Depends on how we play. When we played him and Anderson in a two-man midfield for some how matches last season, it worked brilliantly. It's about the combination, really. Same with Carrick-Giggs. Don't know how Carrick-Cleverley will work. As long as we steer clear of Carrick-Fletcher!
Yes we have seen good performances from Carrick and Anderson, but we have seen even more poor ones with that pairing too. Imo most of the good performances for that pairing are mostly dependent on how Anderson plays rather than any chemistry with Carrick. If there was such chemistry between the 2 then surely we would have seen regular and improving performances from both players. Very rarely if ever, have we seen such evidence of this improvement in consecutive matches.
I agree it is all about the combination, Anderson has now played the last 4 or 5 games to a similarly high standard alongside Cleverley, and the results are getting better with each game. They seem to have struck up a complimentary and effective partnership, which is not only benefiting their own individual form, but is impacting positively on the forwards too. The whole team dynamic has improved dramatically since the inroduction of these 2 into the middle and although at times we look a little exposed through the middle, the speed and imagination in our forward play is simply proving too much for the opposition so far. We are once again devastating on the counter attack, and imo that will cause serious problems for any team we face.
Carrick is simply too slow and immobile to form an effective pair, he simply does not provide anywhere near the variety of attributes needed. There is a case for him as the defensive player in a 3 man midfield, but in a pair he will leave his partner too much too do and our play will be slower and more predictable imo.