Is that laughter I hear in north London?

Are the glory days over for Carrick?

Well it can’t be coming from the red side, they are still licking their wounds and wondering if Messi will call after he loved them in a not so gentle manner. So that only leaves Tottenham then and what a hearty laugh it is!

When we first signed Michael Carrick some questioned if the £18.6m (including add ons) fee we paid was a touch inflated, I mean effectively he was being brought in to do the impossible and replace Roy Keane (unfair comparison as they are two different players) but after his first two seasons the questions stopped as we won 2 Premier League trophies and a Champions League.

But since then it has gone down hill.

His decline has been shocking and culminates with the errors he made in Wednesday’s game against Bayern Munich. Although many will blame Rafael’s red card (I do to an extent) both of the goals we conceded that actual saw us go out were a direct result of sloppy play from Carrick.

Earlier in the season Carrick was dropped after some poor displays but regained his place soon after and more recently he has looked good but his performance on Wednesday was just endemic of Carrick’s form. He blows hot and cold and unfortunately he blew cold at the wrong time and it cost us.

The fact we payed £18.6m for 2 good seasons and then a handful of good performances isn’t good business and although Spurs complain anytime we come knocking secretly they must love the fact that they have received just under £50m for Carrick and Berbatov (a complete different article).

Talk of a summer clear out at Old Trafford has persisted in the media since January and Carrick may have played his way out of the club. At his best he is immense, his passing both short and long can split a team open, he creates an abundance of chances whilst chipping in with a reasonable amount of goals but when was the last time he was at his best?

I won’t say I would be happy to see the back of him if he was indeed one of the players to leave in this supposed summer clear out but if he can’t regain form then there is no point him being at the club. Although mediocre players have called the club home before, United isn’t a mediocre club and if we are to challenge in an ever competitive league and Europe, mediocre players and performances just don’t cut it.