Aside from selling Ruud Van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid during the pre season, another decision that was made by Sir Alex Ferguson that made many Manchester United fans scratch their heads was the acquisition of Michael Carrick for £18.6 million. Many fans have been quite vocal about Sir Alex’s move. They have wondered why he would invest that amount of money on the former Tottenham midfielder who many say is not very quick, not a very aggressive tackler and one who hardly scores.
But with Manchester United’s 4 – 0 drubbing of Bolton last Saturday at the Reebok Stadium, Carrick has finally shown the kind of talent that Ferguson has seen in him and makes that acquisition more understandable in light of what Carrick has showed.
The midfielder, after a very slow start to the season, finally showed what he is made of. During the game versus Bolton, Carrick showed his superb passing skills as he set up Wayne Rooney’s first goal of the game. He then showed this kind of precision passing again when he passed the ball to Louis Saha for the third Red Devils goal.
Carrick’s performance means that the central midfield position of the team is very secure. Many people are now looking forward to how well he will be able to gel with Paul Scholes in order to beef up Manchester United’s defense.
With the team only needing just one goal in their next three games in order to ensure a spot in the final 16, the Red Devils are in a very strong position going into the round of 16. They are undoubtedly the team to beat this season.