RedsUnite: a man utd blog

Which Pairing Constitutes SAF’s Best Midfield?

The Telegraph features an interesting article today illustrating the difficulties Alex Ferguson will have selecting midfield pairings.  The imminent return of a healthy Paul Scholes gives Manchester United an embarrassment of riches at the midfield, with Scholes joining Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Michael Carrick as legitimate first-team options.  The article does well to summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the four and then breaks into an expose about Michael Carrick.  The Carrick analysis, however, is not without its insights.  From Stewart Robson:

“The role that suits him most is in a three-man central midfield where he has two players with more forward drive playing either side of him. He then acts as the ‘quarterback’ who dictates the game with his passing, both long and short, without dropping right into the back four.

Unfortunately for him, United rarely play that formation and when he was given that role for England against Paraguay at the World Cup, he failed to make an impact, which ultimately resulted in Hargreaves replacing him. For Carrick to catch the eye of Fabio Capello and ensure Ferguson keeps faith with him he will need to emulate the effectiveness of one of two great players.

He must either score and create goals like Glenn Hoddle used to, or dictate midfield proceedings with his link-up play in much the same way that Andrea Pirlo does for AC Milan and Italy. Unless he can do that, he may never fully reach the levels his technical skills deserve.”

I have long wondered about this myself.  I must say that I favor Scholes as an automatic start in most circumstances, as I his class is a touch above the developing youngster, Anderson, in the more advanced midfield role.  This is not to diminish the quality that Anderson has exhibited in Scholes absence, performing well beyond expectations in the past three months.  To have a 19-year old of such quality demands that you develop him as best you can and that means you must play him regularly.  While Anderson’s versatility allows him to succeed in the holding midfield role, as he exhibited against Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas, I don’t know that I would feel comfortable with a Scholes-Anderson pairing against some of England and Europe’s most proficient attacking sides.  These sides necessitate a true holding midfielder, for which I believe we only have one, Owen Hargreaves.  Carrick could be said to play the holding role capably, but he seems to shy away from a tussle and lacks the aggression necessary to excel in that role.  Hargreaves, in my opinion, adds teeth to the United defense when healthy, and I look to him to be a great benefit to the side in the next three months.  This leaves Carrick as a player of undeniable quality with an undefinable position.  Can we play him in the most important of contests?  Can we honestly select him over the aforementioned midfielders when the stakes are high?  I don’t know that I could and I don’t believe that SAF will.