January Transfer Window - Rumours, Links, B*llsh*t and Made-Up Nonsense

[Rigadon]

Underwhelmed?

[Olneythelonely]

Carrick would be a great signing.

[Ads]

He’s a better player than Petrov and would be an improvement for the middle of the park. A wealth of experience at winning things too. How true the story is though given the origins remains to be seen.

[KRS]

I'd prefer a match fit Hargreaves.

[supertom]

Decidedly unimpressed with Carrick. Not good defensively, not good enough going forward. Perhaps as the mid point of a 3 man midfield, with Nige defensive and Ireland attacking, it would be a good signing. His passing range is good, but he's decidedly slow and crablike.

Frankly I don't see him as a major upgrade on Petrov, simply a younger version. We need better. We need another energetic midfielder in the middle, to help out Nigel.

[Rigadon]

Supertom, agree he'd be a younger version of Petrov.  We need upgrades on our current players to get beyond 6th.  I'd see Carrick as 'squad player' albeit a good quality one but there again you never really know.

[Dave]

We definitely need a new central midfielder.

What we definitely don't need is Michael Carrick. We already have Sidwell to play the anonymous passenger role admirably.

[KevinGage]

Carrick would be an upgrade on Stan, is far, far better than Sidwell so from that point of view would increase our options.

He's as good a passer as anyone in the league but he'd need an athletic DM alongside him to do the donkey work, either NRC or better.

[Dave]

Carrick would be an upgrade on Stan, is far, far better than Sidwell so from that point of view would increase our options.

He's as good a passer as anyone in the league but he'd need an athletic DM alongside him to do the donkey work, either NRC or better.

I disagree. There are very few players I would want in our midfield less than Carrick.

[pauliewalnuts]

Carrick would be an upgrade on Stan, is far, far better than Sidwell so from that point of view would increase our options.

He's as good a passer as anyone in the league but he'd need an athletic DM alongside him to do the donkey work, either NRC or better.

I think the most positive thing about this would not so much be us being linked with Carrick per se, but the fact that it would suggest someone at the club has spotted we need to be thinking about upgrading our options in central midfield.

Petrov looks increasingly past it, and Sidwell is simply not good enough. Two facts which I don't think MON would have come to terms with any time soon.

[KevinGage]

Another way of looking at it: a midfield containing the likes of Carrick, Ireland and even Stan means we should never be moaning about ball retention or lack of creativity when it comes to passing again.

We probably will though.

[Shrek]

Carrick would be quality for us, he is far from slow and is twice the player petrov is.

He would be ideal alongside NRC. It would be similar to Alonso and Mascherano obviously not as good, but similar in style.

[barrysleftfoot]

  £8m for Carrick, or bid £10/12m for Henderson?

[Rigadon]

Gibbo, would have to disagree there.  Twice the player Petrov is?  Not for me.

[Dave]

Gibbo, would have to disagree there.  Twice the player Petrov is?  Not for me.

There is literally nothing that Carrick does that Petrov doesn't do already. While putting in a fraction of the effort.

And at 29 it's not as if we're buying a long-term solution.