[Volumiza]

I don’t think he’s a waste of money. I hope he ends up proving he was a wise investment. That can still happen. I’ve been disappointed with what I’ve seen so far though. Maybe more games will make him better? We certainly have to hope so. He’s looked well off the pace so far.

He spent the best part of a decade at RM, in a completely different league. Even though he was at RM I see the step up between the football he's been playing for the last few years and what is expected of him now as a good leap in terms of weekly challenge even if we're not fighting for the title yet. He's still getting used to it, his team mates are still getting used to him and his fitness and game sharpness I'm convinced will come. IMO he needs to stay in the team now and get himself cemented into the tempo.

I really can't see him being a failure long term.

 

[pascell]

In his position he does not need to press high, why should he? Never did that for RM, that's not his role.
The problem is more that some people think he is shit because of his slow start, and that will remain

Then you don't understand the system ten Hag is trying to implement. His role and position at RM is irrelevant, different team, manager and league.

 

[MegadrivePerson]

It's too early to say yet but I am a little worried that he is past his best and he will be another flop.

I don't understand how he is considered a De Jong alternative though when he is nothing like De Jong.

I agree that he should be given a run of games now though, ideally alongside Eriksen and Fred. That is our most balanced midfield three in my opinion.

 

[Brwned]

Not really. We were playing a pub team and they could have scored 3 or 4. That doesn’t scream solid performance from our specialist DM to me. You’d have to wonder why the feck Eriksen was the only CM who got involved in trying to stop their opening goal.

If you don’t assess him as a specialist DM, do you find any qualities of his you have been impressed by? I agree he’s been well off the pace so far and it’s a bit curious. I still suspect he has no interest in being here, he’s come here for a payday as his career winds down, and he has hardly any chance of justifying that fee. But I’ve also thought he’s brought some things to the team that have been useful, if not exactly what was expected.

 

[Red the Bear]

From now on I'll start him every week hoping that he builds up his form, not unlike what happened last season in Madrid.

 

[Escobar]

Then you don't understand the system ten Hag is trying to implement. His role and position at RM is irrelevant, different team, manager and league.

You think ETH wants to play him a different role than to what he's accustomed to?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

If you don’t assess him as a specialist DM, do you find any qualities of his you have been impressed by? I agree he’s been well off the pace so far and it’s a bit curious. I still suspect he has no interest in being here, he’s come here for a payday as his career winds down, and he has hardly any chance of justifying that fee. But I’ve also thought he’s brought some things to the team that have been useful, if not exactly what was expected.

Interesting question. I guess - based on a tiny sample size - he’s been more well rounded than I thought. His passing is a bit more adventurous than I thought it would be.

He basically looks like a fairly average Premier League central midfielder. Decent range of passing, generally makes good decisions, knows where to stand on the pitch and strong in the tackle. Has a reasonable shot on him too. With the most obvious flaw being his lack of mobility. Slow on the turn, not very fast in a straight line and doesn’t cover much ground.

Of course, bearing in mind how crap we’ve been in central midfield, going all the way back to Carrick’s retirement, that’s still just about good enough to improve us.

 

[Betson]

From now on I'll start him every week hoping that he builds up his form, not unlike what happened last season in Madrid.

Would agree that he needs a run of games now to get up to speed and for ETH to judge if he is the player we thought he was , been underwhelming so far but hard to get any momentum going when all you are getting is cameos here and there.

 

[Red the Bear]

Would agree that he needs a run of games now to get up to speed and for ETH to judge if he is the player we thought he was , been underwhelming so far but hard to get any momentum going when all you are getting is cameos here and there.

To his defense he had rough start last season as well but ended up being pivotal in their cl run which he capped off by a mom worthy performance in the final.

Definitely worth giving him a run of games the way Ancelotti did before writing him off.

 

[Isotope]

I have a severe doubt that he's ten Hag signing. He doesn't match EtH other profile signings (or intend to sign), except Arnoutovic who most likely just a cheap filler player.

 

[BlueHaze]

Club signs Casemiro who's played and won 5 CL titles with Madrid against the best of the best constantly in that competition and manager keeps benching him for Scott McTominay.

There is 100% something wrong here. Just not normal to do this kind of crap.

 

[Remember the geese]

I have a severe doubt that he's ten Hag signing. He doesn't match EtH other profile signings (or intend to sign), except Arnoutovic who most likely just a cheap filler player.

