Yann M’Vila

andersj

Strange thing. Sometimes you hear that a player is supposed to be good, but every time you see him he is awful and it just end up being impossible seeing how the player actually can be good.

Brwned

I didn't mean in quality cina, just in terms of what they bring to the team. With M'Vila's tenacity, energy, leadership and crisp short passing he'd be giving us a lot of what Fletcher gives us. Carrick still gives us the ability to spread the play and play incisive passing and would be a better partner for M'Vila.

At times in a three man midfield he's had Mandjeck play at the base of midfield and him as one of the slightly advanced two, taking shots, pulling out wide, carrying the ball forward, he's not simply a defensive midfielder.

Wes

unless you play two there

we did this once or twice in the closing weeks of the season with Gibson playing alongside Carrick and it didn't really work because Gibson's shit

if we get someone who's not shit and can consistently pass the ball we might have another option

Donkey's Ears

Would he be a significant upgrade on our ability to retain possession under pressure? An area where Fletcher is lacking to say the least.

Name Changed

If we are going to improve our midfield substantially, then Carrick needs to be replaced. Let's call a spade a spade. We need two midfielders realistically.

Carrick lets us down far too often when it really matters. Playing two defensive midfielders is really only going to work if you have another player who'll play in front and will do a lot of work plus add some imagination and creativity.

I highly doubt we will buy two midfielders, but if we did bring in M'Vila, I would be extremely surprised if he and Carrick ended up as the partnership.

Cina

I'd go along with this certainly. He would be a very good partner for Carrick and potentially in the 3 man midfield with Anderson thrown in too.

Anderson8

I'd like us to sign him, it would be great to sign a player who would actually love to play for us, over a player that takes a load of convincing and is tempted by other clubs.

Brwned

He's no Xavi, Scholes or Fabregas I'll say that. Would you consider Essien a significant improvement in this aspect?

If only we had a player like this, if only...

Wes

Ryan Giggs?

Brwned

Maybe even that bloke with a hair transplant.

Wes

possibly

Name Changed

Yeah lets play our best attacker as a central midfielder. I don't think that's going to happen.

Cina

I'm pretty sure that's not what's being suggested.

Everyone is crying out for a creative midfielder but all we need are two central midfielders who can win that ball and pass well, i.e. Carrick and M'Vila. Rooney should be our creative hub in the hole he plays in.

KM

I thought that this Carrick lets us down in critical situations statement would end after his end of season displays where he was brilliant against Chelsea thrice in month. Guess I was wrong.

Wes

Nah, I'd keep Nani out wide

Name Changed

Guess you missed the CL final and FA Cup semi so.

Nobody said he can't but in excellent performances sometimes, but he puts in a lot of stinkers which inevitably cost us big time.

Name Changed

Nani > Rooney. Good one.

Cina

We had 1 player who wasn't shit in that game so that's a bad example. Incidentally, he's the player we're saying should be used as the creative player.

Pogue Mahone

I think only United fans could watch their team score more goals than any other team in the league and decide we're not creative enough.

What we need is a bit more presence in midfield. Someone who can impose himself on the game and make sure we hold onto the ball when we have it and get it back quickly when we lose it. Basically, someone who can do what Fletcher and Anderson do when they're at their best. A competent well-rounded central midfielder. This M'Villa bloke sounds like he might fit the bill.

Pogue Mahone

Can you name a United player - other than central defenders - who doesn't?

In other words, are their specific players you have in mind who put Carrick to shame with their performances in the FA Cup semi and the CL final? Only I can't.

Name Changed

In my opinion, the only person who possibly has more stinkers is Evra, but that wouldn't be mentioned as much. All can have stinkers, but our central midfielders, and in particularly Carrick, put in more than most. There are numerous examples, there is no need to go through them all.

Not once did I say he can't put in excellent performances by the way.

KM

We could buy 100Mil worth of midfield talent and that fuckers at Barcelona will most probably still out-play us. Poor, poor example that one.

Regarding that FA Cup semi too, players do make mistakes however I do think that he compensated well enough with his brilliant displays against Chelsea.

Donkey's Ears

Not particularly but I don't feel we need a player like Essien as urgently as we need the ability to be composed and secure under pressure.

How many games did we lose because we didn't have a player like Essien?

Name Changed

Maybe he could be used as a creative player, but his role has developed into sitting in front of the back four and being a little creative from there. I have said previously that I think he has the ability to play further up the pitch and be more useful, but I cannot see him being played there by Ferguson. That's why I would be extremely surprised if M'Vila and Carrick ended up as the main partnership.

