Podcast Question of the Week: If we could buy only one player this summer...

[mhtwins113]

Who do you think it should be and why?

Debate away.

[DutchFootballRulez]

Carrick, already adjusted, can partner with ANYONE, is getting better every match. Is still young enough to improve tremendously within our squad. Would force players currently in the team to be Reevaluated by Fergie as to their total use, and whether or not Fergie should really keep them or not.

Basically, if it means O'Shea leaves then I'm always all for it.

[bestbecks]

I second Carrick. He's the most stable, premiership ready, capable player available to us. He's strong on the ball, doesn't shy away from tackles, and has extremley good vision. He knows the right time to step into a tackle and win the ball. He changes the pace of a game so quickly it's remarkable. He can handle just about any player in the EPL, he's quick, and most important of all he's a very smart player. He knows what it takes to succeed and realises that if he were to go to Manchester United he would be one of their main players, their inspiration next to Rooney, and the driving force of the midfield without question. Carrick #1 choice in my mind without a doubt. But realisticly I just cannot see Spurs willing to sell him.

[sidpaul]

I would take Carrick over Diarra simly because Diarra is not worth that much money. Carrick also has above avg. to good premiership quality. He's young and with a team like ours he'll definitely grow.
However if Fergie is only going for 1 CM i'm not to sure it'll help us that much. We should be looking to challange Chelsea next season and also the CL. With just 1CM and the rest of our midfield being Giggs/park/fletch/Oshea/Scholes and Ronaldo i do not think we can match any of the top teams in Europe. Giggs and scholes are getting older and that much more prone to fatigue and injury. Ronaldo's form swings like a pendulum all season. The rest are all mediocore at best!!!
Hence we must make atleast 2 signings who'll be starting XI quality. And if Ruud is sold and FErgie is not looking to bolster the striking dept then we might as well kiss all hopes of securing a Prem or CL goodbye.

[benni...]

Just to be different from the others, I would take Havier Mascherano. While Carrick is already premiership proven, he doesnt have the work rate, tackling and agility of Mascherano. Also I feel Mascherano's passing is top class. Maybe not on a Carrick level, but something close. I think having another Argentine on the team would help. Would add that needed bite to the midfield. Carrick isnt exactly the most intimidating player on the pitch.

EDIT: disclaimer, not to be read on the air: I wouldnt mind Carrick either, just being different.

[billyireland]

In an ideal world, I would say Carrick AND Mascherano as it would give us the following options, all of which would be fantastic (this is assuming that Jones is a success). The funny thing is that there is a chance that these two combined would not cost much more than Diarra on his own.

In our usual 4-4-2:
Carrick--Mascherano
Mascherano--Scholes
Mascherano--Jones
Carrick--Scholes (only against weaker, bunker teams - this combo would shred them!)
Carrick--Jones (again for bunker teams, but could prove good against some decent teams, also)

If we use the 4-4-3 (which we looked a lot more comfortable with late this season):
---Mascherano---
Carrick-----Jones

-----Carrick-----
Jones----Scholes (only if we are in desperate need of a goal in the last 15-20 mins)

Assuming that O'Shea will be gone (fingers X'ed) and Gibson loaned out (hopefully to NEC), you can add the fact that we would also have Fletcher (if he is not loaned/sold), Smith & Giggs as cover (they are not great, but they can get the job done and we are a real football team; not Chelsea), and I would be very happy with our midfield. The more possible midfield combos we can use the better, imo - it would be a nightmare for opposing managers to prepare for, tactically. Anyway, back to the question at hand.

---

If I could sign one player this season, out of the realistic options available, it would be Michael Carrick. He has proved he can cut it in the Premiership and play with the best of them, and indeed dominate against some of the best teams (see: Arsenal, Highbury). While some of his critics are saying that he will not give us the physical impact that we need, I don't think that is entirely true. Granted, Carrick is not the quickest nor the strongest player in the world, but he is bigger than most people give him credit for and like Scholes, uses his brain and technical skills to make up for his lack of pace (although it's not like he is Laurent Blanc slow). What Michael Carrick would give us however, is something that we could really use in midfield, and something that is very hard to come across in the football world. He is a great passer of the ball, incredibly calm and composed, hardly ever seems to make the wrong decision, and is very capable defensively. Between Carrick and Scholes we would have a midfield whose passing abilities would be second only to Liverpool's Gerrard/Alonso duo in the league, which could be used against the bunker defences that have given us so much trouble over the years - how would they cope with that, Ronaldo and Park on the wings, and the movement of Rooney, Rossi and Saha up front? Against the best midfields in the league that passing would prove crucial when hitting on counter, spraying the ball out to Ronaldo, Rooney, Park, etc. Another big bonus is that against the good, but not great teams such as Bolton and Blackburn, Carrick is the type of player that is able to dictate the tempo - something that is very important against those teams, as we are all too aware in relation to the latter.

