I don't think Scholes would have started against Everton if we had a center back fit. But a game like today is tailor made for Scholes.
The thing is, I'm not sure it is, or if there even are games tailor made for Scholes anymore. He is a great player to have but there is no game in which we should be relying on him to run the play at this point. He isn't nearly mobile enough to do that.
In game where teams sit back, we just give the ball to him, and he pings it out wide...and then Young/Nani/Valencia have to control the ball under pressure and beat their man just to get a cross in to the box, when the defence is already sat back and closing any dangerous avenues the cross could go down anyway. This happens constantly, and lazily, instead of us moving the ball with a bit of tempo and actually creating the room for the winger or fullback to get in behind. It's like all of our players just see it as an easy option, without bothering to sconsider that it doesn't actualy work...a bit like the England/Emile Heskey/long ball scenario.
There were a number of games in the second half of last season where we trudged to difficult and dull victories by playing this way against defensive opposition, when really we should have just wrapped things up with ease (Fulham, QPR at home, Blackburn away?...Stoke, Liverpool, West Brom, etc...)...ad then there's the games where it actually costs us points.
It's why I think Scholes can only really play in the Carrick role (i.e. play instead of Carrick, not with him), and then he can't do the defensive side of Carrick's game, so he'd be second fiddle and only used in that role in certain games. He'd also be well suited to away games in Europe where we tend to try and play out on the break but often have trouble distributing the bal well enough to do so. Basically he should be a luxury option for circumstances where he'd come in handy. Not our one source of reliance for every sngle fecking "attacking" move for the entire of every single game.
It is frustrating that we seem to place so much emphasis on conserving energy and "being sensible" rather than going for the jugular these days. We need a kick up the arse to get going and really attack teams and it's mental considering the array of attacking talent we have.
The bit that annoys me about it is that if throwing away the league desn't act as a kick up the arse, just what sort of kick up the arse do this lot need? Do they actually think they're being amazing by passing the ball pointlessly around at about 2mph?
It's almost as frustrating and inexplicable as us STILL letting Nani take corners, after over five years of him being constantly shit at them. Or rarely being able to go a single game without playing two or three people needlessly out of position, even though the games we play best in are invariably the ones in which we don't do this.
aye...