Carrick's over-rated.
It would help if a holding player could tackle, but alas this seems to be beyond the chavvy cockney cunt.
but he's not a holding midfielder for spurs, he's their playmaker
i think bwb is right regarding players at the top end of a spectrum but a prem club would pay more for an english player from the championship than they would for an equivalent player in terms of ability from abroad in most cases