirit and mentality is definitely missing.

 

[Yik]

Casemiro is in illustrious company. Michael Owen, Falcao, Schweinsteiger, Matic, Cavani, all players who've joined us and very quickly lost their legs.

 

[RedOrange]

There’s no point having a go at him - he’s had a great career and has nothing to prove. He’s an old man now for that position and probably eyeing up Saudi, and who could blame him? Same with Varane.

This is why I'm not too worried about these two if they look finished at the top level this year. They're exactly the profile of player the Saudis will pay big money for.

 

[Bobski]

The discipline in his game is puzzling me. Would really like to know what his instructions are, because he roams a lot, tries a lot of passes that are at the edge of ability range and constantly dives in when he could stay on his feet and just run with the attacker. Last season he seemed to really enjoy the freedom to be more of a box to box player after years of just tapping it to Modric and Kroos. I think Utd need the more disciplined version back but it will require both Ten Hag and Cas to make some changes.

 

[ClassOf'99]

He’d be better for you if he had legs around him. Partnering him with McTominay/Erikssen/Fernandes is asking for trouble because, even in his pomp, he was never known for his incredible speed.

Your midfield is currently very stodgy and lacking in dynamism. Not a deal breaker in itself (Groß, Dahoud, Gilmour are not exactly speed demons) but in the system you played on Saturday, you desperately needed some energy in there.

Casemiro remains an excellent player; but he needs people doing the things he can’t. It has to come collectively. Frankly, I’d pick Groß every time over any of your midfielders, including him, simply because everyone around him fills in for his deficiencies (pace) and accentuates his abilities (progressing passing).

He’d come good with a different profile of player helping him.

Crazy how it's opposition fans defending Case but United fans tearing him to shreds.

The bolded is exactly why I will not blame Case for any of our problems currently, Eriksen is not mobile enough to play as an 8 in the EPL with the way we are trying to play, McTominay is not and will not ever be good enough for our midfield let alone for the tactics EtH is trying to play.

Play a double Pivot of Amrabaat and Case, then you will see the best of Case again as he won't be a 1 man midfield.

 

[Yagami]

The issue isn't just have legs around him. That's a factor, but not the main one.

What he's ALWAYS needed was a press resistant partner because he's terrible under pressure. A get out of jail free card when pressed. Quickly play a short simple pass to them and they'll be the ones to play out of a press.

Modric and Kovacic at Madrid. Arthur for Brazil the last they actually won something. They all carried him in possession.

This was why I was against the signing. We didn't have a player of this ilk to negate his deficiencies/compliment him, and that type of midfielder needed to be our priority. Hopefully Amrabat can be that partner now. I'd definitely play them two together behind Bruno rather than one of them with two of Bruno/Eriksen/Mount.

 

[Leftback99]

Casemiro is supposed to be 'the legs' in his role. He's not gifted enough on the ball to be a luxury player we need to carry.

In the end he just needs replacing.

 

[Raoul]

Our leading scorer.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

Give him the number 9.

 

[hobbers]

Pack him off to Saudi for the love of god.

 

[AndySmith1990]

Our leading scorer.

Don't know why I laughed at this

 

[Annihilate Now!]

He's better in the opposition box then our own.

 

[Jazz]

Give him the number 9.

This!

 

[chris123]

Tbh goals aside, I think he is getting back to his best as well in terms of breaking up play and helping with transition. We just need to put an effective partner next to him.

 

[ArjenIsM3]

He was absolutely shite defensively but then he goes and scores two.

 

[Snow]

Casemiro is supposed to be 'the legs' in his role. He's not gifted enough on the ball to be a luxury player we need to carry.

In the end he just needs replacing.

I have more faith in him scoring goals than our attackers.