He obviously wasn't ten Hag's first choice, nor is he a similar fit stylistically to his first choice. That's where it doesn't make sense. Unless of course ten Hag wasn't sold on any of the like for like De Jong replacements. However, Casemiro is a top player and is basically an upgrade on Edson Alvarez who ten Hag had at Ajax, so it isn't as if this profile of player is something that is alien to ten Hag.

 

[sullydnl]

I have a severe doubt that he's ten Hag signing. He doesn't match EtH other profile signings (or intend to sign), except Arnoutovic who most likely just a cheap filler player.

We know he wasn't an ETH signing, in that there was a piece in The Athletic that made it clear that he was a club target ETH signed off on once it seemed his main target FDJ wasn't likely to be coming this summer.

But that's not an issue in itself, in that every top club has a dynamic whereby some signings are driven by the club's recruitment team rather than the manager. Salah at Liverpool being an immediate success story that comes to mind in that regard.

Whether Casemiro was a club target or an ETH target matters a lot less than how we ultimately made the decision to sign him. So hypothetically:

Scenario 1: ETH wants FDJ, can't get him. There are no real like for like alternatives available of sufficient quality. The recruitment team proposes Casemiro as an alternative. ETH thinks he can make Casemiro work by moving towards a different midfield set-up than the one he had in mind with FFJ, so he agrees to the signing on that basis.

Scenario 2: ETH wants FDJ, can't get him. There are alternative targets he'd like in a similar mold, but the club fail to secure them too. The recruitment team proposes Casemiro as an alternative. ETH isn't sure he can make Casemiro work as he's a wildly different type of player to what he actually wanted. But he's desperately in need of some midfield reinforcements, Casemiro is a big name player and the club persuade ETH that signing him is better than signing nobody, so he agrees to the signing on that basis.

In both cases you would describe Casemiro as a club signing rather than an ETH signing. But scenario one is a lot more likely to be productive than scenario two.

 

[ROFLUTION]

It’s a wild thought, but we could also entertain the thought that McTominay simply has been better in training and on-field for how Ten Hag wants to play

 

[horsechoker]

It’s a wild thought, but we could also entertain the thought that McTominay simply has been better in training and on-field for how Ten Hag wants to play

My opinion is that he wasn't ten Hag's first choice but he approved the signing. McTominay has been alright and part of some big wins with Eriksen so why stop a good thing? Moreover he maintains squad harmony and even when Scott gets dropped he may not take it the wrong way.

 

[appleman]

It's not that weird he isn't excellent right away, though, right? I know he's experienced, but he's played in Madrid for so long now and even there he's had some bad spells. Especially since United is still a little chaotic as a team it's hard to come in and be the perfect anchor right away, while McT already knows most of the team and the surroundings. I'm pretty confident Casemiro will end up slotting in better, even though there's the chance he won't. But give the lad some time after a hasty transfer to a chaotic team

 

[Diamond Chap]

Club signs Casemiro who's played and won 5 CL titles with Madrid against the best of the best constantly in that competition and manager keeps benching him for Scott McTominay.

There is 100% something wrong here. Just not normal to do this kind of crap.

He has to earn his place in the team like anyone else.
McTominay has impressed in a team which had been on a good run prior to the Man City game.

 

[Greck]

Each game he doesn't start feels like we lose a million. Obvious hyperbole aside it's just that we don't exactly have all the time in the world to extract value. Workrate type DMs age like milk.

 

[Isotope]

We know he wasn't an ETH signing, in that there was a piece in The Athletic that made it clear that he was a club target ETH signed off on once it seemed his main target FDJ wasn't likely to be coming this summer.

But that's not an issue in itself, in that every top club has a dynamic whereby some signings are driven by the club's recruitment team rather than the manager. Salah at Liverpool being an immediate success story that comes to mind in that regard.

Whether Casemiro was a club target or an ETH target matters a lot less than how we ultimately made the decision to sign him. So hypothetically:

Scenario 1: ETH wants FDJ, can't get him. There are no real like for like alternatives available of sufficient quality. The recruitment team proposes Casemiro as an alternative. ETH thinks he can make Casemiro work by moving towards a different midfield set-up than the one he had in mind with FFJ, so he agrees to the signing on that basis.

