How can we retain the ‘Old’ Michael Carrick?

AUTHOR: – Herzog’s Child

The scribbling of Michael Carrick’s pen, passing sideways –*chuckle*– along his new contract, ejected a cacophonic ejection of sighs last week, as United’s chief scapegoat signed on for another 4 years.

Such was the collective indignation, Carrick, a ghostly presence since that plundering night in Rome, could for once have been forgiven the open-mouthed, gormless look just this time; it wasn’t, justifiably, met with much celebration, as calls of outrage billowed from the heart of the brassed off.

Since the vanishing of Hargreaves, coupled with the sad aging of Paul Scholes, United’s midfield has trickled down into a vacuous void, as the prolonged promotion of Anderson and Darron Gibson continues to do little to improve a side who are now, despite topping the league, little more than efficient. Darren Fletcher, the exception to the rule, has fallen into his own struggle this season, and as its climax encircles, the exposing of United’s middle piecing, and their unwillingness to address the problematic frailty, has ensured what should be a surge towards 19 has become a desperate struggle. A reliance on Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes to shore up a broken seam tells two tales: that their careers, and determination to succeed, remain unmatched and unlikely to be seen for a long time – perhaps even ever again, and that United are evading a crucial necessity: replacing them.

It is Carrick, however, who has garnered the most vehement derision. In the recent game against Marseille away, he was the most cumbersome in a distinctly lethargic trio, and made, by the full-time whistle, a total of 4 forward passes. Tellingly, Darron Gibson, another who induces mass grief, made 10, as United again struggled due to an appallingly naked lack of pace and shape. A number of United’s key players this campaign have shambled through the motions: Rooney, despite plucking a hefty-wage increase, retains the embodiment of someone lost in their own private world; Patrice Evra, in the space of a summer, transformed himself into a hate-figure in his home country, and returned a player too often a shade of what he once was; Fletcher, along with our trundling scapegoat, make up the wearisome list, ensuring we stagger into the crucial stages blowing steam. The frustrations of viewing reds can be gauged by the manner in which they’ve espoused their concerns. Giddy calls for the promotions of agents Morrison, Pogba and Tunnicliffe have sounded; hopes have been put forward that Antonio Valencia, now returned, will be shifted inside; even the once-thought lost memories of Owen Hargreaves have jettisoned back into view, dire and hopeless. All aforementioned solutions were expectedly reactionary, brimmed with merit but sadly unfeasible. Entrusting youth, at this stage, would be a crushing indictment by Fergie, and would more realistically provoke more damage than good throughout United’s young battalion. They’re good enough, and will be ready, but in time – not now, at this moment and time. Next season.

There is a myth, peddled by a large proportion of United’s support, around the career of Michael Carrick. For some, a belief exists that his lack of personality – an extremely evident trait now – and his unwillingness to get stuck in is of a large detriment to United’s midfield, which completely misses the point. Carrick, as many reds will know, has never possessed the qualities he is so often criticised for lacking. The critique, disgorged by more as the weeks go on, holds as much merit as derision subjected towards Darren Fletcher for not being able to cut a midfield with through-balls, or towards Bebe, for simply not being good enough. Lost in the hysteria are the memories which, admittedly, seem so distant now – nights like Roma at home, when Carrick emerged and showed his class by thundering in two and helped dominate the plucky Italians. Players do not, despite the swathe of column inches, simply fall away and lose the attributes which once garnered them worldly praise. Declines incur, of course, but with Carrick, always a player prone to playing within himself, one senses it’s something different, and something, perhaps, not totally irreparable just yet.

Carrick, more so than any other player, has visibly become the most effected with the almost terminal declination within United’s midfield over the last 2 years. Never one to take on too much responsibility, he is hampered by the burden of being part of a midfield that now regularly fails to dominate, due its blatant lack of quality and pace. Paul Scholes has aged and is coming to the end. Owen Hargreaves, an all-action resource so cruelly taken away for so long and a terrific compliment to Carrick’s lost-grace, is sadly ebbing towards a career cut down too soon. Anderson continues to frustrate, proffering only brief tit-bits in a 3 year spell. Darron Gibson is simply not good enough. Gone, it would seem, is the potent drive that once ensured continuous, opposition-busting crusades. Goals from the middle have unsurprisingly trickled out: a miserly 7, none of which have been contributed by our enshrouded Geordie, as a reliance on Nani, in particular, to shore up our front-line becomes increasingly stronger. There is a hesitancy to Carrick’s play now, fuelled by an abstinence in getting forward, in doing something to make things happen. The sustained worry is not that United’s midfield is not scoring – it’s that it’s not even getting into positions to try and do so.

Despite the insistence of scores of dull naysayers, Michael Carrick has not always shambled along like he is doing so now. To suggest so is a disservice and, in turn, an utter delusion, to Carrick and the club, and to one’s own credibility. Carrick is a classic case of a player slumping down into the levels which surround him – as seen so terribly now. United had the opportunity to relinquish past frailties in the summer of 2009, and failed to do so. Again, last summer, the most damning concern on the field was ignored, as £7.5m was squandered on the hapless Bebe, a risk increasingly unlikely to pay off. As a result, United have made what should have been two easily attainable league campaigns immensely difficult for themselves, and Carrick, devoid of flanking reinforcements, has crumbled under the weight of it. It doesn’t, however, excuse the exhaustible lack of mobility, or lack of forward passing, or lapses in concentration, or any slumps in the doing of the basics; United’s non-addressing of its pertinent flaws is not fully to blame for his downfall – he’s not absolved of all wrong-doing himself. But one gets the notion that to see the Carrick of old, the one who was a very fine outlet, it will be just as much up to United’s fixing, as it will be to Carrick’s self-rejuvenation.

