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I'm sure I'm going to incur the wrath of Man United fans here, but yet again Alex Ferguson has splashed out a fortune on a player who has had just a handful of England games, won nothing and never played in The Champions League. I am of course speaking of Michael Carrick.

I am not knocking Carrick's ability or his future potential but when you think Ballack cost Chelsea nothing and Newcastle only paid ?5m for Damien Duff. These are proven players both at club and country level, with medals to boot. Okay the salaries of these players may be higher but Carrick is not exactly going to be on the minimum wage.

I would have thought after many of Fergie's recent flop signings he would have fought a bit harder to get better players at a much cheaper price. I'm sure many of you will agree Rio Ferdinand has proved to be nowhere near his ?29m fee and, for me, the jury is still out on Wayne Rooney, especially at ?30m.

You do wonder at the logic of seeing a 25+ goal a season striker being offloaded for a little over ?10m and then spending nearly twice as much on a defensive-minded midfielder who doesn't actually tackle all that well.

Regarding Duff, I think we undersold him... ?5m was a steal. But then you have to add on the money saved from not having to pay his ?70,000/week salary anymore.

Not a Mun Utd fan but I see the logic.

1) Apart from Scholes, they were desperate of cental midfielders, pure & simple.

2) I don't think Carrick will be used solely as a tackling midfielder.

3) Man Utd play possession football with the emphasis on attacking. So Carrick fits the bill.

4) Wjat other central midfielders were available? If Milan had been relagated then Gattuso may have been a possibility.

5) British players are always more expensive because they don't have to have a year in the premiership to adapt. Some world class foreigners never adapt. (Reyes, Veron, Crespo, Morientes, Essien, Del Horno, Blanc, etc etc)

6) Without Abramovich, Ballack would be at Man Utd now, without question. He said he fancied Old Trafford 3 years ago.

7) Duff went too cheaply. Chelsea obviously don't see Newcastle as a threat for their title. If Duff had wanted to join Liverpool, he'd have gone for ?10million or something.

8) Man Utd finished 2nd -and cut the gap from the previous season- without a central midfielder last season. Thet do have more options, regardless of whether Carrick was worth the money.

9) Carrick will improve greatly, training with a higher class of player. (they're hoping).

Personally I think Liverpool have made the shrewdest investments for the coming season & I'm looking forward to it!