I've seen this movie before. In fact, I've seen it on far too many occasions that I've memorized every bit of it. Literally, I'm laughing at myself right now.
I may sound sadistic and pessimistic, but some experience will draw the last drop of optimism out of one that their is none to spare. In fact, everything will feel entirely wrong no matter how right it feels.
For years, every single analyst out there has chased clout with the myriad of problems facing Manchester United. As a matter of fact, some people who only watch the team maybe five times in a year can write a full textbook on how not to do a Manchester United. I even read that some senior Formula 1 executives are studying the fall of Man U, so as to learn from it and not repeat the mistakes made by the famous Manchester club.
For all the banters, jibes and reproach, some positivity is still needed. So, I was delighted when I read Casemiro is close to joining Man U. When I first saw the news I thought it was some media house trying to profit from the rapidly falling Manchester United stake. After all, agents always use this kind of situation to boost the value of their players by linking them to a club in disarray. All they have to do is leak some fake news to the press, and the whole world will sit on it.
Sergio Ramos once told Madrid he wanted to join Manchester United. I was already smacking my lips at the thought of a top class commanding defender like Ramos dominating opposing strikers at Old Trafford. It was later we learnt he was only taking a confused Man U on a joyride to boost his value and earn an improved package at Madrid.
Manchester United never had a top class DMF since Darren Fletcher got lame 😂. The team covered up for that by pairing two hardworking dudes, Fred and McTominay, in the midfield base. However, this means the team always starts on the back foot and are going to be more reactive than creative. Mourinho tried to cure that by starting Pogba alongside a DMF in a midfield two, with Pogba being the more creative dude. That resulted in embarrassing defeats like the 6-1 loss to Spurs a couple years ago.Ten Hag started Fred alongside the creative duo of Erikson and Fernandes against Brighton last Saturday. I don't need to write about how that experiment ended.
Any top team willing to dominate the game in this era needs a top class DMF sitting in front of the defence. City has Rodri; Liverpool, Fabinho; Madrid, Casemiro; Barca, Busquets; Bayern, Kimmich; PSG, Verratti; Chelsea, Kante. Even the much maligned Arsenal pulled all stops out of the way to get Partey.
If Casemiro joins Man U, will he help Man U become more dominant? For starters, a midfield trio of Casemiro-Erikson-Fernandes is decent. Fernandes can go about chasing assists and goals like he's used to, Erikson will keep the ball ticking nicely while Casemiro breaks the play whenever the team is being attacked. Will Casemiro solve all the problems the team has? The answer is NO. Varane was brought in last season to clip the leaking defence, it only got worse. So, I won't get my hopes up.
Is Casemiro another panic buy? Considering his age, the money involved and the circumstances, he surely looks like one. Despite that, the dude is a massive improvement on the available midfield options. If this move succeeds and leads to a fruitful season, I'll be a very happy man. If not, I won't be that surprised. After all, I've seen this movie before. I can only hope it ends differently this time.
Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/images/id-2636254/
