"Of course everybody’s going to ask questions" - Andy Cole admits he's 'concerned' by Manchester United star's poor form this season
Former Manchester United forward Andy Cole has spoken about Manchester United midfielder Casemiro's poor form. Cole believes the Brazilian's form this season has been a cause of concern for the Red Devils.
Casemiro has been away with injuries for the first half of the season. He returned to first-team action in January this year. Speaking to Betfred, Cole said (via Metro):
"You have to be concerned because he was such a big influence last season. So if you’re such a big influence one season and then you’re struggling the next, then of course everybody’s going to ask questions. In football, you can never rest on your laurels because everybody’s always questioning everything."
He added:
"In his debut season for Manchester United, Casemiro was incredible and you would have expected the same level of performance from him this season. I don’t believe he’s the only Manchester United player whose performances have dipped, but people are questioning Casemiro’s performances because they expect so much more from him."
Casemiro recently scored the winner in United's fifth round game against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup. He headed in a late winner from a Bruno Fernandes free-kick. Overall, he has made 19 appearances this season, registering five goals and two assists.
Cesc Fabregas gives his take on Manchester United's problems this season
Man United are currently sixth in the league table with 44 points after 26 games. They crashed out of Europe in December 2023 after finishing at the bottom of their group in the UEFA Champions League.
United lost their last league game 2-1 to Fulham. After the match, Fabregas gave his analysis of the team's struggles.
He told the Planet Premier League podcast (via Football365):
“Looking carefully at the counters that Fulham did to them and the way they were done, this makes the alarm bells go. It cannot happen that a top, top team gets done on counters so many times in one half or over 60 minutes."
Fabregas added:
“This shows they are lacking something, I don’t know if it’s a gameplan, I don’t know if it’s structure, I don’t know if it’s a message, but definitely if this happened to my team there would be a lot of alarm bells."
Manchester United have lost 10 league games this season, the most in the post-Ferguson era for the club.