KM

Rooney's first six months of the whole last season were a stinker. Fletcher had a stinker of last season. Nani had some absolute stinkers, so did Park and Hernandez. Giggs regularly has stinkers of matches. What's your point?

Name Changed

The Chelsea displays were on average very very good. But my point was that he has a lot of stinkers when it really matters, and it still stands. I never once said he can't play excellently. All our midfielders can have excellent games, including Anderson and even Gibson. It doesn't mean that they do it consistently enough or don't put in stinkers.

Name Changed

Not as many which was the point.

Pogue Mahone

Couldn't disagree more.

Looking at our central midfielders in last season alone, I'd say Fletcher, Anderson and Gibson all had more stinkers than Carrick and none of them put in as good performance in big game as he did in the CL closing stages.

7even

What the flying fuck! Carrick did what??

I'm glad so many other posters have defended him because comment's like this are bizarre. We need a back up or a partner for Carrick. But not because he's in any way bad, not even close. But because we needs more quality since we lost Ginger.

Cina

Are you on about Rooney?

Name Changed

You think Evra was good?

Fletcher was injured for the guts of half the season, put in some poor performances and some decent but didn't cost us in any big game. Anderson had a better season than Fletcher but I can't remember any big games where he simply disappeared. None of them are top quality and considering all the complaining you have done previously about it, I'm surprised you're arguing in favour of our never found great midfield.

At the highest level, which realistically is the CL final, we need better. I've defended the midfield enough in the past, but I can't anymore. A mini resurgence by Carrick in a few games is not going to drastically improve our midfield. If he put in consistently good performances, and Fletcher came in and got himself 100% and back to what he was doing previously, then we'd have a midfield.

Bryan_Munich

Why has Fergie just given him a new 3 year contract then?

Name Changed

Carrick. Basically I am saying that I think Carrick could be extremely useful playing a creative role further up the pitch.

Wes

interesting question

I'd say we'd have been harder to play against away from home with Essien (for example) in the team.
I realise we didn't lose that many away from home, but I think we'd have won more

Name Changed

He also gave Fletcher and Anderson ones, didn't he?

And if we believe that we are interested in the names that are being thrown around, M'Vila, Nasri, Modric and Sneijder for example, then surely that would show that Ferguson thinks we aren't strong enough in that department.

Name Changed

I'm not going to list out performances as there are many many threads about it already.

Brwned

There's too ways of looking at that though - either we need someone to combat the pressure, stick their foot in and get a hold of the midfield through imposing their presence or calm the midfield with an assured touch and spread the play around. That's the part I don't really get in all these midfield discussions, people going back and forth saying 'we need an AM, just look how poor in possession we were against Barca', 'no, we need a DM, just look how we could barely get the ball back off them, duhhhh'.

As if there's one solution, one way to combat a problem. We buy multifunctional players for this very reason, we mould Anderson to play as a combative centre mid so that when we need to stick the foot in, we will, and when he needs to carry the ball and move the attack forward with incisive passing, he will. Just as we've done with Carrick as not simply a holder or a passer, but both.

Against Fulham, Bolton, West Brom, Villa, Birmingham and Wolves we had significantly more shots or possession but couldn't get maximum points. Does that tell you that we didn't stop them getting chances or put up enough of a fight in midfield, or that we didn't impose ourselves enough in possession and creatively? Fucked if I know. Against Chelsea we had 10% more possession but half as many shots, did we not make enough of our time on the ball or did we not stop them from using it well enough?

Since when did this player ahead of two more defensive midfielders need to be a centre mid? As long as we've got someone to link the defence and midfield - Carrick - and the midfield and attack - Rooney - then I don't see the problem. There's a whole host of players who played in behind the striker(s) and were the creative hubs, they didn't need to play as centre mids.

Pogue Mahone

That's because neither of them played well enough to get selected for big games.

Unlike Carrick, who was clearly above both of them in our midfield pecking order throughout last season. Which makes it all the more strange that you're singling him out as the player who let us down the most.

Pogue Mahone

Not right now we're not, no.

With Gibson, Hargreaves and Scholes all leaving I'm sure Fergie wants to sign another central midfielder. That's no reflection on the central midfielders still at our club though.

Bryan_Munich

Surely we can improve our midfield substantially without replacing Carrick?