[Torque]

Originally Posted by manutd.com

ManUtd.com's midfield pairing poll has caused quite a stir, with readers of the official Reds website divided over which players to choose.

Sir Alex Ferguson again rotated his central midfield against Newcastle at the weekend, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher turning in excellent performances. With Anderson, Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves also at the manager's disposal, United have an embarrassment of riches in the midfield engine room.

We asked you which pairing you would choose if you were Reds boss. The response so far has been overwhelming.

Fans have voted in their thousands on the issue, and the current leaders are Anderson and Carrick (30%), followed closely by Anderson and Hargreaves (22%), and Scholes and Anderson (14%).

The fact that 19-year-old Anderson appears in the top three choices is indicative of the wonderful debut season he is having, but that there has been such a varied spread across all the permutations shows just how strong United's midfield options are.

THE VOTING so far:
Anderson, Carrick - 30%
Anderson, Hargreaves - 22%
Scholes, Anderson - 14%
Anderson, Fletcher - 9%
Carrick, Hargreaves - 9%
Scholes, Carrick - 6%
Scholes, Hargreaves - 6%
Carrick, Fletcher - 2%
Hargreaves, Fletcher - 1%
Scholes, Fletcher - 1%

Source

OK then ladies and gentlemen, which pair would you like to see in the midfield?

I have voted for Anderson, Carrick.
Carrick's recent form really proves that he's worth the money we paid and even a place in the starting XI. Great performance by Michael since the beginning of the year.
Anderson is a great lad, has made great progress since he arrived, has plenty of potential and is very eager to score his first goal for United, which could be a boost for his performance.

P.S. As I don't know how to create a poll, I want to ask somebody for help on this issue.

P.S.S. NO Spamming!

[GocartMozart]

quality post, thanks.

I'd most likely take Carrick and Scholes for the time being. Out of all the formations, it seems the most consistent. At this point I haven't seen a structure that really tends to help having hargreaves around, but outside of that we have Darren who has been immense when called upon. For a 442 formation, I don't think there is another really obvious second choice. It would probably have to be Anderson and Hargreaves, although Fletcher would probably work well with the Brazilian.

In a 451 formation, it would have to be Scholes Carrick and Anderson, and secondly, Carrick Anderson Hargreaves.

[funkdoctorspock]

Man, this is really difficult.

Anderson has been an absolute gem this season. Steady, high level performances. I would want to use him paired with Carrick, but how can you leave out Scholes. Especially when the Scholes-Carrick partnership works so well.

I personally don't understand how Scholes-Carrick only got 6% of the vote. How quickly we forget.

so for me its Anderson and Carrick and for big matches, Scholes and Carrick.

Amazing how Carrick was maligned at one point on these very forums.

[GocartMozart]

he's definitely a second half player. As the season progresses he only gets better.

[Mark]

I don't think that Carrick - Hargreaves or Scholes - Anderson are viable solutions in a 4-4-2 system.
I haven't seen Hargreaves fit yet (only for Bayern and he didn't impress me), so I agree with the general opinion that Carrick's the better "defensive" midfielder (although, why would Fergie buy Hargo if not for a better player than what we have in that position ?!?).
On the offensive one, I don't agree with you, Funk. Anderson performed excellent in the big matches, he can really stand on his feet and he can tackle better (safer) than Scholesy, he can really dominate the midfield (see what he made out of Fabregas and even Gerrard). Scholes on the other side, isn't exactly fit, but in general, his shooting can cause more damage against "non-big" teams. I don't know exactly how much does his experience count...

[funkdoctorspock]

playing in the epl and playing in cl are two completely different things.

Now I know Anderson has CL experience with Porto, but expectations on him then and the expcatations he has with United are night and day.

In big matches, I want experience. Scholes rarely dissappoints. He has played in some of the biggest matches in recent memory and rarely disappoints. More importantly, you look towards experienced players and slowly blood the young players through. Especially with big games.

Again, I have a lot of respect for Anderson and what he has been able to do this season. Safe to say he has exceeded many peoples expectations. He has made experienced players like Fabregas and Gerrard look like utter rubbish.

However, experience for me always wins out. Which was why I chose Scholes over Anderson.

As for Carrick. He is class and proved himself last season when he was asked to alter his game. My only guess as to why United bought Hargreaves is to play him in Champions League.

[Torque]

I have to agree with Funky. We need Scholes as well as Giggs and Neville for big games. But you also have to consider that against some teams (Arsenal for instance) we need fast and skilled players like Anderson, Hargreaves and Fletcher. I don't think Scholes would have made through the whole match if Arsenal had played as they do usually, due to his age. At this stage Scholes has to play in important matches to show the youngsters how to do their job, but at the same time he should step aside from time to time to give the others the chance to progress.

Why we bought Hargreaves? 'Cause SAF saw in him a "new Keano", which I don't see. OK, he had good matches at Byern, but, since he arrived at OT, I didn't see anything special from him. Just some decent displays.

Carrick is just in the right place at the right time. I mean when the team does well without him, his performance is poor - this happens at season's start. But when you get close to the finish you see why Carrick is essential to our team.

[GocartMozart]

great post zeus. i wish more posters followed your lead.

it's easy to say in retrospect that Hargreaves doesn't fit, but we have to look at this in the long term. If Carrick were to get injured, all of a sudden you'd start needing Hargreaves more often, and I can see SAF looking at Hargo as the first choice partner to Paul Scholes. He does have a lot of positives. Is very active, doesn't stop running, lots of work ethic, experience and desire. He's just shit at passing or attacking. He has yet to become necessary because the right opportunity hasn't come to United. Imagine playing AC Milan, where you want to be playing a counter attacking style. I think Hargreaves fits perfectly in a 4-5-1 structure with two more attack minded partners.

that said is Hargreaves pregnant?!

[Torque]

Good point there. But I haven't seed SAF using very often a 4-5-1. He usually makes it 4-4-2 and I don't see Hargo in the second structure. In a 4-4-2 central mid fielders should be fast, attack minded but also good in defense in case of counter attacks or pressing. Hargreaves is more defensive than attacking. That's why he fits better in a 4-5-1

P.S. I wonder who's the father

[Mark]

how about a 4-1-2-1-2 ? it's practicly a diamond 4-4-2, with a clear defensive & offensive midfielder (hargo deep, giggs-ronaldo on the wings and scholes/anderson behind the 2 strikers or whatever)
I don't know about crossing, but passing ? I mean, wasn't he Bayern's playmaker?