Football / Soccer / Calcio / Futebol / Fußball

What do you mean about AWB? He went from shit to essential and then has been injured, he's only just back

Speaking of Rashford, he only gives a shit when he wants a new contract lol

Rashford’s a budget player who turns it on for 7 months when a contract is on the line. Xhaka grew as a player when his role was adapted to provide him better cover to make up for his lack of pace and somewhat questionable defensive instincts. Casemiro has just gotten old after being consistent forever.

Younger players who function better in one system or another or others who turn it on at pinch points in their career are not the same as older player going over the hill.

Rashford and AWB examples are fluctuations in form, an inherent lack of consistency, and/or fit with the manager's tactics and what the squad needs. This is different than an age-related decline in quality when a player hits a point where their experience and knowledge of the game is no longer able to make up for the loss of athleticism.

Outside of significant injuries, it's rare that a good player hits their peak in their early-mid 20s and can never get back to that. A lot will reach their potential and stop developing but they don't go backwards. That's why it's so surprising and attracts attention when it does happen, e.g. Dele.

Players decline nobody ever denies that

Casemrio was great 4 months ago so was Varane

The difference is team doing bad so you say this, it's not about age it's more about team performance

I just gave an example of Xhaka, do u think prime Xhaka was worse than 30 year old Xhaka? Or was it fans scapegoating due to club performances

Yup! I remember getting attacked here for questioning the value of Casemiro at his age/price/contract cos who wants to believe that a player they like might decline soon. Was the same with Peresic who everyone assured me would be a wonderful wingback adapting to PL aged 33!!!

It’s a real minority who play deep into their 30s, handing out big contracts to such players should be done with real care and scrutiny unless you are a monopoly money club then whatever gamble away!

Many people often also ignore the human element of this. They think footballers are robots like in their games of FIFA on PS5. There are so many examples of footballers losing their drive to stay at peak performance or who want to move onto other interests.

This subreddit and other social media were hilarious when they signed them. Like it's logical to question the merits of spending that much on players of that age. Sure there's some who have held off their declines, but the majority of players dip at a certain age. For the money United spent, they could have bought far better long term options.

Which is a stupid argument. Plenty of players that look after their body just decline physically though no fault of their own in their 30s. Look at Diego Forlán. He was always in peak shape, single digit bodyfat and wanted to run for everything, known for longevity. Yet just before the 2011 Copa América when he was 32, he just fell off of a cliff at club level, didn't score in 12 games and just did not have the legs to play in Europe anymore as a mobile striker. Sometimes it just happens, players decline regardless of how well they look after their body. No one can beat farther time. Jordan Henderson is another example, be was declining for years before leaving Liverpool, despite always being in tip top shape.

Casemiro also played a ridiculous amount of games and any type of legginess at a position like DM gets exposed instantly in the PL.

Look at Fabinho ffs. Went from elite to literally washed in like 10 months. Still one of the craziest declines I’ve seen

You guys are a money-no-object club, you can absolutely afford to take the gambles and pocket the wins. United are having to budget carefully for FFP and they’ve blown a fortune on transfer fee/wages here!