Blind is not the man for the job - the number's don't lie...
Note: The red blocks are the three games when we had Rooney + Fletcher/Fellaini and Herrera at the base.
The graph is just a simple way of illustrating the trend of points/results in each game with these players as the anchor in midfield. It shows quite clearly that the only time we've had any kind of consistency is when Carrick's been at the base of the midfield. Worth noting that Carrick started in the middle of a back three in that Liverpool game too, so you can extend his winning run by an extra game considering he was doing the same thing he always does - providing that cool, calm, calculated presence from a deep position.
Based on that I think it's fair to see we shouldn't be too concerned about what Carrick's influence on the pitch now and perhaps even into his late 30s, but it's becoming increasingly clear that age is catching up to him in the form of injuries. He's no longer the reliable ever-present he once was and we need a very able replacement in the short-term and a top class replacement in the long-term.
Blind has done fairly well this year on an individual level for his first season in a new country - he's shown his versatility and he's been pretty consistent - but ultimately you can't deny the correlation between the results/performances and his position at the base of our midfield. Part of it is because Carrick has played so well when he has been on the pitch this season, but the other part has been that Blind hasn't done well enough to earn his place as a regular starter in such a key position.
His passing is very safe and that's one of the biggest factors in our lack of penetration and laboured play. His pressing is very aggressive and often leaves us exposed on the counter-attack, and this is exacerbated by him being one of the slowest players in the team and being able to recover when he's been taken out of the game.
It's easy to say that after a terrible performance today from both himself and the team in which we lacked any pace in our penetration in possession and we were exposed on the counter, but both of these things have been a regularly theme this season. Except when Carrick has played. We need someone who can provide that defensive screen along with the penetrative passing that we so sorely lack on days like these, but along with that we really need someone who can be - as van Gaal says - a coach on the pitch.
Note: The red blocks are the three games when we had Rooney + Fletcher/Fellaini and Herrera at the base.
The graph is just a simple way of illustrating the trend of points/results in each game with these players as the anchor in midfield. It shows quite clearly that the only time we've had any kind of consistency is when Carrick's been at the base of the midfield. Worth noting that Carrick started in the middle of a back three in that Liverpool game too, so you can extend his winning run by an extra game considering he was doing the same thing he always does - providing that cool, calm, calculated presence from a deep position.
Based on that I think it's fair to see we shouldn't be too concerned about what Carrick's influence on the pitch now and perhaps even into his late 30s, but it's becoming increasingly clear that age is catching up to him in the form of injuries. He's no longer the reliable ever-present he once was and we need a very able replacement in the short-term and a top class replacement in the long-term.
Blind has done fairly well this year on an individual level for his first season in a new country - he's shown his versatility and he's been pretty consistent - but ultimately you can't deny the correlation between the results/performances and his position at the base of our midfield. Part of it is because Carrick has played so well when he has been on the pitch this season, but the other part has been that Blind hasn't done well enough to earn his place as a regular starter in such a key position.
His passing is very safe and that's one of the biggest factors in our lack of penetration and laboured play. His pressing is very aggressive and often leaves us exposed on the counter-attack, and this is exacerbated by him being one of the slowest players in the team and being able to recover when he's been taken out of the game.
It's easy to say that after a terrible performance today from both himself and the team in which we lacked any pace in our penetration in possession and we were exposed on the counter, but both of these things have been a regularly theme this season. Except when Carrick has played. We need someone who can provide that defensive screen along with the penetrative passing that we so sorely lack on days like these, but along with that we really need someone who can be - as van Gaal says - a coach on the pitch.