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Tottenham can take advantage of former Spurs star against Manchester United

By Rucker Haringey

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 30: Michael Carrick of Manchester United in action with Sofiane Feghouli of West Ham United during the EFL Cup Quarter-Final match between Manchester United and West Ham United at Old Trafford on November 30, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Tom Purslow/Man Utd via Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 30: Michael Carrick of Manchester United in action with Sofiane Feghouli of West Ham United during the EFL Cup Quarter-Final match between Manchester United and West Ham United at Old Trafford on November 30, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Tom Purslow/Man Utd via Getty Images) /
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Tottenham will target Michael Carrick on Sunday

Many Tottenham fans have a soft spot in their hearts for former Spurs star Michael Carrick. Mauricio Pochettino and the squad will feel no such affection on Sunday. If Jose Mourinho stars the aging midfielder, Tottenham will target him as  weak spot in the Manchester United lineup.

It’s been ten years since Carrick wore a Spurs shirt and much has changed. He left Spurs as a promising midfielder and ended up thriving under Alex Ferguson for years. Carrick certainly is one that “got away” from Spurs at that point in the club’s tenure.

Ironically, I expect Pochettino and the rest of the officials at the club are hoping to see him start on Sunday. He’s featured in several matches lately for United and was left in England when the rest of the squad left for Europa League duty this week. There’s a strong chance that he’ll start alongside Paul Pogba in United’s double-pivot on Sunday.

The philosophy behind partnering Carrick with Pogba is pretty obvious. The young Frenchman’s athleticism can help cover for any of the Englishman’s athletic deficiencies. On the other hand, Carrick’s class on the ball can help keep the ball moving when United are in possession.

That’s a suitable strategy against weaker competition, but it would be a foolish move against Spurs. Pochettino’s side are blessed with too much athleticism in the middle of the pitch. Carrick’s lack of mobility would stick out like a sore thumb.

Just imagine Carrick trying to track Dele Alli as he makes a run into the box. Sure, United will be buoyed with the return of Eric Bailly this weekend, but they still need their midfielders to contribute in defense. Tottenham’s game plan would be for Harry Kane to occupy the centre backs. That would leave Carrick isolated against Spurs’ attacking midfield any time Pogba got caught out of position. For all of Pogba’s talent, he still is prone to mental errors in positioning on a fairly regular basis.

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United fans will point to Carrick’s solid performance last time out against Everton as evidence against my argument. While I agree he was solid against the Toffees, that isn’t a fair comparison for the Tottenham attack. The more appropriate comparison would be to look at Carrick’s struggles in the 1-1 draw to Arsenal.

The venerable midfielder only managed a Whoscored.com player rating of 6.48 in his 90 minutes against the Gunners. Frankly, his statistical rating is far superior to the way he looked on the pitch. He struggled mightily against Arsenal’s creative midfield. The same would be true against Spurs.

If Mourinho is smart, he’ll partner Pogba with a more athletic partner on Sunday. If Michael Carrick finds himself in the starting XI, Tottenham’s attack will be salivating at the prospect of isolating him when they’re on the ball.

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