Scenario 2: ETH wants FDJ, can't get him. There are alternative targets he'd like in a similar mold, but the club fail to secure them too. The recruitment team proposes Casemiro as an alternative. ETH isn't sure he can make Casemiro work as he's a wildly different type of player to what he actually wanted. But he's desperately in need of some midfield reinforcements, Casemiro is a big name player and the club persuade ETH that signing him is better than signing nobody, so he agrees to the signing on that basis.

In both cases you would describe Casemiro as a club signing rather than an ETH signing. But scenario one is a lot more likely to be productive than scenario two.

He obviously wasn't ten Hag's first choice, nor is he a similar fit stylistically to his first choice. That's where it doesn't make sense. Unless of course ten Hag wasn't sold on any of the like for like De Jong replacements. However, Casemiro is a top player and is basically an upgrade on Edson Alvarez who ten Hag had at Ajax, so it isn't as if this profile of player is something that is alien to ten Hag.

Thanks to you both. Agreed with scenario that ten Hag is most likely nodding yes with this signing. Can't blame him when the window was almost close, and he saw Fred and McTom and thinking "I'm not having any of these in my midfield" (before McTom himself realized he could play at very decent level).

Hopefully he's not in massive wage so still can be shifted when things go south with him.

 

[croadyman]

I am only going to start worrying if he still can't perform when starting games with first team, not cobbled together Europa one

 

[ForeverRed1]

Club signs Casemiro who's played and won 5 CL titles with Madrid against the best of the best constantly in that competition and manager keeps benching him for Scott McTominay.

There is 100% something wrong here. Just not normal to do this kind of crap.

I’m fairness MCtom has been pretty decent up until the last two games. Now his performance has dropped off we might see case get some consistent game time.

ETH will play on form, not names. He’s already shown that.

Another thing I do think though, Real Madrid don’t sell him if he’s not on the decline. No chance, so let’s see what he’s still got in the locker.

 

[Brwned]

Interesting question. I guess - based on a tiny sample size - he’s been more well rounded than I thought. His passing is a bit more adventurous than I thought it would be.

He basically looks like a fairly average Premier League central midfielder. Decent range of passing, generally makes good decisions, knows where to stand on the pitch and strong in the tackle. Has a reasonable shot on him too. With the most obvious flaw being his lack of mobility. Slow on the turn, not very fast in a straight line and doesn’t cover much ground.

Of course, bearing in mind how crap we’ve been in central midfield, going all the way back to Carrick’s retirement, that’s still just about good enough to improve us.

Yeah, it might be the post-Carrick comparisons that are throwing me off a bit, but he seems very composed. Definitely above average for a PL midfielder. That was the thing Scholes mentioned about him after the EL game; that he brings a lot of composure to the team. That’s something you can never expect from Fred or McTominay, and I don’t trust Eriksen or Bruno holding onto the ball for that extra second in those deep areas. That alone feels like it would be a big addition to this team as we’re often terrible at building out from the back. I’ve liked his sharp, decisive forward passes, even when he’s missing a few. But then again that might just be because the bar’s been so low for so long.

If he can pair that together with some defensive solidity we might be onto something, but strangely that’s lacking. He definitely showed exceptional anticipation and timing at Madrid so either he’s not settled, he’s not arsed, or he’s having to cover more spaces than he was used to at Madrid.

I don’t think the lack of mobility matters so much. Folks said the same thing about Rodri, but once he settled into the team he became possibly the best in the league. We’re supposed to be moving towards a more compact unit, pressing as a team, playing in triangles, etc. In that scenario you don’t need someone covering a lot of ground very quickly. If that isn’t the direction we’re moving in then Casemiro makes no sense.

 

[Dans]

His best attribute so far is his ability to move the ball on very quickly. His general passing is very good and this ability should help speed up our game which is mostly painfully pedestrian.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Interesting question. I guess - based on a tiny sample size - he’s been more well rounded than I thought. His passing is a bit more adventurous than I thought it would be.

He basically looks like a fairly average Premier League central midfielder. Decent range of passing, generally makes good decisions, knows where to stand on the pitch and strong in the tackle. Has a reasonable shot on him too. With the most obvious flaw being his lack of mobility. Slow on the turn, not very fast in a straight line and doesn’t cover much ground.

Of course, bearing in mind how crap we’ve been in central midfield, going all the way back to Carrick’s retirement, that’s still just about good enough to improve us.

