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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i am satisfied with the result, ferguson got what he really wanted in this match, but one thing he has to clerify is how long he can keep this carrick, sometimes i ask my self what this guy really does for ferguson i am a player my self and i could not possibaly understand what he does for the team after seeing his overal contriputation, ferguson should be fair for all the players if he cant give a chance to berbatof how come carrick is in our team playing the same way for many years without convincing any one believe me even gibson will be better if given chance try anderson and gigs in our middfiled untill toom is back and then anderson and toom, gigs should come late and some times try anderson and park introduce pogba as fast as posible and marison we need to try as many as possible we cant go long way unless we have good middfielders
try to with your minds it is the time to drop the weeker ones carrick is putting presure on our defenders by passing 90percent to back expecting evens to come up and take the ball forward foooooooooool
he cant take the ball forward,hold the ball, cant tackle,doesnot run, have no spirit at all,laxy
and what more do you want to still support carrik
fuck you all
Sir Alex would do well to get a replacement for Carrick by January window. The guy cannot track players, and seems tired to mark. yesterday, he was blown away again. no thanks to Flethcer’s equally poor performance. whatever the excuses or emotions, we need a good defensive kmidfielder to play at the level we want, and Carrick is not that man now. Sir Alex may think differently, but i hope the faith does not cost us as it did in the FA cup semi-finals, last season
unbreak
I watched the game on irish tv last night.Jonny giles had a carricks performance monitered and it was an absolute disgrace.He`s not even related to a footballer.Spurs must be pissing themselves.And dont get me started on fabi,brazlian my arse.
It’s amazing how people who know nothing bout soccer keep haranguing us about Michael Carrick. The guy sometimes gets the dirty role and executes it to plan; and yet these yobs wont appreciate him. To think that nothing was said about Wazza’s unproductive swagger or Valencia’s wastefulness on the night makes it even more annoying. It’s nothing short of questioning SAF’s judgment, if not his sanity, when the choices he makes are criticized with so much bile. ‘Noff’s ‘noff!!!
I have seen Carrick have maybe 2 or 3 really good games in his entire United career, and the only reason I think he doesn’t come in for more criticism is because he is English, and thus pundits often gloss over his lackluster performances at the expense of other players (this is a fact). Last night, he slowed the game down to almost a standstill, where some quick counters would have been more effective against an exciting Benfica side – I am Portuguese and have a soft-spot for them, but United reigns supreme in my heart. The amount of times he gave the ball away was shocking, and while I agree that Park and Fletch didn’t exactly set the world alight last night at least they work hard and get stuck in when they are fit, something I have never seen Carrick do. Also, I think he must have made 3 forward passes that found their target all game, but often he just resorted to his crab-like tendency to go sideways or backwards. I am honestly sick of his face, he has no passion, no heart and no talent. I wish Fergie would sell this waste of space, and get either young Rodwell or Barkley who will be miles ahead of Carrick in a few years.
Spot on. Expect for the part on Rodwell. I used to rate him but now I can’t figure out his position. He is not necessarily great and anything. He is good at certain things. Now Barkley, that’s talent right there.. Probably best suited for a more advanced role.
I guess we’ll just have to bite our lower lips and wait for Carrick to retire but at this rate, he looks almost done. Fergie did put him in the same bracket with Ferdinand last week when talking about older players and Chelsea. That says something!
well sere is no denying da fact dat carrck was very poor, as equally was fletcher, benfica bullied us da whole 1st half..after promising start to da season, last nite was kinda heartbreaking, for quite a time carrick has been very average n wid stars like rooney, chica upfront we need sm1 better den average to feed dem proper passes..tom has been excellent bt out injuredn wid anderson performin well i feel v shud use paul pogba as soon as possible to team up wid anderson, carrick cant even track da players let alone breakin up an attack..i gess his time is up n january window opens up sir alex needs to get sum reinforcement..i haf been thinking mario goetze??
When I saw the team SAF put out I knew we were in for a hard night. When will he learn that 4,5,1 against a team as mobile as Benfica and well organised defensively will always put us on the backfoot. How many times does it take that Rooney on his own up front against good centerbacks means we will give the ball away because we don’t have someone to hold up the ball for midfielders to come into play. We also played a midfield that was the same as last year when it was obvious to everyone that we needed to buy a top class midfielder in the summer. Cleverly gets injured and we are back to last year. Also wholesale changes to a team is not good management. Forget Giggs goal we were lucky last night.
Where is Paul Pogba? Isn’t he the player Fergie said would leave if we brought someone in and therefore needed to be given an opportunity? Playing him in the mickey mouse cup is all well and good but I would like to see him play in the league. He hasnt even been on the bench! I just hope Pogba hasn’t been used as a lame excuse for our failure to do what everyone in the football world knows we should be doing – buying quality in midfield.
I knew when Carrick played in the final last year it was over. That gave me question marks about Fergie judgement. Now against Benfica, he played Carrick,Fletcher and Johnny. I watched that game on my teeth. For WTF moments Ferguson will always lose it. My prediction. If johnny boy and iffy Carrick play against Chelsea. Lose. I see the abused faces of Berbatov,Anderson,Chicharito and I predict want away soon. I want Fergie to retire and Maurinho in, while City still unsure.
I really do not see what the man brings to UTD he strugles with his passing and he only seems to know how to pass backwards he doesnt score goals he cant tackle he gets lost in most of his games what is his position quite simply he doesnt have one because he cant do anything. One off performances dont justife being a UTD player get shot of him get more youngsters in difference in the football has been amazing.