Carrick

should drag up a few quotes from partners 2-0 down v west ham. angry man.

wouldn't be the only one said carrick was shit when he was shit only to pretend now that he always knew he'd come true.

£#%&!ing hell that whoosh just saved me a tenner on a haircut

vds aside i don't think there's a player who hasn't had some utterly gash games this season

Originally Posted by borsuk

he's not been abysmal ffs.

Yes he has, he's been embarrassing at times this season and generally poor for over a year.

Any United player (bar Owen) could shove your kids head up your wifes bum and you'd be unable to pass any criticism on them.

Originally Posted by borsuk

vds aside i don't think there's a player who hasn't had some utterly gash games this season

*AHEM*

West Brom (h)

Originally Posted by PaulParkersPubes

Yes he has, he's been embarrassing at times this season and generally poor for over a year.

Any United player (bar Owen) could shove your kids head up your wifes bum and you'd be unable to pass any criticism on them.

I think there's a clear distinction to be made between the vaguely rational "he's had some gash games over the last 18 months/20 odd years", and the forumese "he's been shit for 18 months/2 years"

Originally Posted by silv

your worst statement ever

he has been an excellent screen in front of the back 4 and his passing has improved 200%.

credit where its due borsers, credit where its due

How can you post on here for that long and still get whooshed that badly?

Originally Posted by PaulParkersPubes

Yes he has, he's been embarrassing at times this season and generally poor for over a year.

Any United player (bar Owen) could shove your kids head up your wifes bum and you'd be unable to pass any criticism on them.

£#%&! off


i criticise plenty. i just don't let a bad game - or a few bad games - change my view that pretty much every player we have is extremely talented and capable. take the midfield. the constant statements that our midfield is shit are just laughable. the players we have are excellent players, what they weren't doing is producing what they are capable of. that's changed in recent weeks but they haven't become better players or our midfield suddenly stopped being shit and become excellent again.

Just watching 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' now on Ch4. This may or may not have happened to Carrick in the last few weeks, he looks and sounds like Michael Carrick but there's something slightly different about him.

Originally Posted by TreeFiddy

How can you post on here for that long and still get whooshed that badly?

i dunno.

maybe its a double whoosh!

I think hypnosis or else he finally hit rock bottom.

Originally Posted by armchair

should drag up a few quotes from partners 2-0 down v west ham. angry man.

wouldn't be the only one said carrick was shit when he was shit only to pretend now that he always knew he'd come true.

look at my quotes over the past 3-4 years pal

i said he had been poor and asked what had happened to him

he has had a poor 18 months with the odd very good game (arsenal away x 2) thrown in here and there.

i wasnt sure whether he would regain his best form but i have never said he was shit.

lots of lies going on atm imo round these hereparts

Originally Posted by Part 36 Offer

look at my quotes over the past 3-4 years pal

i said he had been poor and asked what had happened to him

he has had a poor 18 months with the odd very good game (arsenal away x 2) thrown in here and there.

i wasnt sure whether he would regain his best form but i have never said he was shit.

lots of lies going on atm imo round these hereparts

I know. I used you as an example because you were part of the crowd that always liked Carrick but had recently become exasperated by him. I lost patience with him too recently.

It's the people who said they think he was great all of the time I was getting at.

Originally Posted by armchair

I know. I used you as an example because you were part of the crowd that always liked Carrick but had recently become exasperated by him. I lost patience with him too recently.

It's the people who said they think he was great all of the time I was getting at.

sorry pal misread your post. makes sense now

but yes i agree with you; to suggest carrick has not suffered an astronomical dip in form over the past 18 months is crazy. im sure the player would even admit it himself.

he was a regular in the england first xi before his dip in form yet has struggled to get in the squad in more recent times.

lets hope he is properly back now

wonder how much of carrick's good form is down to the replacement (for the most part) of berbatov with pea, meaning rooney is the no 10 and we tend to be playing with a midfield 3 when we don't have the ball. when rooney was with berbatov it was berbatov playing the deeper role and there was less support for the midfield. it looks to me like carrick shines in a three but struggles in a two. just a thought.

Originally Posted by borsuk

wonder how much of carrick's good form is down to the replacement (for the most part) of berbatov with pea, meaning rooney is the no 10 and we tend to be playing with a midfield 3 when we don't have the ball. when rooney was with berbatov it was berbatov playing the deeper role and there was less support for the midfield. it looks to me like carrick shines in a three but struggles in a two. just a thought.

The formation hasn't changed. It is just more rigid with Rooney and Hernandez as Hernandez can't play the deeper role.

Rooney and Berbatov alternate.

Originally Posted by armchair

I know. I used you as an example because you were part of the crowd that always liked Carrick but had recently become exasperated by him. I lost patience with him too recently.

That's me that is.

Both him and Berbatov have taken me to the end of my tether and just when I finally have given up boom, they come good.

Gibson, Bebe and Obertan next

Originally Posted by Coracao

The formation hasn't changed. It is just more rigid with Rooney and Hernandez as Hernandez can't play the deeper role.

Rooney and Berbatov alternate.

true but with rooney playing a clearly-defined no 10 role there is always cover for the midfield. fergie referred to it himself

"He's enjoying the position he's playing in at the moment because he has a lot of freedom to use his energy,"

and i think knowing that rooney will always be dropping back is helping carrick. perhaps not, but that's the impression i have.

rooney made it abundantly clear last season that he sees his best position as the main goalscorer and the focus of all united's attacking intent. he got the goals to back up his point. it was very hard to shift him from that position.

rooney's second best position is off the main striker, but whereas last season he had no challenge in the goalscoring stakes and the second striker (berbatov) was inflexible in terms of the manager's tactical options, this season ferguson has a challenge to both these aspects

at the beginning of the season the best combination looked as though it could be berbatov and hernandez, but rooney's impact on berbatov's new-found clinical goalscoring touch was undeniable and the manager was able to hold the mexican somewhat in abeyance. by the turn of the year it became obvious that ferguson intended, for the good of the team over the demands of the individual, to 'retrain' rooney into the role of second striker dropping in, almost the McClair position if you will. certainly not a genuine 10, rooney's physicality and his tactical training, as well as his class, allows him to be a highly effective operator in the role

it is and should always be about the best combinations. currently the best combination involves hernandez. whether that endures til the end of the season remains to be seen. but it seems clear enough that the best combination involves two recognised strikers rather than one far more often than not

ferguson does still have the option to just use one of course, and has an array of talent coming in off the wide to play through in support