There are also some complaints that Carrick is not as fierce in his style of play as Keane was, but for my money that is actually to his advantage. If we were to buy an all-action, fire-breathing type of CM, he would be doomed to eternally be compared to Keane and thus have almost impossible expectations laid upon him from the outset. The fact that Carrick is more calm in his style of play is good because it will help others around them keep their composure when our backs are up against the wall (which could be great for Ronaldo in particular) and besides, it is hardly like we are lacking aggressive and/or relentless players like we were 2-3 years back - Gary, Heinze, Vidic, Smith, Park and Rooney bring all the testosterone that will be needed to the table. In Van der Sar, Rio, Carrick and Giggs (as well as Scholes to an extent, as he treads the line) we would have our calming forces.

Some people also claim that he is not defensively capable enough. My argument here would be that Carrick + a solid defensive CM (think Mascherano) would be able to hold their own against pretty much any other 2-man midfield on the go. It is true that Carrick is not a fierce tackler like Keane was or Heinze is, but when he goes in for tackles he is pretty crisp and precise in them. Where Carrick's real defensive skills lie however, is in his reading of the game - intercepting passes and breaking up play, much like Makalele, only not to the same extent, although he is very good at it. While Spurs have a good squad, Carrick would have his back covered even better here with Gary-Rio-Vidic-Heinze, which has to be one of the best backlines in Europe for my money, and would have so many more weapons on the attack in Rooney, Ronaldo, Saha, Rossi, Scholes, Park, Richardson and possibly a new winger and/or striker.

Of course, the icing on the proverbial cake is that he is young, English (think UEFA quota), seemingly the only true potential that is Premiership-proven, and yet would still be cheaper than some of the other options - considerably at times.

[mhtwins113]

You're right Billy, I think we could handle a lot more teams if we played 4-4-3. :D

[Stud83]

Diarra. From what I've seen he's the best available CM on the market. Yes, he is expensive, but if we get from him what I expect, the purchase will be worth every penny. If it doesn't work out - at least we went down swinging for the fences. And we wouldn't be wondering a year from now "what would've happened if we went for him instead of someone else" Considering that the probablity of RVN being gone this summer is very high, I think we can afford him even it means paying 5-6M more than he really is worth.
I agree, Carrick would be an improvement to the team and he would most likely be much cheaper. But I don't think we have a realistic shot at winning the Premiership with him. Maybe a second place with a chance at FA Cup and quarter/semifinal of CL. But I don't want to settle for that. Afaic, Diarra is a better player with a much bigger potential. And he gives us a better chance to be more successful. And we clearly can afford to pay whatever Lyon wants for him.
Obviously the trade is a risk, given the amount of money involved. But in our situation I think it's a risk worth taking.

[SirManchester]

Damnit, I hate joining these debates late because I know I'll repeat something that's already been said.

I would personally go for Carrick, there isn't a big difference between Diarra and him at all. Diarra is a better athlete, that's all. They can equally well read the game, Carrick just happens to be a better passer - He's the Pirlo of the PL and comes off having better leadership abilities. If he continues to play for Tottenham I can see him becoming the kind of inspirational player that Gerrard is for Liverpool.

And even though he might not appear to be as physically fit, Carrick has adjusted very well to that as well as the pace of the PL, and has the potential to be even better. However we might as well go for Diarra, I really don't think Tottenham will let Carrick go.

[bestbecks]

The thing about Mascherano is that I have not heard or read 1 thing about him even being linked to Manchester United, let alone being in contact with them. So that's one of the reason's I'm placing him behind Diarra and Carrick, because I just don't see him coming to Manchester United.

[sidpaul]

moved

[Achtung]

A friendly reminder to keep this thread on-topic, and only for answering the question posed for the Podcast. Other debates should go into the spinoff thread. Thanks.

[Vermont Red]

For me, it has to be Carrick. As others have said, EPL ready and brings the passing skill that we desperately need from CM. The lack of steel is not that worrying to me, as players who are in the right position don't need to be as fierce. (Think Makelele.)

While it may not be a fair comparision, Essien's performance thusfar at Chelsea makes me wary of buying Diarra. For the fee that's being quoted, I'm not certain that I would risk it.