IMO He has to be first-team.
United's midfield options all have their strengths and weakness but for me Anderson has pretty much all the qualities United need in a central midfielder and is the best at the club overall.
His passing is very under-rated, he used to be fairly sloppy particularly with his long passing but these days he's very accurate with short and long passes. He's also very positive with distribution, always looking to make things happen.
With and without the ball he's extremely mobile, making himself available as soon as he's released the ball and the only central midfielder at the club comfortable with going past his man with a quick turn or skill and then accelerating to leave opponents behind.
He's strong physically, looks a threat in attacking areas and has a sharp footballing brain.
Right now he's playing with such confidence for a player on the fringes and for me it's disappointing that we don't get to see more of him in this form.
The main issue I have with Anderson is his fitness which needs work but for however long he lasts in a match, he's brilliant whether that's in a central midfield role or a more advanced role like last night.
Anderson
posted on 1/11/12
I agree solid and consistent is a great attribute, but for United to not have a midfielder capable of really taking control of the midfield has been a major issue.
I agree his midfield partner doesn't help, but in the said games he was paired with Fletcher and still ran the show.
A friend of mine was a huge fan of De Rossi (and rightly so as he's a great cm) at the time and there were plenty of rumours about us signing him.
After seeing Carrick make he look ordinary he said if he does that every week you won't need De Rossi as you already have one of the best. Alas.
I do think it's a confidence thing. As much as I think he's overrated, Gerrard has been a player that has always been able to turn in performances way above his ability. If Carrick had the same mentality we would never be taking about a midfield problem at United.
posted on 1/11/12
Darren
I can't disagree with much of what you've said. I just think that if he had a regular partner like Xavi does with Iniesta etc he would have more confidence in himself and his partner.
I wasn't slating the quality of partners, more the fact it changes every week.
If De Rossi had a new partner every week i'm sure his performance levels would drop (though Carrick was probably one of our best players last season).
Despite what people on here say he hasn't been bad this season, more that it's been a multitude of problems with the team.
We're starting to hit our stride and hopefully we actually make it easy for ourselves this Saturday!
posted on 1/11/12
I agree with that. But as the main man in the midfield he has really needed to take more responsibility. Mentality has always been the main problem with Carrick rather than ability.
I hear he's a rather shy bloke, and I think some of his performances when the going has got touch have reflected that, as he does seem to shy away and lose confidence in his ability.
He's been under par compared to last season, but hopefully he'll start to improve, which he has a habit of doing, and no better time than Saturday.
As good as he is, I hope we start lining up a replacement sooner rather than later, and start using him sparingly. He's getting a bit older now and as he's never relied on pace he can keep gong for a little longer. But for this reason I hope we don't see the same thing that we've seen with Giggs and Scholes: relying on midfielders in their mid-late 30's.
posted on 1/11/12
comment by Red Rob (U9808)
posted 1 hour, 7 minutes ago
VC
Yeah, but you also mentioned that you didn't think we could rely on Anderson and Cleverley staying fit. Do you still stand by that?
.................
That is still to be determined isn't it?
And so far Cleverley really hasn't shown that much. He certainly hasn't had a game as good as Anderson did last night.
His best performance, to me, is still the second half of the Community Shield against City. We have only seen breif glimpses of that, since then.
posted on 1/11/12
Wouldn't mind seeing Anderson and cleverly again in midfield, maybe a midfield 3 of Anderson, cleverly and fletcher or carrick, wi Rooney, Rvp and Valencia up front against arsenal
posted on 1/11/12
I think if we played all 3 we could see the best of them. It's a lot harder playing in the centre of a midfield two than a midfield three.
But it poses us with a problem as to where we play Rooney. Due to this I doubt we'll see all three playing together regularly.
posted on 1/11/12
I like him and what he does
Doesn't get long enough runs in the team as far as I'm concerned.
He could be awesome.
posted on 1/11/12
Fergie's the best manager the english game has ever seen but he has his flaws
My biggest annoyance with Fergie is his personality clashes. Seems to me he picks players he likes as opposed to players who deserve a place
Im talking Cleverley/Fletcher over Anderson
Young/Valencia/Welbeck over Nani
These 2 are the main ones. Anderson should easily warrant more playing time than hes had this season. Cleverley has hardly been undropppable, in fact, hes been poor in all our big games if you ask me
Nani will divid opinions but theree is no way in hell, he is worse than Welbeck on the wing
posted on 1/11/12
Agree with the OP, and have rated Anderson for some time. Hope he starts on Saturday, he's been very good in all his appearances thus far.
posted on 2/11/12
He's okay but nothing more than a reserve player I think