Eriksen 31, Casameiro 31, Bruno 29. The lack of a quality young midfielder is a worry. And that certainly is not Mount.
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Was the Casemiro signing a mistake?
- Thread starter sullydnl
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Not a mistake, but people shouldn't be in shock as it was always going to be a short term signing to secure CL qualification. Something that is still very much possible this season as well.
So time will tell if he repays the outlay but Year 1 was a success, and Year 2 is still ongoing.
So time will tell if he repays the outlay but Year 1 was a success, and Year 2 is still ongoing.
Yes, too short thinking. He was going to start declining pretty soon after we bought him given his age and position.
Depends on what the expectation was for him.
I think we desperately needed him last season and he probably justified his signing in principle on that basis. The price, the wages, the contract length weren't particularly good deals for the club, it was expensive but we needed experienced, proven winners in the squad. We don't produce them anymore
I think we desperately needed him last season and he probably justified his signing in principle on that basis. The price, the wages, the contract length weren't particularly good deals for the club, it was expensive but we needed experienced, proven winners in the squad. We don't produce them anymore
Name me a midfielder who plays Casemiro's role in the PL with as many Champions League medals.
It counts for nothing but I challenge you anyway.
It counts for nothing but I challenge you anyway.
Even if you name all of them, they don’t have that much medals if you put them together.
Said it in summer got moaned at because many lack foresight, it's a bad signing for the situation United are in which is historically a poor NET spend figure, a midfield that already needed rebuilding and though reports suggested otherwise had all the makings of a panic signing.
He's a good player quality wise but a poor signing when you consider all the economic factors. If Saudi come in for him and Varane I reckon the club would be smart to release both players it's an opportunity more than anything else. Club should go back to the supposed age cap with regards to certain signings.
He's a good player quality wise but a poor signing when you consider all the economic factors. If Saudi come in for him and Varane I reckon the club would be smart to release both players it's an opportunity more than anything else. Club should go back to the supposed age cap with regards to certain signings.
It's despicable, but no one was seeing this when it mattered.
They're not fit to unclog his bath plug hole.
He’s comfortably our best midfielder and his injury isn’t related to his age, so no it wasn’t a mistake.
Buying him was not a mistake, but the price we paid and the contract he was given certainly was
No it wasn’t a mistake, how we operate is the mistake.
players instantly turn to shit here for whatever reason, had he gone to a fully functioning club none of this questioning him would exist.
players instantly turn to shit here for whatever reason, had he gone to a fully functioning club none of this questioning him would exist.
He's been really poor since the league restarted after the world cup.
A lot will depend on how much we can recoup on him by selling him to Saudi Arabia.
A lot will depend on how much we can recoup on him by selling him to Saudi Arabia.
We should've bought someone else alongside him, or at least by now. I feel like my opinion on him would be a lot different if the club had developed an actual succession plan around his signing at the time.
Yes this is unfortunately true. An extra 30 million for 10 years of service. Seems like better value.
No. He was among our 2-3 best performers last season and a big reason why we finished 3.
More importantly, I don’t think he is done. I think he is done as being solo DM in a 4-3-3 with two 8s. But I don’t even understand why we try to play like that. I think he was good next to Fred last year and also next to Eriksen while Eriksen had legs. But Eriksen is even more done than Casemiro as a midfield engine and Mount is not deep midfielder at all.
Casemiro and Amrabat have only played 45 mins together in CM. I believe if they start playing together with Amrabat sitting deeper and allowing Casemiro to foray up the pitch and chase the ball more, we’ll see the good Casemiro again. He needs someone who can playmake next to him and won’t be a passenger on the defensive side.
More importantly, I don’t think he is done. I think he is done as being solo DM in a 4-3-3 with two 8s. But I don’t even understand why we try to play like that. I think he was good next to Fred last year and also next to Eriksen while Eriksen had legs. But Eriksen is even more done than Casemiro as a midfield engine and Mount is not deep midfielder at all.
