I never said Carrick wasn't a good player, he is, I rate him, I've said as much on this forum a few times. I just think Adam is a better player. I see them as similar players but Adam just has that bit more to his game.

I never said you couldn't afford Adam, you perhaps could have had you not spent on other players, however you did spend on other players and that meant you couldn't spend on central midfield thus you had to bring a player out of retirement and play an ageing winger in midfield.