To be considering his name is miraculous and a tribute to his longevity. Ryan Giggs is nearly 40 now and can still do a job for United. No longer a winger Giggs has slotted into the central midfield seamlessly. His ability to perform remains as proved by Sir Alex Ferguson, who started him against Real Madrid at Old Trafford last season. He might not be as consistent as before but Giggs has the ability to patrol the midfield and dictate play from the deep. His enormous experience adds up to his composure and possessing at least one lethal long-ball in his locker all the time, Giggs seems the most creative amongst the personnel United have to play in the Michael Carrick role. At an age of 40, asking him to play every other game is too much of an ask.
Others:
Phil Jones is another candidate to slot in for Carrick but he is more of a midfield destroyer than a playmaker. His effectiveness comes into picture when United play a superior midfield that are expected to have more possession and control. His robustness, physicality and aggression make him the only combative-midfielder United have in their ranks at the moment. But he has publicly stated that he wants to specialize in the centre-back role,and with Vidic and Ferdinand partnership broken he would try to make it his own.
If Moyes thinks radically he might ask Wayne Rooney to play from the deep. His being positioned there can allow Shinji Kagawa to slot in the no-10 role. But that’s a long shot from happening given the form which Rooney has shown playing from his favored striker position. Even Shinji Kagawa might be an outside candidate to dictate play from the deep. Given his technical ability and composure on the ball, he can combine well with the attack and have Jones, Fellaini or Cleverley as a partner.
Incase Moyes chooses Kagawa in that role, there is every possibility of Adnan Januzaj starting on the left. That would make the United side look very attacking on the paper at least. But Kagawa’s light-build and a lack of innate defensive nature makes it highly unlikely for him to be considered filling in for Carrick.
The unwanted scenario of playing without Michael Carrick leaves David Moyes and Manchester United in a fix. With the midfield looking as brittle as before and in the absence of one of their most influential yet underrated player,Moyes has to extract the maximum from his available midfield personnel. Being a Manchester United manager he wouldn’t want to fall back on an excuse of a player’s injury impacting the team’s progress towards the top of the table.