Manchester United perenially seem like they are one loss away from a “crisis” and when that loss comes against Liverpool, at home, the noise is deafening.
The pitchforks are out again in just the third game of the season and the spotlight is firmly on Erik ten Hag.
Against Liverpool, individual mistakes, combined with a systemic issue ruined the team’s momentum and Ten Hag was left to defend the overall performance.
The effects of this loss could reverberate around Old Trafford for quite some time, especially as the international break means United don’t play again till September 14.
In the meantime, Gary Neville has said that a Manchester United star is “very, very popular” with his teammates and is a big character in the dressing room. That’s something that can add to Ten Hag’s troubles.
Gary Neville on Man United dressing room
After a tough loss like this, it is the job of the leaders in the dressing room to get the squad morale back up and running.
But, what if the leader in the squad is feeling the worst of it and had a hall-of-shame performance himself?
That’s the position Casemiro finds himself in after the Liverpool defeat where his two individual mistakes cost the game in the first half itself.
More than the mistakes, it was the crowd getting on his back that sealed his fate in the game as he was subbed off at half-time for Toby Collyer making his league debut.
The whole episode will have an extreme impact on the United dressing room if Gary Neville’s assertion is believed.
He said: “From what I hear, he [Casemiro] is very, very popular with the rest of the players and he has been a big character in the dressing room.”
A problem for Erik ten Hag
It is not a surprise that a five-time Champions League winner is a big character in the dressing room where most players have one Carabao Cup and one FA Cup to point at in terms of trophies.
However, the version of Casemiro that won those five titles is far removed from the current laborious version stuck in a dysfunctional team.
That poses a problem for Ten Hag, as he will have to handle his eventual phasing out from the team carefully to avoid risking a morale hit in the dressing room.
There were already suggestions after the game that Casemiro left at half-time, something which was denied by the manager in his press conference.
Such news items unsettle the dressing room and managing the decline of a player who was once world-class is the most difficult thing for a manager to do.
How to move Casemiro to a bit-part role on the pitch, without making him inadequate off it is the balance that Ten Hag needs to strike.
Otherwise, the dressing room could soon turn toxic because with Manuel Ugarte’s arrival, the process of phasing out the Brazilian has already begun.
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