[Bloxy]

Okay so lets say Blind lacks pace and strength.

Michael Carrick also lacks pace and strength. Its amazing we've put up with him isnt it?

That's laughable. Carrick is quite strong on the ball and hardly ever gets shrugged off the ball.
Carrick also makes himself available when our CB's have the ball, but how many times did we see Blind run forward away from his defence? Carrick brings more than just positional play and interceptions, he also brings composure which we saw nothing of from Blind. I don't think it was entirely his fault for the 1st goal, but he didn't commit to the tackle when the attack actually started in their half, hence he was the only player close toe enough to try and tackle them.

 

[soap]

If you can't see that Carrick is a much better player then I don't even know what to say.

Carrick is a great players though. Blind is a young lad in his first season in a top league and has generally been impressive in midfield, its not fair to say he's not good enough cos he's not as good as Carrick, let's give him time.

 

[wiz4231]

Solid squad player, nothing to shout about. Could've played better but he's no Carrick.

 

[McUnited]

Solid squad player, nothing to shout about. Could've played better but he's no Carrick.

Exactly the sort of thing one could've said about Carrick when he first arrived.

 

[Cathy Ferguson]

Carrick might lack pace but he is faster than Blind and MUCH stronger, he is quite a big lad and is rarely bullied.

Blind is just too small and too slow to be a long term replacement for Carrick.

 

[Bloxy]

He was poor today but no worse than anyone else. This is a tough game to return from injury, talk about going in at the deep end. Funny thing is, all the things he's being criticised for Carrick has been guilty of loads this season, yet the people criticising are saying Carrick is better. Michael Carrick is not better, if anyone should be a squad player it's him. And comments like "we need a proper replacement for Carrick" are implying that Carrick is/was some kind of god. He was good under Fergie but this year and last he hasn't been. He's on a huge decline atm whereas Blind is exciting to watch and fresh. Strangely, the treatment Blind has been getting is similar to the treatment that Carrick was getting when he came. In a few years we'll no doubt having Blind fanboys crying themselves to sleep when he doesn't play, blaming everything that goes wrong on his replacement whilst casually ignoring the fact that the whole team was poor.

do you believe we would done better last week if Carrick was fit or even today? Not all Blind's fault but he was a pedestrian today.

 

[Wowi]

Very poor today, and highlights how much we need someone to really take over from Carrick. Still think Blind will be a good player for us, he's still only 25 and I think he'll still improve quite a bit. At the very least he'll be a good squad player.

 

[thelemon]

This is mentally brilliant.

Today was Blind's only real high-profile mistake, and even then it was more McNair's fault. Carrick has almost cost us a lot of goals this season, including almost causing a huge collapse in the City game. At the very least he stopped us from getting another. Blind is slow? Carrick's slower.
Get over the nostalgia and you'll probably come round to the fact that Blind is our future. I like Carrick, I'm a big fan, but he has been so overrated this year it is quite nauseating. Like I said, Carrick received a lot of negativity for his first couple of years here, almost all undeserved. Blind is just going through the "Carrick treatment".

 

[Ekeke]

Carrick might lack pace but he is faster than Blind and MUCH stronger, he is quite a big lad and is rarely bullied.

Blind is just too small and too slow to be a long term replacement for Carrick.

Prove it. You have Everton's first goal to show that Blind is fast enough to keep up with Everton's break and gets back faster than his teammates

Where's Carrick doing the same?

Neither have pace, plenty of DMs who have done well have done without it

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Today was Blind's only real high-profile mistake, and even then it was more McNair's fault. Carrick has almost cost us a lot of goals this season, including almost causing a huge collapse in the City game. At the very least he stopped us from getting another. Blind is slow? Carrick's slower.
Get over the nostalgia and you'll probably come round to the fact that Blind is our future. I like Carrick, I'm a big fan, but he has been so overrated this year it is quite nauseating. Like I said, Carrick received a lot of negativity for his first couple of years here, almost all undeserved. Blind is just going through the "Carrick treatment".

That didn't happen. Stop inventing nonsense.

Look at our win percentange with Carrick in the side, and look at it when he's not in the side. To say that he is on the decline, or been poor is, frankly, ridiculous.

 

[thelemon]

do you believe we would done better last week if Carrick was fit or even today? Not all Blind's fault but he was a pedestrian today.

Last week we would have won the game with either Blind or Carrick. I have no doubt in my mind about that. Today, Carrick would not have made a difference at all in my opinion. Not a swipe at him, but I struggle to see what he would have done to prevent us from losing.

