That team had Michael Carrick, a massively underrated deep lying midfielder. He was excellent in that season where RVP won them the league.
When thinking about DMs (for most of the bloody season) was thinking about that United team with Carrick, such an anomaly. They did have Park Ji-sung (a Energizer bunny, and one who I thought we might be getting with Endo when Jurgen greeted him with "we need your legs", not quite) in that side who chased after anything that moved. Think it was Rio Ferdinand who thought Fergie got it wrong in the 2011 final by not sticking Park on Messi (not that I think would have done much good given how elusive Messi is). The two finals they played vs that Barca side by trying to go toe to toe with them was mental. Mourinho got it right in the season sandwiched between by stifling the crap out of the game and overpowering them in midfield and outrunning them. No DM vs Messi, Xavi and co. is pretty insane. The space Messi had for the second at Wembley to shoot against Van Der Sar, that's the DM zone. The pass Xavi made to pick out Pedro for the first, again it's that area infront of the defence you'd be expecting a DM to close off. Fergie got a real doing in those finals.
When Fabinho became physically shot overnight the effect on the team was immense. The "lighthouse" became "after you son". From putting out fires to handing out the matches. Already relegated Southampton running riot with run after run through the midfield at the end of the season just crowned it. Remember the effect on Real Madrid being enormous when Makelele left them in 2003. He wasn't "glamorous", no but he held the whole show together. Their team of superstars to a man maligned that sale and they became a disjointed mess for the next few seasons after that much like we have been for two seasons. It's remarkable that such a key position, pivotal, can be overlooked at times, one such blunder we have made.