Fucked up pretty good at the weekend but thankfully Liverpool are complete shite so we're safe. But it would be good if we finish in the top 3 or we might get a big team in the Champions League qualification rounds if we finish 4th.
"Who'll pick you up when you're spread too thin, when the walls you built are closing in around you? I found you...."
Post by idlesupernova on May 1, 2015 21:37:45 GMT 9.5
Not as good as Pirlo but Gary Neville hits the nail on the head big time.
Manchester United’s first back-to-back defeats under Louis van Gaal shared one common thread – Michael Carrick wasn't in the team.
England international Carrick sat out the away losses at Chelsea and last Sunday at Everton with a calf injury. And the man who makes United’s midfield tick cannot return soon enough for manager Van Gaal and his players.
For no other player at Old Trafford combines the Newcastle-born star’s composure, attacking intent and defensive diligence - qualities that were sorely missed in their last two games, underlining his enduring value to the Red Devils nearly a decade after his £18million move from Tottenham.
That is why Van Gaal will be desperate that he is fit for Saturday’s visit of West Brom.
When the elegant yet understated 33-year-old plays, United usually win. Without him, they seem rudderless.
This season, with Carrick, their win rate is 72.2 per cent, Van Gaal’s side triumphing in 13 of 18 games in which he has played.
Without him, it’s a different story - United’s win rate almost halving to 37.5 per cent.
Wayne Rooney recently claimed past England managers had taken the “easy choice” in overlooking Carrick in favour of midfielders with bigger names and reputations, failing to appreciate what he brings to any team.
And ex-United skipper Gary Neville believes the Geordie is so accomplished he can stand comparison with Italy playmaker Andrea Pirlo and Spain’s midfield enforcer Sergio Busquets - as well Red Devils legend Paul Scholes.
“I’d say Carrick has the qualities of a Scholes or Andrea Pirlo, and of a Sergio Busquets,” said Neville. “Busquets does more defending and Pirlo is more of a rhythm player, like Scholes. Michael is a mix between the two styles.
“It’s unfair to say he is the same as one or the other – he’s different – but he has those qualities. He’s critical for Louis van Gaal and he’s a very important player for England in the next 12 months leading up to a European Championship. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard have retired, and now Michael Carrick has an opportunity.
"I describe him as a piano. You can go into a bar and listen to rock music, but Carrick is more like a piano player. He’s peaceful. He’s calm, he brings composure to everyone else around him.
"That’s important for young players. We want cultured players. We want players who can see the game, who are intelligent, who understand the game, where to be, when to be [there] and be a coach out on the pitch. That’s what he is.
“The reality is Michael Carrick will be remembered incredibly well by Manchester United players that played with him. But he’ll only be respected when he finishes. He’s an unsung hero.”
Neville also claimed his former team-mate’s importance to club and country may only be fully grasped when he has retired from playing.
“[In England], we shoe-horned Paul Scholes out to the left wing and it might be the same with Michael Carrick,” said Neville. “In three, four years’ time we will think, ‘What a hell of a player he was’.
We seem to have regressed over the past few weeks or it might be the fact that we've been figured out by our opponents. Van Gaal needs to change it up for the Arsenal game IMO but I don't think he will. Di Maria needs to start because I have a feeling we'll only get opportunities to score on the counter. Hopefully we come away with the 3 points though it'll be tough because Arsenal look really good at the moment despite a loss this week.
"Who'll pick you up when you're spread too thin, when the walls you built are closing in around you? I found you...."