Casemiro and Amrabat have only played 45 mins together in CM. I believe if they start playing together with Amrabat sitting deeper and allowing Casemiro to foray up the pitch and chase the ball more, we’ll see the good Casemiro again. He needs someone who can playmake next to him and won’t be a passenger on the defensive side.
Summer ‘22 I reckon he was gettable for less than 100m too. After winning the ECL and West Ham finishing highly his value increased. Plus there’d be less competition for him.
Totally surprised by what he's good at.
I was expecting a very good/world class defensive midfielder but he was much better in the opposition box than in ours. Helped us finish in the CL but the huge gap in midfield is still there. And this season he's exceptionally crap.
I was expecting a very good/world class defensive midfielder but he was much better in the opposition box than in ours. Helped us finish in the CL but the huge gap in midfield is still there. And this season he's exceptionally crap.
I wouldn’t say Casemiro was a mistake BUT we went from one profile of midfielder in De Jong to a completely different profile in Casemiro which smacks of panic buy or zero direction in what we want to do on the pitch.
If De Jong was first choice and unattainable as we discovered then you look at similar profile midfielders even if they are a tier below such as Bennacer, Kovacic, Rabiot, Fabian Ruiz, Kokcu or Nunes who were all at the time attainable.
If we wanted Casemiro then that’s fine but there were younger players out there who were a better fit long term like Palhinha, Sangare, Guido or even longer term projects like Thuram, Kone or Redondo but instead helped fund Real building a midfield to last a decade.
It just shows how fecking awful we are at recruitment and that there’s no plan for direction, we’re basically just a club that serves to make money and if we win a trophy along the way then all good. This is why I’m actually looking forward to Jean Claude Blanc and Paul Mitchell coming in as at least then there’s a strategy in place and we’ll be better at recruitment.
If De Jong was first choice and unattainable as we discovered then you look at similar profile midfielders even if they are a tier below such as Bennacer, Kovacic, Rabiot, Fabian Ruiz, Kokcu or Nunes who were all at the time attainable.
If we wanted Casemiro then that’s fine but there were younger players out there who were a better fit long term like Palhinha, Sangare, Guido or even longer term projects like Thuram, Kone or Redondo but instead helped fund Real building a midfield to last a decade.
It just shows how fecking awful we are at recruitment and that there’s no plan for direction, we’re basically just a club that serves to make money and if we win a trophy along the way then all good. This is why I’m actually looking forward to Jean Claude Blanc and Paul Mitchell coming in as at least then there’s a strategy in place and we’ll be better at recruitment.
No, but it could become one if we don't set him up for success with the right players around him.
He raised the standards last year, a telling moment was him berating Bruno for losing the ball at the final minute of the league cup final. The injuries haven't helped this year but he's not gone from being one of the best DMs in the world to "done" in 6 months.
He raised the standards last year, a telling moment was him berating Bruno for losing the ball at the final minute of the league cup final. The injuries haven't helped this year but he's not gone from being one of the best DMs in the world to "done" in 6 months.
Kind of my thoughts too, though think he still has a lot to offer and would like to see him given the captaincy.
Nope. He is class but already 31 when signed.
I think we expected to squeeze 2-3 more years out of him. This is supposed to stabilise the first team
and buy Some time before a younger DM becomes available on the market or one from the youth team makes the step up.
I think we expected to squeeze 2-3 more years out of him. This is supposed to stabilise the first team
and buy Some time before a younger DM becomes available on the market or one from the youth team makes the step up.Still class. Some of the opinions here are ludicrous.
No, he’s a boss.
Unfortunately he is also a boss for Brazil and was criminally overplayed last season, so now he’s breaking down and off the pace.
Hope he recaptures his form again when he’s back at Christmas, and we go on a mad 2nd half season title charge!
Unfortunately he is also a boss for Brazil and was criminally overplayed last season, so now he’s breaking down and off the pace.
Hope he recaptures his form again when he’s back at Christmas, and we go on a mad 2nd half season title charge!
No. But he himself has let himself down with poor performances.