To restore the old Carrick, he will need quality about him. This summer, unlike the sigh-inducing two last summers, should, by right, herald the signing of proven quality in the midfield area. An increasingly likely acquisition of Jack Rodwell appears in store, as bandied about prospective fees reach vile highs: £25m, or thereabouts – a grossly-inflated price for someone who has begun a mere 9 league matches all season, and has not, to date, done anything whatsoever to justify such a risky punt. If United’s young-battalion’s crusade against the scousers at Anfield signalled anything, it’s that for the first time in a long time we have a swathe of quality coming through in the middle. Quality that, it should be noted, is already looking to be closing in on breaking through. To splurge an astronomical amount of money on someone who is still little more than a good prospect would be an unwise process, for two reasons: we already have as much quality coming through, and especially now, as the club continues to be laden with debt, we can ill-afford to take risks at such a cost. United’s investment not only needs to be large; it needs to produce an already established quality. Whether or not the right finances are in place to enforce such a pursuit remains unknown, but United are in real danger of falling behind if they leave another addition-less summer go by. The summer is not a time for another few months of close misses and squanders – quality has to arrive.

In truth, the prolongation of Michael Carrick’s Manchester United career, with the signing of a new 4 year deal, means little. Contracts are futile – they’re nothing but mere insurance to make sure any club snooping around a player will have to stump up more cash. Wayne Rooney was undeservedly issued a new long-term, cash-packed contract after endless fannying around. Yet, in some credible circles, a belief remains that the issue is not, as United and Rooney’s PR-machine proclaimed, resolved. Whispers of an unlikely summer leaving still remain, as stories emerge that Rooney has become a distant, almost aloof, character in training. United have never been in more dire need of cash injections; the possibility of Rooney leaving may seem unlikely, but it would be naive to totally rule it out. Similarly, a short time ago, Carrick, was strongly touted as a cert to leave come summer. The incredulity borne out of a contract-signing is, therefore, a needless reaction, given most are little more than a series of papers insuring the best possible outcome for player and club. It doesn’t necessarily ensure players will see them out, as history has consistently showed. Phil Neville signed a new 5 year contract in July 2004. 12 months later, he had signed for Everton. Carrick is unlikely to leave in the summer, but another 12 months of ineptitude will ensure his possibilities of being here in the summer of 2012 will have lessened considerably. Time tells.

Ultimately, the retention of Michael Carrick, at a time when it seemed unlikely, will only be a worthwhile exercise if the quality of players around him improves. Fletcher is a different character – one who’s struggling, but one who still battles, still hassles, and still, to his credit, attempts to hold authority. Carrick is the juxtaposition of our hounding Scot – a considerably superior player, but one prone to seeping into a vortex rather than showing the necessary character when it really matters. Along with quality, the midfield’s overhaul needs to encompass the very qualities that made past United middles an all-consuming force: pace, guile, shape, and the right character to dominate and not be bullied. What’s needed now, more than ever, is pace – an injected dynamism to once again retain the way we played before, the United of old, the United capable of blitzing all that came before them. We need someone like a Modric, or a Sneijder – someone with the ability to get on the ball, to carry it and offer a threat. There is not a whole lot wrong about United’s current set-up, despite the plethora of erratic displayes over the last 2 seasons. A rejuvenated midfield, coupled with an already sound defence and strike-force, would set United on their way once again.

For Michael Carrick, it’s difficult to call. A between now and end-of-season change in form would go some way in dispelling any accusations of an early-decline, but for the moment it appears unlikely. A telling acid test should arrive in the summer, as the chances of demotion, or, indeed, a casting-off, will grow with the signing of a central midfielder or two. Of course, that is not a certainty; cynics will rightly avert attention towards the ever-mounting debt as a permanent blockade to any potential worthwhile incomings. Sarcastic groans of ‘value’ will reign – and rightly so – until a time comes when United, as they used to, spend decently and not flimsily as so often now. For the moment, Carrick remains, despite the chorus of groans which billow with every reference to his name. For some, he deserves a period of grace – until next season at least, when, with hope, he’s surrounded not by a middle running on empty, but with competition, quality and drive. At his best, Carrick, as so often forgotten now, is an astute reader of the game, a retainer and a creator. His lack of mobility, of drive, is not a newly-generated flaw – it’s a trait that has come more to light as United’s frailties have become further exposed through time. United can retain the old Michael Carrick, and make him a highly effective, cherished outlet again, but only if they repair what’s broken. Otherwise, they will continue to lose a player who was once, without question, an integral part to a United side we’d now so love to have back. We can, but only if they, along with Carrick, make it work. Time, as mentioned, tells – United and Carrick need to solve things, before it runs out.

AUTHOR: – Herzog’s Child