Erik ten Hag was reluctant to lay the blame at the door of just one Manchester United player after Monday’s calamitous 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.
But while the Dutchman does have a point – absolutely nobody performed at Selhurst Park – that ‘one Manchester United player’ in question certainly played a bigger role than most in a defeat which ranks alongside the very worst in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Who would have imagined, following a largely impressive debut season under the former Ajax boss, that we would be speaking like this about both Erik ten Hag and Casemiro 12 months on? The manager that was supposed to be the future, and a midfielder who’s remarkable early impact appeared to place him next to Bruno Fernandes as one of the most transformative signings of the modern era.
That South London capitulation was proof of just how bad things have gotten, nearly 12 months to the day since a 4-1 hammering of Chelsea secured Champions League qualification.
Casemiro calamitous in Crystal Palace hammering
“We had five players, that’s a goal that shouldn’t happen because we really give clear instructions on how we should defend this,” Ten Hag said at full-time, refusing to blame Casemiro despite the stand-in centre-half diving into a frankly ridiculous challenge near the halfway line and leaving his defensive team-mates horrifically exposed.
“They didn’t bring it on the pitch and we got hammered. That was one issue – but also, on the left side, there were two players doubling up on one player and that’s very poor defending.”
“You can’t put this (down) to one player,” the United boss adds when pressed further on Casemiro’s display. “It’s a team performance.”
That is true, of course. But this was surely one of the worst individual performances in recent memory. A performance so error-strewn, so bafflingly naive, that even Jamie Carragher found himself going down the route of ‘time to learn Arabic, buddy,’ live on Sky Sports.
Manchester United exit feels inevitable
“I said at half-time that (Ten Hag) had to bring Casemiro off,” the Liverpool legend said. “I think Casemir – I am being deadly serious – should know himself tonight as an experienced player that he should only have another three games at the top level.
“The next two league games and the (FA Cup) final, and thinking; ‘I need to go to the MLS or Saudi’.
“I am being deadly serious. His agent or the people around him need to tell him it has to stop. We are watching one of the greats in modern times, played in one of the best midfielders in modern time.
“I am nowhere near the level of what that man achieved, but I always remember something when I retired. It was a saying I always remember as a footballer; ‘Leave the football before the football leaves you’.
“The football has left him at the top level. He needs to call it a day at this level of football and move.”
With Ineos planning a brutal cull in the summer window, Casemiro will not be expecting anyone at Old Trafford to barricade the exits if Saudi Arabia does indeed come calling.