AUTHOR: – Doron
There’s been lots of speculation this season about who might leave and who might come in but one man staying is Michael Carrick…
Michael Carrick has signed a new three year deal with the club. He remains a Red until at least 2014.
Speaking to manutd.com Sir Alex Ferguson has said:
“I am delighted Michael has signed a new contract. He has been outstanding since joining us from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006, he is a true professional and it’s great he has committed his future to the club”
Carrick said:
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at this great club. There is fantastic team spirit within the squad and I’m pleased to have committed my future to United. We are in a very good position at the moment and I am confident this team will be successful for many years to come”
Since signing in the summer of 2006 Carrick has played 218 games for the Reds scoring 17 goals – he’s yet to score this season though. This blog has backed Carrick this season and highlighted how key he has been in a changed role – something he often doesn’t get credit for.
Just why has Carrick been important this year? Seán O’Sullivan has been providing some stats on Carrick’s season on Twitter:
– In Michael Carrick’s 15 Premier League starts this year, United have conceded 10 goals. Of the 13 games he didn’t start, United have conceded 15 goals.
– In 4 out of his 5 Champions League group stage starts this season, Michael Carrick covered more distance than any other United player.
– Carrick has completed 830 out of 959 attempted passes this season for United – a success rate of 86.5%. This success rate is highest of the season for a Premier League midfielder starting over 50% of his club’s games. Scholesy highest otherwise.
– Carrick has the most amount of interceptions for a midfielder in the Premier League, averaging 4.38 a game (Anderson 1.9, Scholes 1.82, Fletch 1.54).
You can discuss Michael Carrick and the implications of his new contract on our forum. Also, check out Michael Carrick’s 2010/11 stats.
AUTHOR: – Doron
What a BAD news for United. Carrick is not good enough to play for Man.United really. He’s lost his form for so long. No imagination, lack of awareness, no driving force, and what he did on the field is to pass backwards and produced POOR backpass occasionally. His quality is not good enough for any top club in EPL.
If Carrick make a move, he will not be able to find a place in Chelsea, Arsenal, City, Tottenham, or even Liverpool starting eleven. So why United want to keep him. ELIMINATE CARRICK AND BRING IN BETTER PLAYER IS WHAT SAF SHOULD DO REALLY…
Always loved the lad. Very effective player. Hasn’t been in his best of form, but i think he has been made to play too deep since the hargreaves injury. He is the only positionally rigid and aware midfielder in our team. He plays so well when he has a good passer to complement him. Excellent on interceptions and stopping attacks with only tackling when necessary. He needs more support and belief in him by the fans and a player like scholes with whom he can work the ball.
Carrick’s passing has been very efficient, but it’s a deceptive stat. Or it SEEMS it, because he always looks now to have turned into the sort of player who’s more worried about retaining posession. He was (and still has the ability to be) the best passer in the country. Maybe even better than Beckham was at his best. He just seems to have retreated into his shell. I don’t hate Carrick but I’m not sure that this is a sensible move, financially.
It makes sense and he is a quality player, I just can’t help feeling that with his ability to read the game, his range of passing, first touch and Physique at just over 6ft he should dominate an control games more. When space opens in front of him he is reluctant to drive into it forcing opposition players to make decisions, instead the ball goes back to Rio or Vidic, sometimes inviting pressure. I don’t expect him to smash into tackles as some expect as he was a replacement for Keano, but I really can’t help feeling this this lad hasn’t maximsed his potentiol. To be a United player you don’t always have to be the most talented player but it’s a platform for those to raise themselves up with the best in the world with the right mentality. Keano, the Nevilles are example of players making themselves the best in their positions at their time with a fraction of the talent of some of their piers. Maybe as Scholes’ influence and number of games in the midfield reduces He may step up.
“I just can’t help feeling that with his ability to read the game, his range of passing, first touch and Physique at just over 6ft he should dominate an control games more.”
This is exactly my issue with him. With his ability he ought to be dominating games and one of the first names on the team sheet for both United and England, but for whatever reason he doesn’t use what he has well enough for that to be the case.
