Jonny Ingbar
Well-known member
This sums it up for me, the Karanka promotion team was a very different animal to Carrick's.It's difficult because the tactics and system are very different.
The Karanka side also had some partnerships that were more than the sum of their parts.
If you were picking a side to play the Karanka way, I'd go Clayton/Leadbitter and Ayala/Gibson all day long.
Not necessarily better players than some of our current players, but that spine was rock solid.
You probably wouldn't want Ayala and Gibson to be trying to play through a high press though (definitely not Ayala).
A good question is which players would get in both sides despite the tactics.
I think Friend, Dieng, Latte Lath and Ramirez are the only certainties.
Cases to be made for a few others, but don't think it's clear cut.
I suspect Downing would've been exceptional under Carrick, but that's by the by.
The only no brainer in this debate is Ramirez - he was on another level for us after he signed on loan and drove us over the line.
I don't think Kananka could work as well with Carrick's squad and vice versa, but I know which I prefer watching by a mile.