Was Michael Carrick worth it?

he wasn't cheap, but providing he does a good job for a long time it was an investment well spent, with the addition of hargreaves who'll be more in the position of carrick than scholes, i suspect he was bought with the intention of being scholesy long term replacement and push forward more and play the sort of killer balls scholes plays, he better practice shooting aswell if thats the plan

£18mill for the first season, no, probably wasn't worth it but for the long run it will be

Carrick played good first season with United, but we will see what will happen with Hargreaves now in the squad

Yeah I think Carrick is replacement for Scholes in the long run, Hargreaves is a different type of player...

Carrick is better at linking up attacking play then breaking play down in front of our own box! Hence the requirement for Hargreaves.

You've got to remember that 18Mil is nothing for a top class player nowadays! Christ even Darren Bent went for 16.5Mil!!!!!

16.5 m, christ we might still get 30m for Ole then.

True he was expensive but he is a classy player and he had a very good first season at the club. It can be tough for players in their first season at a big club but he coped very well and put in some strong performances. I expect he would have learnt a lot off Scholes and Giggs etc. in his first season so next year he will be a lot better for it, score some more goals, better passing, tackling and so on. Also since the arrival of the new midfielders the added competition will inevitably improve every aspect of all their games. If they want to make the starting 11 they will have to be at the top of their game all week in training and on matchday.

I think in patches last season, Carrick showed he is possibly going to make it as a possible replacement for Scholes. I am not going to get into the whole, 'will he be as good' lark because its pointless. What I will say is he has a fantastic range of passing and showed signs of getting his shooting together, his cross completion is very high, he is a hard worker and I think he is worth his place in the starting 11. For a guy stepping up from Spurs, I thought his first season was very strong and towards the end of the season he was one of our better performers. I think he has definitely been a good buy. If you look at it in terms of would you buy him again if you had the chance, I would definitely say yes.

Worth it.

Michael Carrick will NEVER be as good as Paul Scholes in the same way as Owen Hargreaves will NEVER be as good as Roy Keane.

Players like Scholes and Keane come around once in a blue moon and we were lucky enough to have them BOTH at OT.

Carrick and Hargreaves, whilst they may not be to that standard will be very good replacements

He was definitely worth it

i agree but he might be a little expensive as i cant see him being anything more than a utility player over the next few seasons - by the time scholes goes anderson will have bedded in - hargreves is automatic choice for the big games assuming he adapts

bobthebuilder said:

Michael Carrick will NEVER be as good as Paul Scholes in the same way as Owen Hargreaves will NEVER be as good as Roy Keane.

Players like Scholes and Keane come around once in a blue moon and we were lucky enough to have them BOTH at OT.

Carrick and Hargreaves, whilst they may not be to that standard will be very good replacements

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I see no reason why Hargreaves cannot become as good as Keane for us right now. He's been great for England and in Europe with BM. Won a UCL medal as well...

.Hargreaves.

Great players do come around only so often, and keane was a great player for us. but theres only one roy keane. Hargreaves however is a player in his own right its up to him to write his own personal history at united, and one day be remembered as a great player as keane is remembered today.

Worth it! Defo, got better and better as the season went on!

danfelixbuffy said:

.Hargreaves.

Great players do come around only so often, and keane was a great player for us. but theres only one roy keane. Hargreaves however is a player in his own right its up to him to write his own personal history at united, and one day be remembered as a great player as keane is remembered today.

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That was the point I was trying to make. Owen Hargreaves is indeed in his own right a great player. Roy Keane was a colossus for Manchester United and will be a huge act to follow. The same could be said when Schmeichel left us. Many tried and failed to live up to the expectations he set.

Premiership champion, FA cup finalist, CL semi-finalist. He played his part.

naldooney said:

He was definitely worth it

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Fletcher could not have taken us where Carrick took us. It was a good signing

Carrick to me had an average season. Dont think he looked special nor worth half the price we paid. But Fergie doesnt mind paying over the odds for british players as he knows what he is going to get from them. After Veron, Kleberson & Forlan i dont think he could aford to gamble again.

Think hargreaves will be fantastic for us, as close a replacement to keane as we are going to get. Although personally i would rather have had mascarno ( F! the spelling!) from watching the copa america he really has looked like a young roy keane!