 

[Skills]

Exactly the sort of thing one could've said about Carrick when he first arrived.

Bollocks.

 

[Alock1]

Everything said in here today about Blind has been said about Carrick loads of times.

 

[Crumpsall Red]

Last week we would have won the game with either Blind or Carrick. I have no doubt in my mind about that. Today, Carrick would not have made a difference at all in my opinion. Not a swipe at him, but I struggle to see what he would have done to prevent us from losing.

He would have moved the ball quicker and been more insicive with his passing imo

 

[thelemon]

That didn't happen. Stop inventing nonsense.

Look at our win percentange with Carrick in the side, and look at it when he's not in the side. To say that he is on the decline, or been poor is, frankly, ridiculous.

It's really obvious that he isn't as good as he was a couple of years ago. By definition, he is on decline. How is that even disputable? Also, do you genuinely believe that we would have conceded City's second goal with Carrick on the pitch? He messed up our structure. City scored and played a lot better, had we not been so comfortable beforehand there is every chance that City would have equalised. It's definitely not completely unrealistic.

 

[Cathy Ferguson]

Prove it. You have Everton's first goal to show that Blind is fast enough to keep up with Everton's break and gets back faster than his teammates

Where's Carrick doing the same?

Neither have pace, plenty of DMs who have done well have done without it

Ok, in terms of pace I would say that there is no big difference between them, the big difference is height, physical presence and ability to shield the ball.

You can also check out the number of points we collect w/wo Carrick, he is instrumental to us.

If we go for Hummels in the summer I sure hope that we can find a DM who is rapid.

 

[Ekeke]

Bollocks.

I guess you werent reading the caf at the time. Carrick's first season he just did a job while Scholes was the mastermind.

 

[thelemon]

He would have moved the ball quicker and been more insicive with his passing imo

I don't think that he would have made a shred of difference. We're talking about Carrick here, people, not Lionel fecking Messi.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

It's really obvious that he isn't as good as he was a couple of years ago. By definition, he is on decline. How is that even disputable? Also, do you genuinely believe that we would have conceded City's second goal with Carrick on the pitch? He messed up our structure. City scored and played a lot better, had we not been so comfortable beforehand there is every chance that City would have equalised. It's definitely not completely unrealistic.

What are you on about? So we should blame Carrick for getting injured in a game that we were winning 4-1 and going off the pitch?!

 

[thelemon]

Ok, in terms of pace I would say that there is no big difference between them, the big difference is height, physical presence and ability to shield the ball.

You can also check out the number of points we collect w/wo Carrick, he is instrumental to us.

If we go for Hummels in the summer I sure hope that we can find a DM who is rapid.

If he is that important to us it is purely psychological. If future selection processes go by form and ability rather than name then Carrick will be phased out and Blind will ease into the gap left by him. He is already proving to be the perfect replacement for him, and at that price we can't complain.

 

[thelemon]

What are you on about? So we should blame Carrick for getting injured in a game that we were winning 4-1 and going off the pitch?!

No, but maybe for not alerting anyone about it and completely throwing us off focus. He could have at least told someone what he was going to do. It alludes to complacency, and that is a theme that has often been present in his game this season.

 

[Ekeke]

Ok, in terms of pace I would say that there is no big difference between them, the big difference is height, physical presence and ability to shield the ball.

And I would just about agree with you. The funny thing is that Blind wins a decent amount of headers so height isnt an issue. In fact he wins more than any of the players we've used in midfield this season bar Fellaini. Carrick is slightly better at shielding the ball

You can also check out the number of points we collect w/wo Carrick, he is instrumental to us.

Confirmation bias. We also got plenty of points with Valencia in the team, it doesn't make him a good right back. You also need to look at whats happening around the players and the team.

Blind had to play in CM with Di Maria who does no defending. Carrick gets to play with everyone fit and Ander and Fellaini winning the ball a lot in front of him.

If we go for Hummels in the summer I sure hope that we can find a DM who is rapid.

Why? Who are these rapid DMs who've been top class?

All of the good ones have lacked for pace and made up for it in other areas.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

No, but maybe for not alerting anyone about it and completely throwing us off focus. He could have at least told someone what he was going to do. It alludes to complacency, and that is a theme that has often been present in his game this season.

Wait... Do you seriously think Carrick just walked off the pitch without telling anyone?!

