Carrick is a fantastic player but can slow play down, depending on how you want to set out your stall. He's very intelligent and is a superb passer of the ball.
Barry is neat & tidy but doesn't have Carrick's vision in my opinion.
Both players better days are far behind them though.
I think it's unfortunate the debate has turned into a Carrick V Barry debate.
I think Carrick is an underated midfielder. He has excellent vision. Barry is also underated and in honesty is one of those players you only really notice when he plays for your own side. He positions himself very well.
Carrick suits Manchester United's side more. He gets the ball to the array of world class players you have. Barry suits Everton's team more who gets his foot in better and helps give us a more stable defensive shape.
That was all my point was regarding Blind too. He has been an excellent signing for United. He gave you consistency at a time in the season when you were a tad inconsistent. I also think he's an excellent foil for Fellaini. (When Fellaini was at Everton we never partnered him with the correct CM so didn't really get the best from him). I'd have loved Blind to have partnered Fellaini when we had him.
However given Martinez's style of play, high overlapping fullbacks, centre backs who (attempt) to bring the ball out wingers etc he requires his two central midfield players to be combative and also have a lot of mobility to help cover gaps left by the defenders who have pushed on. He also requires them to take hold of the ball in pressured situations and be able to either shield it or dribble with the ball before a pass is on.
While there's no doubt Blind can do this, it isn't what he is most effective at. Therefore he wouldn't get into our team.