Interesting you mention him not covering much ground. Whatever little I've watched him play for Madrid, most recently the CL final, he was almost the third center back.

 

[izak]

If he doesn't start tonight and we lose ETH would be rightly slaughtered, He has to start him tonight.

 

[phelans shorts]

If he doesn't start tonight and we lose ETH would be rightly slaughtered, He has to start him tonight.

based on what, a shoddy showing in Cyprus?

 

[redcucumber]

My opinion is that he wasn't ten Hag's first choice but he approved the signing. McTominay has been alright and part of some big wins with Eriksen so why stop a good thing? Moreover he maintains squad harmony and even when Scott gets dropped he may not take it the wrong way.

Exactly. This was largely the prevailing consensus until we got slapped by City, which has suddenly got loads of people questioning ten Hag's decision-making. McTominay had earned the right to start. Casemiro didn't exactly make a commanding claim for the spot against Omonia but I'd be surprised if he doesn't start tonight. Still, it wouldn't be an outrage if he's benched. He still looks a bit ropey.

 

[GlasgowCeltic]

Each game he doesn't start feels like we lose a million. Obvious hyperbole aside it's just that we don't exactly have all the time in the world to extract value. Workrate type DMs age like milk.

same, feel like there's a window of about two years at most to make this a worthwhile signing before he falls off a cliff, he needs to be playing

 

[golden_blunder]

Bit worried that again madrid sell us a player past his best

early days yet but I’d love to see even snippets of him at his best to give hope

 

[Pexbo]

Ffs. Club hasn't learnt a thing.

Take your trolling elsewhere

Bit worried that again madrid sell us a player past his best

early days yet but I’d love to see even snippets of him at his best to give hope

 

[golden_blunder]

Difference is had he even played when troll brought it up? I’m not saying that he will definitely not be worth it, just saying that I’m worried a little and would love to see bits that indicate he’s settling into form

 

[Rossa]

People writing off a 30 year old. Anyone above the age of 14 still doing that? He’s in his physical prime. He was never fast. He doesn’t have to be. Carrick was never fast. Scholes slower than most. Kimmich isn’t fast.

He still needs some time to adapt, and I think ETH argued that he still had a little ways to go physically, so there’s that.

 

[Cascarino]

I feel bad for Yagami hasn't posted since this over a month ago

You're not stuck with me. I'm tired of being insulted on here for expressing my opinions so I'm taking a long break. I hope you and everyone else stays well and see you later.

He got a lot of stick in this thread for his take on Casemiro (not talking about geebs' post but genuine insults) whereas he always gave genuine reasons for his opinions, even if I didn't always agree with him on his verdicts

 

[criticalanalysis]

I feel bad for Yagami hasn't posted since this over a month ago



He got a lot of stick in this thread for his take on Casemiro (not talking about geebs' post but genuine insults) whereas he always gave genuine reasons for his opinions, even if I didn't always agree with him on his verdicts

They may have been genuine reasons but they were definitely hyperbolic as well. IIRC he called Casemiro lightweight, weak, bad on the ball and basically sums up his quality as someone who simply gives the ball to Modric. Then he over eulogised on talking about wanting press resistant players being the foremost quality and was jealous of the Arthus (yet to play a game and is apparently out injured for months) signing on top of calling Eriksen bad etc too

I mean there's hot takes and opinions and then just pure pessimism/no benefit of the doubt given at all.

I have no doubt Casemiro will show his quality and use in this team as he has already shown it. We just need him to do an above average job as the deep lying midfielder; that's not a lowering of the standards or anything, it's just the reality people must accept as no one player can elevate or roy of the rovers a game themselves. Everything else is dependent on ETH and his playing choice of tactics, coaching and personnel i.e Bruno and Eriksen can't play together regularly in midfield, if we truly want to dominate and shut down opposition midfield/possession etc.

 

[aeh1991]

After his mistake, everyone talked rubbish stuff about him. IMO was very good defensively and also made some great passes, incl. his asssist.

 

[Idxomer]

He was busy.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Played well I think, getting into the groove slowly.

 

[Adisa]

Was good. Controlled the game.

 

[Yorkeontop]

I wasn't impressed but I'm not even sure he's playing in the ideal setup. His game might be too nuanced for me to appreciate.

 

[PoTMS]

Hopefully he'll be sharper and straight out the blocks going forward. He'll be starting again next week with McTominay suspended.