Still a quality player that Ten Hag is utilising poorly, also it doesn’t help that he has gone from playing with some of the finest midfielder in football history to the absolute bums that we have.
In saying that Madrid still fleeced us, they chose to cash in on a player who still had a couple of years left at the top level and instead now have an insanely young and energetic midfield which sets them up for years. While we have an aging midfield with players in their 30s and late 20s so it just shows how poorly this club is run in comparison to Madrid.
In saying that Madrid still fleeced us, they chose to cash in on a player who still had a couple of years left at the top level and instead now have an insanely young and energetic midfield which sets them up for years. While we have an aging midfield with players in their 30s and late 20s so it just shows how poorly this club is run in comparison to Madrid.
Our marketing team prob thought his chipmunk cheeks had marketing value to the youth
The price, his age and athleticism should have seen us look for alternatives. It's another short term fix that needs plugging asap. On par with the Maguire transfer in that respect. Casemiro edges it with his impact last season.
That's what's bothered me. If the contract was for 2 seasons, it'd be a success. 4 is more than most clubs would give imo.
No. Smarter clubs would have had a plan in place and he would have been a planned contingency signing for them. What does that mean? It means, they would have looked at his age, his game and playing style and catered to all of it, and they would have rested and rotated him appropriately, too.
There were many voices who immediately said putting him in a #6, #10,#10 midfield was an absolute disaster waiting to happen and that it would kill him and his game, and lo, Casemiro has looked more frenetic and displaced this season than I've ever seen in the time watching him in European leagues.
At Real Madrid, he had a defined role amongst two world class players that ensured he could do his own job to the absolute peak level. They worked harmoniously with complete synergy, covered for one another; worked for one another and *never* left a man isolated or flailing in need of assistance. Real Madrid, not some rag tag bunch of chancers. Real Madrid. So what do we do? We have him charging around the place like Robson.... at a time when his tank should be better conserved, we go out of our way to burn him out, over exert and not support him in the most rambunctious, aggressive and athletic league there is. Genius.
Casemiro is not old by DM standards, but the running should be done by others more so than he, and his expertise in reading play, sweeping up and keeping everything ticking taken advantage of. There's no midfielder on the planet who could support such a broken midfield; there's far, far too much space between the lines and open ground to break in unison into. I don't care if you have prime Rijkaard in there, it's a setup that will always leave you open without swathes of assistance. What we did to Casemiro could be likened to putting Thiago Silva in a high line back four - just an absolute waste of a player, who can try to shore up the gaps, but is ultimately set up to fail.
Fabinho and Fernandinho showed perfectly well that ageing Brazilians can get on just fine in midfield with the correct set up around them. Gilberto Silva showed that if you have contingency, the player can be phased out, too.
If we just blindly bought Casemiro without a plan and without a contingency we are/wereworking toward, it was a really dumb move. Otherwise, it would be an exceptional one for the best DM on the planet at the time of purchase who we should be looking to get the best out of by getting the right players in midfield next to him.
If Real Madrid and Toni Kroos and Luka Modric can cater for one another, there is absolutely no excuse whatsoever for us to not have done the same. He wasn't an island in a far superior midfield, it's lunacy that he should become so here.
There were many voices who immediately said putting him in a #6, #10,#10 midfield was an absolute disaster waiting to happen and that it would kill him and his game, and lo, Casemiro has looked more frenetic and displaced this season than I've ever seen in the time watching him in European leagues.
At Real Madrid, he had a defined role amongst two world class players that ensured he could do his own job to the absolute peak level. They worked harmoniously with complete synergy, covered for one another; worked for one another and *never* left a man isolated or flailing in need of assistance. Real Madrid, not some rag tag bunch of chancers. Real Madrid. So what do we do? We have him charging around the place like Robson.... at a time when his tank should be better conserved, we go out of our way to burn him out, over exert and not support him in the most rambunctious, aggressive and athletic league there is. Genius.
