Rio Ferdinand has voiced his disapproval of Erik ten Hag’s decision to use Manchester United’s midfielder Casemiro in a defensive position, advising against it in the future.
In the 1-0 loss to Arsenal at Old Trafford, Casemiro was positioned as a centre back next to Jonny Evans and was involved in a critical mistake that led to the game’s sole goal.
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Casemiro inadvertently kept Kai Havertz onside, failing to advance with the rest of the defense, which resulted in Havertz assisting Leandro Trossard’s goal at the near post.
With key defenders like Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, and Victor Lindelof absent, Casemiro was also placed in defense during the 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace, where he committed additional errors that resulted in goals.
Ferdinand, a former United star, has expressed that he prefers other players to fill the defensive gaps for the remainder of the season.
He criticized Ten Hag’s choices, labeling them as ‘unfair’ to the 32-year-old Casemiro, who is clearly struggling in this makeshift role.
‘When is he going to take Casemiro out of the back line?’ Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand Presents Five.
‘Why can’t Sofyan Amrabat play there? Or Scott McTominay? I just don’t think it’s fair.
‘If you see a few mistakes from someone who is playing there, who has never played there before, and you see the mistakes early, you should go, “You know what, I’m not going to do this to you” – I don’t care how experienced he is.
‘Come on, move him out of there and get back to the position he knows. Play Aaron Wan-Bissaka there. Then you could have Amrabat at right-back.
‘That’s the most natural thing for me. Wan-Bissaka at centre-back and Amrabat at right-back. He was happy to play him at left-back for a few games.
‘We looked like an uncoached team. At the creative end of the pitch, we were lacking massively. Decision-making and quality was not there.’
United legends Wayne Rooney and Roy Keane were highly critical of Casemiro’s performance, labeling him ‘lazy’ for his part in conceding the goal against Arsenal.
‘It’s lazy. He’s lazy,’ Rooney said in his assessment. ‘The rest of his teammates have pushed out and they get caught. He has to get out.
‘Whether you’re a midfield player or a centre-back, you have to be ready to push out with the rest of the team. If not, you play everyone onside and you get punished.’
Keane added on Sky Sports: ‘Casemiro cannot play in the Premier League at centre-half. Whatever shortcomings you have, you can’t coach pace. There was a bit of laziness as well in terms of getting out that led to the goal.
‘We’re not saying Casemiro can cover 60 or 70 yards, it’s 10 or 15 yards. You’ve got to get up the pitch. Just move your feet. Casemiro as a centre-half will get found out, which he did again today. it was the defining moment of the game.’
