Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me
United’s somewhat laboured performance in Lisbon last night was met with the usual chorus of disapproval from many Reds on the interweb.
When your goalkeeper is a strong contender for man of the match then you know something’s not gone too well.
One player who seemed -as usual- to bore the brunt of most of the criticism was Michael Carrick.
The vast majority of Reds seemed to blame Carrick for United’s failure to really trouble Benfica and many were actually using it as proof he’s no longer needed at Old Trafford.
Some of the comments regarding Carrick went from annoyed: ‘typically below par’ to downright enraged: ‘when will Fergie see he’s useless!!’
My own feeling is that Carrick was average in a very average midfield, he didn’t do much wrong as far as I was concerned, although he didn’t make enough of a positive contribution, to call it a ‘good performance.’
Fletcher and Park were equally as uninspired but it seems most fans -rightly- understood the fsct they’d both returned after a long spell out of the team so were naturally rusty.
Carrick has always divided opinion among many United fans but last night was one of the times when even some of his supporters seemed to turn on him.
The form of Anderson, Tom Cleverley and the possibility of Phil Jones playing in midfield menas that many Reds now see Carrick as being surplus to requirements.
I’m not convinced that getting rid of him is such a good idea, after all was this not the same player who was lauded over following his CL performances against Chelsea last year?
It’s a squad game and United will need Carrick during the season, he may not be the most exciting player to watch but he does do a job and I for one think Sir Alex should and will use him when needed.
Have I gone in off the deep end or is it time to give up on the former Spurs man? Feel free to comment abuse or suggest below:
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so fletch and park go without criticism cos they havent played much this year??when has carrick been playing then???and since when was a draw away to benfica a bad result anyway.the unjust criticism just leads to pressure being placed on carrick when he needs backed most.ireally wish people would use these forums to praise players as opoosed to lambasting them.oerhaps all the haters are really armchair fergies that just havent been given a break in management or perhaps its all just nonsensical drivel…..in fergie I trust
If you can’t see anything wrong with Carrick in the midfield then your standards are low my friend. Fergie has got it wrong many times but right most of time. Playing Carrick in big European games is wrong! The only “big” team he does well against is Chelsea. I’ll give him that. I trying to figure out why.
I think the whole midfield was poor last night, but like u said, Fletch is coming back from injury. Giggsy is old. Park isnt really a left winger…so Carrick and his ability to sit deeper than a very deep thing will come into question.
I dont believe anyone thinks that Carrick is a bad footballer, but a combination of Fergie’s reliance in him defensively, and the fact he has no desire to use his God given skill progressively…factor in hes no spring chicken, means hes gonna cop flack.
Ive just written an article about all this last night. Please take a read and comment. Thanks!
http://thefaithfulmufc.com/2011/09/15/for-whom-the-united-bell-tolls-did-last-night-show-sir-alex-the-truth/
Apart from the life-saver goal, there were five Darron Gibson impersonators out there last night. We still need to strengthen the midfield in January.
I wonder how many matches this same carrick has played this season if fletcher and park can be exonerated 4 their below par performances. The worst midfielder yesterday was simply fletcher(unable 2 defend/mark a player, wrong passes, unable 2 run and d reason we conceded d goal and not Evans) and thats why he was subed. Carrick is one of united’s best midfielders. Take or leave it. His stats that saw him play in all of united’s competitive matches last season speaks 4 itself.
I wonder what people like you see in Carrick. Your comments baffle me. Carrick is one of the worst central midfielders in the history of Club. I would rather have Nicky Butt play his position at his age right now! All he has to do is stand in front of the back four and pass sideways or backwards.
stop talking nonsense fido. Carrick does a subtle role and is undoubtedly a great footballer. Whether he’s what United need anymore is a different debate. However, the problem Wednesday night was that the whole midfield was lethargic and when we did get the ball to look forward we only had one outlet (who was dropping deep). It was a poor team performance and nobody should be singled out. Carrick will do a great role. I guarantee if you’d have played the same formation, with Cleverley and Anderson instead of Giggs and Fletcher, and Nani and Young instead of Park and Valencia there would have been pace all over the field and we’d have walked it. The truth is though, Fergie rightly used the game to get some minutes for players who hadn’t had much game time, knowing they’d do a job. It doesn’t make for the most exciting football but come the end of the group stages you’ll forget about this performance. The lads have been brilliant so far this season and all the players from Wednesday will need to sharpen up as the season goes on, but they’ll get there.
only one word that defines how the united juice yesterday: Truck… So slow-played.
@ Lexy “Carrick is one of united’s best midfielders” Seriously? Personally i think he is our least affective midfielder at the club. I dont know what it is that he is supposed to do? Doesnt break up attacks, doesnt start them. Gives the ball away more than any other United player.
you idiott…he passed more than iniesta! last season champions league . look at another article on this website
Ii felt that we had no spark in the midfield and they were giving up possession way to often especially Carrick. They were too slow and after watching Anderson and Cleverly play I just feel that we may suffer a drop off in the midfield until cleverly returns but we should keep Carrick as a squad player because you never know when you will need him.
What game were you watching if u say Carrick did not do much wrong ? how many times did he give the ball away? the truth is that Carrick is an average player not good enough for UTD maybe Everton , Bolton , West brom are good enough for him.
I think that we’ve evolved so much since last year that players like Fletcher, Park and Carrick just aren’t good enough anymore.
Last night, we had no movement off the ball in midfield which is what killed us against Barcelona, and without any left-sided threat other than Evra, we were pretty much one dimensional all night.
Having said that, I also know that we can’t win every game and we have to use our squad, but I’d doubt that Sir Alex will use more than 3-4 players from last night’s starting eleven against Chelsea.
Lastly, I’m not a great fan of “platooning” goalkeepers. They are a fickle lot and need constant support and continuity. They can lose consistency sitting on the bench.
I know that returning players need some time, but on the first European night away against the best other team in the group didn’t seem the right time to blood so many rusty players at the same time. Put that down to a poor managerial decision. As for Carrick, Park, Fletcher and Giggs, they were “dire” until Giggs scored (kudos to him). As a unit there was little or no invention, and I couldn’t believe that Anderson didn’t start. Oh well, a point away is not too bad, but we should have had all 3.