Casemiro is not old by DM standards, but the running should be done by others more so than he, and his expertise in reading play, sweeping up and keeping everything ticking taken advantage of. There's no midfielder on the planet who could support such a broken midfield; there's far, far too much space between the lines and open ground to break in unison into. I don't care if you have prime Rijkaard in there, it's a setup that will always leave you open without swathes of assistance. What we did to Casemiro could be likened to putting Thiago Silva in a high line back four - just an absolute waste of a player, who can try to shore up the gaps, but is ultimately set up to fail.
Fabinho and Fernandinho showed perfectly well that ageing Brazilians can get on just fine in midfield with the correct set up around them. Gilberto Silva showed that if you have contingency, the player can be phased out, too.
If we just blindly bought Casemiro without a plan and without a contingency we are/wereworking toward, it was a really dumb move. Otherwise, it would be an exceptional one for the best DM on the planet at the time of purchase who we should be looking to get the best out of by getting the right players in midfield next to him.
If Real Madrid and Toni Kroos and Luka Modric can cater for one another, there is absolutely no excuse whatsoever for us to not have done the same. He wasn't an island in a far superior midfield, it's lunacy that he should become so here.
Yes. We should not be buying any player when you have to build a team to suit them, especially when they're ageing and short-term anyway. We should be buying players to suit the team we want for the future.
I didn't know Bruno was 29. So basically we've seen the best of him already. Great.
When you consider the whole picture, definitely. Lots of money on the transfer fee, huge wage and fast decline as expected.
This.
No. He has his use last season to contribute for a decent first season for ETH. The issue is that we didn't plan well as the club, so we overspent when his shelf life is short. Could have got Palhinha, Enzo, Bissouma last summer if we didn't sit on our ass waiting for ETH to come and identify transfer targets... Chased FDJ most of the summer only to fail to find an alternative of similar profile.
The signing would have been ok If we had signed a deputy in the Summer. A player who would gradually replace Casemiro but keep him fresh for the important games. We didn't. So now we have to play him every game and we've ground him down to breaking point.
Too early to tell.
If all we get from him is one (mostly) good season, and then get stuck with an underperforming player with a big contract for years - then yes, it would have been a mistake. Especially if the ETH projects falls flat and we start all over again.
If ETH can recover and we end up seeing 2022/23 as a big stepping stone, then maybe we could look at it differently. But if not, spending all that money for one CL appearance is not a good expenditure.
If all we get from him is one (mostly) good season, and then get stuck with an underperforming player with a big contract for years - then yes, it would have been a mistake. Especially if the ETH projects falls flat and we start all over again.
If ETH can recover and we end up seeing 2022/23 as a big stepping stone, then maybe we could look at it differently. But if not, spending all that money for one CL appearance is not a good expenditure.
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If we get through the champions league group… No.
wouldn’t have got CL without him last season and that would be a good sign for the club reaching a quarter final or even semi (in our dreams maybe).
Still have hope
If that happens him and Varane can more than leave happy knowing they did their bit - in let’s be honest a very tough situation with the takeover and glazers.
They helped win us a trophy and a deep run in Europe would be good return give the circumstances.
wouldn’t have got CL without him last season and that would be a good sign for the club reaching a quarter final or even semi (in our dreams maybe).
Still have hope
If that happens him and Varane can more than leave happy knowing they did their bit - in let’s be honest a very tough situation with the takeover and glazers.
They helped win us a trophy and a deep run in Europe would be good return give the circumstances.
I wouldn't call it a mistake as he was a vital player last season but clearly it's a lot of money for a player towards the end of their career
I also don't believe that his legs have suddenly gone as many suggest, I think it was more an issue of a change of midfield system asking too much of him this season
I also don't believe that his legs have suddenly gone as many suggest, I think it was more an issue of a change of midfield system asking too much of him this season
If an ageing player, who has won just about everything in the sport, and multiple times at that, wants to go to a foreign land, to a team that has no chance of winning major silverware in the foreseeable future, it says a lot about the background psychology of the player. Perhaps also about the selling club. I'd stay clear of all such transfers - Casemiro, Ronaldo, and the likes.