In Carrick's Defense

I know I've been rather harsh on Carrick recently, and quite frankly his performance hasn't really given me any reason to change my stance either.

However I do need to clarify some things about Carrick. He's not as bad a midfielder as I've portrayed him to be. In fact in certain respects, he's better than Darren 'Saviour of Scotland' Fletcher and John 'Out of his Depth' O'Shea. But at £18 million, you're over paying for someone to be just better than the 2 mentioned above. Looking back at the last game, Carrick's pegged lower than Scholes in the eyes of Fergie. Surely, we didn't pay £18 million just to have someone warming the bench as a replacement for Scholes!?!?! I suppose that's my main grouse here. If you spend £18 million, then you better make sure he's good enough to start when he's fit.

As for Carrick's abilities, he's a decent player. In fact I probably would rank him as an above average midfielder. Just look at how Spurs is faring without him. They seem to sore lack someone to make that killer pass when it matters. They seem to be playing and doing well everywhere on the pitch except that last third where for some reason, they lack that imagination to penetrate the defense.

I suppose that's the reason why we splashed £18 million for Carrick.....to ensure there would be no competition for the 4th Champion's League spot. Brilliant strategy by the board to thwart Tottenham's ambitions. Let's hope the likes of Portsmouth, Everton and Villa do not play the role of party poopers at the end of the season.

Top 4.......Here We Come!