Got to remember that Carrick’s role has changed this year… his job now is to break up opposition play, keep possession and get the ball out wide – which he does very well
I thought that was pretty much what his role has always been. You have to look at games like Tuesday when it in the second half we needed someone to put their head above the trenches and change the tide. I’m sure all managers send players out with a game plan but when that is failing you need players to make things happen and not just blindly stick to a task that is not working. All I am saying is I have seen games turned by Midfielders making thing happen, Bryan Robson countless times, Keano in Turin, Becks from the bench against Leeds. I am no way saying he is a bad player it is just frustrating seeing someone with all the tools not maximising them. Park (who I can’t stand) and Fletcher have no way near the same level of talent but manage to influence big games. Maybe it’s the thing that until Robbo went Ince didn’t step out of the shadow and Keane became twice the player of Ince when he was sold.
@3times
Carrick’s original role at the club was much higher up the pitch. Almost a box-to-box type player; he’s a good 10 yards deeper now
I will agree about him playing deeper but I have never seen him as a box to box mid as I have rarely seen him hit the box or run beyond the strikers like Fletcher has always done. You do get my point though nameonthetrophy
@3times
Yeah I understand what you’re saying; but how often do you get a Keane or a Robson? Pretty rare! Carrick despite inheriting the number 16 shirt never claimed to be a ‘Keane’ – great players are irreplaceable and so the team has to change the way it places to replace them. We did just that by replacing Ronaldo with Valencia – I daresay that when Scholes retires we’ll do something similar. The game today generally requires a Carrick type player… personally I think he does what’s asked of him well
Carrick being played much deeper is no excuse for his passing being well within his capabilities far too often. He should be a Pirlo-type player. As it is he too often plays like a fancier, less effective (defensively) Makelele.
This post is spot on about Carrick’s role. Carrick would do well for Barcelona playing Busquets role.
But thatin itself is a problem, many feel United are best as an attacking(mentality) 4-4-2.
Carrick lacks the LEVEL of Scholes to work effectively beside Fletcher IMO though it has to be noted Carrick and Ando compliment each other well. Both are quite creativity. Ando is dynamic, Carrick is reserved
There are 3 problems with this combo:
– Ando’s availability due to injury problems
– Carrick is a confidence player who can disappear at times
– Fletcher who may be too attacking to play alongside Ando but surely deserves to play in a 4-4-2 though his performances this year have not being top notch
Given these, many would love United to return to a STRONG/QUALITY starting pair in midfield where we wouldn’t always have to adjust according to our opposition and if that were to be the case, Carrick would surely have no place in our 11. Maybe Fletcher of last season will
@Uanhoro James
all valid points… problem is that when people think of a strong midfield naturally you think of Keane/Ince in the early 90s – such a player doesn’t really exist at the moment and in fact the requirements of PL teams today generally is for a player like Carrick – someone who keeps possession well.
Problem with buying in players is making them fit… think of it as a jigsaw – I wrote out our CM dilemma recently too – http://www.stretford-end.com/blog/2011/02/find-a-keane-before-you-suggest-a-veron/ – have a read of that
Sorry in that, I meant
“Carrick lacks the LEVEL of Scholes’ CREATIVITY to work…” and
“Both are quite creative. Ando is dynamic …..”
Sorry for those errors
@nameonthetrophy
Good point, I think there’s a “Jonathan Wilson” out there on the decline on the Box-to-box type of player. The Anderson and Carrick combo in midfield for me would be a good midfield combo but for both of them, consistency (injury/form) is a problem.
We might just be set for more years of midfield rotation for our CM combo unless we settle into a true 3-man-middle. I also wait for Cleverley’s return to our midfield next year to see what he truly has to offer.
@Uanhoro James
RE Cleverley; my gut says he’ll get games across the midfield to begin with because of his versatility; he’s best in the middle but I’m not sure how much we’ll see him there.
We are a 4-4-2 club; it suits us best. Trent today is the 3 man midfield and whilst I don’t think it suits us well, we generally apply it well tactically.
@nameonthetrophy
True. There are so many examples where we have applied a 3-man-middle correctly but the 4-4-2 is tradition. I think Cleverley might just be the real deal, a Fletcher with creativity, can be groomed into an earlier version of Paul Scholes. Box-to-box with creativity. If he can show himself at United to have real quality, we are half-way through our midfield travails but this in itself will probably take 2/3 years.