Matt Monaghan's Manchester United Debate: Midfield Slump Forces Carrick Into England Fight

Capello's chosen few | Rio and Rooney are key

Previously, if you were good enough to get in to Sir Alex Ferguson’s team, then you had no problem appearing for the Three Lions. Butt was hardly a regular starter, and even Kieran Richardson managed to get in on the act in 2005 when on the fringes of the Scot’s selection.

Such was the standard set in Manchester, that England bosses seemed cowed in to naming them in their squads without a second thought.

The prestige of the club's midfielders has nosedived in the last three years though, just as United have reinforced their position as a major force in European football.

Never mind three successive Premier League titles or two Champions League final appearances in a row for Carrick, the critics’ knives have still been out for a man whose top-class credentials have been called into question.

Too often, they say, he has gone missing in big games and has none of the authority that an England man should possess. No comparison can be made to the individual accolades directed the way of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard.

Certainly, it would have been unimaginable for a player without any Champions League experience like Barry to edge him out in the past.

A slide in quality in the centre of the park for United is hard to argue against. The combination of Beckham, Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane was far stronger than today’s version, which contains Darren Fletcher, the ageing duo of Scholes and Giggs, plus either Nani or Antonio Valencia.

If Hargreaves can re-appear, so will the calibre, but question-marks about his future remain, regardless of a recent return to the training pitch.

Carrick now finds himself on the outside for club and country, even though his presence as a member of the Premier League champions' playing staff used to open all doors with ease.

With Gerrard and Lampard set as the heartbeat of the Three Lions' revival, United’s maligned midfielder has been left behind to feed on starting scraps.