Rio Ferdinand blasts Erik ten Hag over Casemiro decision and moans ‘it’s not fair’

Rio Ferdinand blasted Erik ten Hag’s insistence of deploying Casemiro at central defence (Image: YouTube/Vibe with Five)

Rio Ferdinand, a legend of Manchester United, has criticized Erik ten Hag for keeping Casemiro at center back after the Red Devils’ 1-0 loss to Arsenal.

Rio Ferdinand, a legend of Manchester United, criticized Erik ten Hag for how he handled Casemiro.

The former Real Madrid midfielder is clearly uncomfortable at the center of the back four, but Ten Hag has been using him at central defense. On Sunday at Old Trafford, his inexperience in the backline was once again exposed by Arsenal’s winning goal.

The Brazilian played Kai Havertz onside after the ball was cleared, and when the former Chelsea player cut the ball back for Leandro Trossard to tap in the winner for Mikel Arteta’s team, he was too slow to get back up the pitch.

Due to injuries, United’s backline is severely lacking as Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, and Victor Lindelof are all out of the lineup. According to the Manchester Evening News, Ferdinand feels Ten Hag needs to devise a fresh strategy to bring Casemiro back into the midfield despite the lack of alternatives.

On his podcast Vibe with FIVE, the former England captain questioned, “When is he going to take Casemiro out of the backline?” Why are Ambrabat and Scott McTominay unable to perform there? Scott [McTominay]: Was he hurt?

It’s just not fair, in my opinion. If someone is performing there who has never performed there before and you notice a few mistakes from them early on, you should ask yourself, “Do you know what? I will not subject you to this.

“I won’t do this to him, regardless of how much experience he has. Come on, please. We’ll get you out of there and back into your familiar position.”

Right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka may be able to play central defense, Ferdinand said when asked if he thought so. “Yeah, play him there.” Next, assign one of the other players to right-back. Amrabat should be placed there. Play Amrabat right back; you’ve played him left back.

For me, that comes the most naturally. He was content to play Amrabat at right back and Aaron Wan-Bissaka at center back for a few games. I’m not sure. Here, we just appear to be repeating ourselves. We appear to be an untrained squad.”

At Old Trafford, Ten Hag did have Willy Kambwala, a defender from the United academy, on the bench. The youthful Frenchman has already participated in several crucial games for the team, such as last month’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool.

Many people were perplexed as to why he was not used against Arsenal in the back line. Ten Hag gave this response when questioned about why he chose to start Casemiro in defense: “I had no other options. That Kambwala was unfit. Recuperated from an injury is not ready to begin.”

Ten Hag responded to a question about whether Scotland’s central defense player Scott McTominay could take Casemiro’s spot by saying, “I haven’t seen it but what I heard, was not always a success and I think he’s better in that advanced position, higher up the pitch and there we had our problems.”