Carroll aims to grab opportunity with both hands

THE gloves are off in the battle to be Old Trafford’s number one.

Alex Ferguson acknowledged on Saturday that Tim Howard had finally suffered the dip in form he had expected much earlier following his summer move from Major League Soccer.

With Manchester United’s season on the brink of complete collapse, Ferguson has taken Howard out of the firing line for the match against Tottenham and offered Roy Carroll only his second Premiership start of the campaign.