The reason why i say is because at that time we were after 2 midfielders and they were Marcos Senna and Owen Hargreaves and both of them didn't join, although the latter came the following summer, in the summer of 2006 we signed Michael Carrick and some of our fans were underwhelmed and people thought we paid too much for him but he proved them wrong. At that time, Chelsea were favourites for the title, the pundits were saying that they were going to dominate the premier league for the next 10 years and people are tipping them for the title this season like they did in 2006 let's hope we prove them wrong again.
Carrick although he has definitely got much better was absolute gash back then, no wonder your fans were underwhelmed £18million in 2006 was it Never mind Carrick, Giggs wasn't an OAP then and Scholes was still playing, you had Ronaldo too and Fergie was managing the team. I mean there are so many differences between now and then I don't know how the **** this reminds you of then at all
He wasn't the same player back then, played a different game, Fergie made him into a different type of player.
The thing is though, that's bollocks. Carrick is the kind of footballer who will never be appreciated in England as he doesn't play kick and rush football. That's true of many United fans as well as the opposition fans who have maintained for 20 years that all of our players are ****. Since he joined United we have won a lot and while other midfielders have come and gone or had dips in form that have seen them in and out of the team Carrick has been a pretty much ever present when fit. Excellent footballer who would have improved England had managers not been too scared to drop one of Lampard and Gerrard. £18million for Carrick - years of success and stability or £17million for Aquilani £20million for Henderson Plenty of others who make that £18million look outstanding value.
No point in throwing out silly comparisons like Liverpool player debate fail NOF as usual, we're talking about first of all United in 2006 compared to now Secondly Carrick was seen as more of providing the attacking impetus like Scholes, but now he mainly breaks up play keeps the ball moving and occasionally does provide some nice passes but mainly he solidifies the midfield most importantly he's keeping momentum going by shifting the ball about and being in the right place to do so. He was not that player when he signed, certainly not anything like the Carrick of the last 2 or 3 seasons and didn't play that way at Spurs, if you think Fergie has not developed him into a different type of and more effective player than he was then you are mistaken. He was very prone to being pressed and gave away so much possession back then, he plays a very different game now where he focus on keeping possession and being in the right position to shore up the midfield and keep the ball moving, last year he was very effective in that role especially with the other weaknesses in midfield.
The transfer fee comparisons are relevant. Your ever present facepalm smiley about Carrick's transfer fee suggests you think it was too much. When compared to other midfield players who cost a similar amount it was clearly a steal.
That's just plain bollocks mate. Back in 06/07 Carrick was playing very similar to how he did now, sitting deeper, keeping possession and building from the back, allowing Scholes to get forwards and attack again in the same way he had done when Keane was in his prime. Carrick's presence in midfield was pretty much the sole reason we went from struggling and rebuilding in 05/06, going out of the CL in the groups with Alan Smith fumbling around as the holding midfielder, to winning the PL by a good six points and reaching the CL semis in 06/07. The only real difference between then and now was that Scholes was playing in an advanced role and was able to find space regularly, thus giving Carrick regular passing options. Like Roy Keane used to say, the job of the second man in the Utd midfield is to win the ball and give it to Scholes. Carrick only started to struggle when Scholes' legs started going so he ended up playing deeper. That put Carrick under much more pressure than he was used to, with only Anderson as a decent attacking outlet, who was often being too fat and lazy to get into a decent position to receive a pass. That was exacerbated by Fletcher's illness and Hargreaves knees, which meant Carrick didn't have anyone working hard alongside him in the centre. The 09 CM final was the primary example of that, with Carrick, Anderson and Giggs completely exposed in the centre against Barca, but that was the first game in which Carrick really struggled and really played badly in a Utd shirt. It took him a good couple of years to adapt to that, and SAF showed a lot of faith in him when lesser managers might have ditched him, but once he adapted he has been quality once again. To portray Carrick as being gash from 06-09 is just plain lazy, and the kind of argument you expect from someone like KPR, who couldn't honestly assess a Utd player if you held a gun to his head.
for a liverpool fan i expect you have a better memory and better knowledge of history !! the team you just described just finished 8 points behind Chelsea in 05/06 season , but in 06/07 we only added Carrick and sold RVN yet we finished 6 points ahead of chelsea
how he was not as good?!! he play in a different position than those pair !!! Carick may look less fancy with all his laid-back deep role compared to the attacking fancy stuffs that Lampard and Gerrard do, but he is great at what he dose, when Gerrard and lampard played in his position , they sucked big time.. actually the pair were average in England shirt anyway .. and what NOF said has been said by many football experts who insisted that Gerrad-lampard combination is not working, but managers keep playing them bcz they are scared of dropping one of them
He's definitely been as good if not better at times hence being an ever present for the team that has dominated English football during his time at United. He's just never been the up and at them player that the English media and fans want to see and which is why England remain light years behind the other top football nations. England have wasted his talent, unlike United who have made the most of it. Bit like Scholes.
Expect it from shwan but not you NOF! Carrick has never been at either of their level. I can guarantee it'd only be United fans holding that opinion. We had just won back to back titles.
True, also a lot of pundits said you were going to dominate the premier league for the next 10 years as well.
Well pundits talk ****e matth. It's going to be the most open season in a very long time and I make 3 teams favourites to win it with equal chance to win it; United, City and Chelsea