 

[ivaldo]

This place is nuts, 95% of people here are unable to form an opinion of a player based on anything other than the last 2 games.

 

[thelemon]

Wait... Do you seriously think Carrick just walked off the pitch without telling anyone?!

He hardly made it obvious, didn't you see the reaction?

 

[Nighteyes]

Everything said in here today about Blind has been said about Carrick loads of times.

Not really.

The one glaring weakness Blind has him constantly getting caught behind the ball. That is inexcusable for a DM. And it's been obvious throughout the season not just this game.

 

[Cathy Ferguson]

If he is that important to us it is purely psychological. If future selection processes go by form and ability rather than name then Carrick will be phased out and Blind will ease into the gap left by him. He is already proving to be the perfect replacement for him, and at that price we can't complain.

Time will tell. I'm not convinced at all, but Blind is having a good first season with us and he is a steal at 15m and a good left back.

FYI. I was also proven wrong on Carrick, I never thought he would turn out to be a great player for us.

 

[R'hllor]

Some people here are just insane,cant wait to throw players under the bus after game or two,then after one of those players has a great game next week,they lick his hole between cheeks by saying things how they want his babies,or how his hair is great etc. Just make your freaking mind are they shit or what!

 

[Annihilate Now!]

He hardly made it obvious, didn't you see the reaction?

Yep, I saw Rooney go deeper and us got to 4-4-1. We all applauded the feckin' bloke off the pitch. Do you seriously think that our players didn't realise he went off?!

What do you want him to do? Get the ref to stop the play, get on the tannoy and make a public service announcement!?

Also, it didn't even remotely lead to any form of collapse.

 

[Alock1]

Not really.

The one glaring weakness Blind has him constantly getting caught behind the ball. That is inexcusable for a DM. And it's been obvious throughout the season not just this game.

Because he presses high for a dm? Particularly in comparison to Carrick. Sure the ball gets overturned sometimes but it's the reason he intercepts/tackles almost double the amount and has more interceptions in the oppositions half than any other player in Europes top 5 leagues. It's put us on the front foot plenty this season and helped us keep possession high up the pitch.

 

[thelemon]

Time will tell. I'm not convinced at all, but Blind is having a good first season with us and he is a steal at 15m and a good left back.

FYI. I was also proven wrong on Carrick, I never thought he would turn out to be a great player for us.

Trust me, Blind is Carrick Mk. 2. He will go through a period of people highlighting his every mistake because he isn't someone else. Carrick wasn't Scholes, Blind isn't Carrick. Then he'll really come into his stride and people will continue to under appreciate him, until the penny finally drops. If course, that'll be too late and by the time people actually come round to the idea that he is a good player he'll have peaked and will probably get worse. Unfortunately, Blind's replacement will probably go through the same.

 

[thelemon]

Yep, I saw Rooney go deeper and us got to 4-4-1. We all applauded the feckin' bloke off the pitch. Do you seriously think that our players didn't realise he went off?!

What do you want him to do? Get the ref to stop the play, get on the tannoy and make a public service announcement!?

Also, it didn't even remotely lead to any form of collapse.

I didn't say it lead to a collapse. I said it could have done. Maybe it was a problem with our overall communication, but like it or not we played worse when he went off. I've also seen players play on with worse, and this is the guy who is being made out to be the world's strongest player.

 

[Nighteyes]

Because he presses high for a dm? Particularly in comparison to Carrick. Sure the ball gets overturned sometimes but it's the reason he intercepts double the amount and has more interceptions in the oppositions half than any other player in Europes top 5 leagues. It's put us on the front foot plenty this season and helped us keep possession high up the pitch.

Carrick can put us on the front foot as well without compromising the defensive side of things. If Blind's reckless pressing leads to us getting caught out defensively (and it's happened a number of times this season) then it needs to be cut out. I

 

[Bloxy]

Because he presses high for a dm? Particularly in comparison to Carrick. Sure the ball gets overturned sometimes but it's the reason he intercepts/tackles almost double the amount and has more interceptions in the oppositions half than any other player in Europes top 5 leagues. It's put us on the front foot plenty this season and helped us keep possession high up the pitch.

are you talking about Blind, because I didn't see any of that today. if you weren't then apologies.

like someone else said, if he does so well up the pitch, but we look in shambles on the counter, then maybe he should rethink that approach. It's not helping.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

I didn't say it lead to a collapse. I said it could have done. Maybe it was a problem with our overall communication, but like it or not we played worse when he went off. I've also seen players play on with worse, and this is the guy who is being made out to be the world's strongest player.

