The obvious question would then be how Ferguson, if successful,
plans to fit three into two in the centre of midfield. Paul
Scholes, arguably, is playing as well as at any stage of his
career, an amazing feat given that Ferguson revealed that the
player, who will be 32 this month, still had "slight haziness"
affecting his vision after 10 months of eye problems. Carrick, the
£18m acquisition now wearing Keane's No16 shirt, had an ordinary
start after joining from Tottenham, but his form has improved and
there were words of encouragement from his manager.
"He's a fantastic passer of the ball and he will excel for this
club, particularly in Europe when it's so vital to keep the ball,"
said Ferguson. "His performances have been good but Scholes has
been absolutely superb and, because of that, Carrick has had a
cameo role. All the focus has been on Scholes and maybe that's been
good for Carrick. It's enabled him to settle at the club, take his
time and he's producing some good football for us now."