STATS: How Do United's Midfielders Compare?

Following yesterday’s defeat against Norwich, Ryan Giggs was on the receiving end of much of the criticism. With the likes of Tom Cleverley, Anderson and even Darren Fletcher on the bench, it seemed puzzling that Giggs would get the nod to start in the centre of midfield.

The stats above show the accuracy in passing amongst the players in the games they have started in the centre of midfield, with the exception of Anderson, who has only started one game in the Premier League this season, so the games where he has played at least 20 minutes have been included to give some comparison.

Player with most passes completed in each game
vs Everton: Scholes – 92/95 (97%)
vs Fulham: Cleverley – 71/78 (91%)
vs Southampton: Carrick – 115/126 (91%)
vs Wigan: Carrick – 48/57 (84%)
vs Liverpool: Carrick – 51/60 (85%)
vs Spurs: Scholes – 135/148 (91%)
vs Newcastle: Carrick – 66/77 (86%)
vs Stoke: Carrick – 82/94 (87%)
vs Chelsea: Carrick – 63/70 (90%)
vs Arsenal: Carrick – 65/77 (84%)
vs Villa: Carrick – 119/134 (89%)
vs Norwich: Carrick – 99/112 (88%)

Carrick
Passes forwards: 34%
Passes backwards: 7%

Giggs
Passes forwards: 31%
Passes backwards: 15%

Cleverley
Passes forwards: 22%
Passes backwards: 13%

Anderson
Passes forwards: 20%
Passes backwards: 15%

Scholes
Passes forwards: 19%
Passes backwards: 9%