This is mind boggling dumb, I don't even know where to start... we were 4-1 up, with 5 minutes to go. That's about as secure as you're gonna get. A collapse was not on the cards, at all... be reasonable for feck sake.

We played worse without him on the pitch because you know... we had 10 men... and he's one of our best players (but then you're saying he isn't?) but it was for 5 sodding minutes, he was fine to go off the pitch. Also, he picked up a serious knock, a knock that has kept him out for two weeks... so safe to say he was injured and I'm glad, in a game that we had wrapped up, he came off the pitch... to insinuate that he shouldn't have come off the pitch, or that he was selfish for doing so, or to criticise him for it in anyway, is both insulting, and one of the stupidest things I've seen on this forum for quite sometime.

 

[Bloxy]

Trust me, Blind is Carrick Mk. 2. He will go through a period of people highlighting his every mistake because he isn't someone else. Carrick wasn't Scholes, Blind isn't Carrick. Then he'll really come into his stride and people will continue to under appreciate him, until the penny finally drops. If course, that'll be too late and by the time people actually come round to the idea that he is a good player he'll have peaked and will probably get worse. Unfortunately, Blind's replacement will probably go through the same.

Herrerra adjusted just fine, and Carrick was not the next Scholes but the next Keane..but I get what you are saying.

I bet Blind doesn't get played in CDM again this season?

 

[Alock1]

Carrick can put us on the front foot as well without compromising the defensive side of things. If Blind's reckless pressing leads to us getting caught out defensively (and it's happened a number of times this season) then it needs to be cut out. I

That's a natural risk of pressing it doesnt make it reckless. It's always about risk vs reward. The reward has been generally very positive for us with a handful of exceptions.

are you talking about Blind, because I didn't see any of that today. if you weren't then apologies.

like someone else said, if he does so well up the pitch, but we look in shambles on the counter, then maybe he should rethink that approach. It's not helping.

Already admitted to not having seen the game today so making no points about specific situations or defending his performance. I'm just commenting on what he's done over the season and pointing out that Carrick has had tons of performances over the years which has produced similar criticisms.

 

[Bloxy]

This is mind boggling dumb, I don't even know where to start... we were 4-1 up, with 5 minutes to go. That's about as secure as you're gonna get. A collapse was not on the cards, at all... be reasonable for feck sake.

We played worse without him on the pitch because you know... we had 10 men... and he's one of our best players (but then you're saying he isn't?) but it was for 5 sodding minutes, he was fine to go off the pitch. Also, he picked up a serious knock, a knock that has kept him out for two weeks... so safe to say he was injured and I'm glad, in a game that we had wrapped up, he came off the pitch... to insinuate that he shouldn't have come off the pitch, or that he was selfish for doing so, or to criticise him for it in anyway, is both insulting, and one of the stupidest things I've seen on this forum for quite sometime.

I think he wanted Carrick to sprint and chase down the ball, stop the play, signal to the bench that his injured and ask for instructions about formation should he leave.

 

[thelemon]

This is mind boggling dumb, I don't even know where to start... we were 4-1 up, with 5 minutes to go. That's about as secure as you're gonna get. A collapse was not on the cards, at all... be reasonable for feck sake.

We played worse without him on the pitch because you know... we had 10 men... and he's one of our best players (but then you're saying he isn't?) but it was for 5 sodding minutes, he was fine to go off the pitch. Also, he picked up a serious knock, a knock that has kept him out for two weeks... so safe to say he was injured and I'm glad, in a game that we had wrapped up, he came off the pitch... to insinuate that he shouldn't have come off the pitch, or that he was selfish for doing so, or to criticise him for it in anyway, is both insulting, and one of the stupidest things I've seen on this forum for quite sometime.

The City game wasn't really the main point of my argument anyway. I'm not sure why the focus has changed to that. Basically, I am 100% invested in the idea that Blind is a lot better than Carrick, and I'm definitely much happier with him on the pitch. I think in the long run people will conform to this, in the same way that they have done to Carrick.

 

[legball]

His problem is that he doesnn't "sit", if that makes any sense. If he sits more, the midfield would be more secure, he has this habit of getting sucked in, eager to press and put in a challenge and when he doesn't win it, we're exposed. He's going to get better, and stop this silly comparism, Carrick was not as good as he is now when he first came to United, you develop certain aspects of your game through experience. Patience.