Carrick is one of Man United, England's most underrated players ever

Aboutreika18

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Long read but excellent article by Michael Cox/Zonal Marking:

It's the summer of 2006, and Manchester United are in a crisis.

This is not the usual football "crisis" -- which increasingly means little more than "they've lost their last two matches" -- but a genuine, wide-ranging, major question about how Manchester United are attempting to achieve success. Chelsea have won the last two Premier League titles. Arsenal have reached the Champions League final and are moving to a new home, while Liverpool have followed European Cup success with FA Cup success and are surely now ready to challenge for the title.

And what of Manchester United? They've gone three seasons without a league title, the longest barren spell in the Premier League under Sir Alex Ferguson, and they finished bottom of a relatively weak Champions League group. Their most consistent performer from the previous five years, Ruud van Nistelrooy, has left for Real Madrid, and the two players supposed to step up in his absence, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, have had a bust-up at the World Cup so serious that recently retired Alan Shearer (now a television pundit) is encouraging Rooney to turn up for preseason training and punch Ronaldo.

In central midfield, long-serving captain Roy Keane was effectively kicked out midway through last season following a row with management. Paul Scholes missed the second half of the campaign with a vision problem that could threaten his career. United's two most-used central midfielders in the 2005-06 Premier League were John O'Shea, a defender, and Alan Smith, a forward. In truth, it's a bit of a shambles.

In response, Ferguson signs one player. One single player: Michael Carrick, for £18 million, from Tottenham Hotspur. Few are convinced. "Ferguson shreds his legacy at every turn," wrote one United-supporting journalist. "The signing of Michael Carrick, a Pirlo when a Gattuso was needed, is a band-aid for a bullet wound and a ludicrously expensive one at that."

But over the next seven years, until Ferguson's retirement in 2013, Manchester United would enjoy a truly remarkable spell of success. Five league titles, two second-place finishes (both taking the title race down to the final day), one European Cup and two more finals (only beaten by Pep Guardiola's legendary Barcelona). There were dozens of factors in the turnaround, not least Ronaldo's sudden improvement. But in terms of finding a true turning point, the signing of Carrick is crucial.

Carrick was not a typical English central midfielder. In 2006, English football fans were still mourning the end of the Roy Keane vs. Patrick Vieira rivalry because they were tough tacklers; they were also still pondering precisely why Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, two attack-minded up-and-down players, couldn't play together. Carrick didn't make hard tackles and wasn't a box-to-box player. The most common analysis of his play was a question rather than a statement: "What does he actually do?" In the period before people went crazy for Xavi Hernandez, Carrick had to change perceptions of his position.

What did he do? Well, Carrick was a phenomenally gifted passer, capable of spraying the ball 50 yards towards the wingers in keeping with United's tradition of playing with width. But equally crucial was the fact that he wasn't incessantly attempting to play those passes, never guilty of turning to Hollywood balls. For the most part, Carrick was careful and methodical with his distribution, slowly knocking simple passes into the attacking players, making himself available for return balls and gradually putting United in control.

Defensively, Carrick rarely crunched into tackles simply because he didn't need to: His positioning was excellent, and his reading of the game faultless. He was never as reckless as his longtime midfield colleague Scholes, whose indiscipline without possession undermined his undoubted ability with the ball. More than anything, Carrick has been hugely consistent, a steady presence who rarely underperformed. Even the criticisms have generally been unfair: Rewatch the European Cup final of 2009, when Carrick was supposedly overrun by Barca's midfield, and you'll find that he's the man desperately trying to get United going with his passing while teammates are struggling to get into the game at all.

It's unquestionable that Carrick was more widely appreciated outside his home country. After a trip to Inter Milan in 2009, La Repubblica wrote glowingly about "El Magnifico Carrick." Xavi and Xabi Alonso name-checked him as their favourite English player. Guardiola recently declared him "one of the best holding midfielders I've ever seen in my life. He's the level of Xabi Alonso, Sergio Busquets in Barcelona and Bayern Munich."

Yet Carrick, who for so long appeared the obvious answer to England's midfield problems, was barely involved for his country throughout his long United career. At World Cup 2006, shortly before signing for United, he was widely considered England's best player in the second-round victory over Ecuador but was dropped for the quarterfinal when Gary Neville returned after injury, meaning Owen Hargreaves switched from right-back to central midfield. Incredibly, he never played at a major tournament for England again, not even at World Cup 2010, when he was in the squad but Fabio Capello preferred a clearly unfit Gareth Barry.

It was often unclear whether Carrick was left out of squads because managers didn't fancy him or whether he wasn't keen: He's suggested he felt borderline depressed when on international duty. Either way, finishing with just one more cap than Kieron Dyer and two fewer than Shaun Wright-Phillips means Carrick is the most underused England player of the past 25 years -- far more so than 66-cap Scholes, who was allowed the luxury of a starting place for two years when he was, by his own admission, not playing well enough to justify his selection.

England weren't blessed with great quality in the holding midfield role, with only Hargreaves rivalling Carrick in that sense, and his career was sadly disrupted by injury. But like Ryan Giggs, whose lack of international caps contributed to his incredible longevity at club level, Carrick's Manchester United form probably benefited. He was one of the few constants throughout that seven-year period of success between 2006 and 2013, and at Manchester United's final end-of-season awards ceremony under the management of Ferguson, it was Carrick, rather than Robin van Persie or David De Gea, who won the club's Players' Player of the Year.

Recent years have been tougher for United, although Carrick has played another 150-odd games and never looked out of place in the starting XI. Between heart problems and declining mobility, Carrick has barely been seen this season -- he's played just 24 Premier League minutes in a defeat at hometown club Newcastle and made three cup appearances. Yet his off-field influence remains significant: Paul Pogba recently credited Carrick with advice about how to time his forward runs, which is intriguing considering that was hardly a Carrick speciality, and it underlines the extent of his football brain. He'll remain at United next season as a coach. As in his playing days, he'll be working to improve other United players in an understated way.

Carrick will play some part in United's final game of the season at home to Watford on Sunday, his farewell match. But there was also a rare sight of him on-screen last Sunday when he was spotted in the audience at the World Snooker final. That felt like an appropriate setting: a sport about positioning, angles, tactics and patience, all qualities also relevant to Carrick's game but features that English football has too often overlooked throughout his career.
http://www.espn.co.uk/football/engl...d-one-of-most-underrated-players-ever?src=com
 

2mufc0

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Yeah he is, his career went in phases for me was good then had a bad spell then became good again. England could have used him instead of trying to shoehorn in all the big names.
 

Indnyc

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I love Carrick but don’t think he was at the level of Busquets/Alonso in the holding midfielder role.

Excellent read though and I do agree he was a big reason for our success from 2006/2007 to 2012/2013
 

led_scholes

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Amazing player. Not underrated by us for sure. I do think though that for almost two years post 2010 he was average, but he came back with a storming 2012-2013 season. I do not want to undermine RvP's legacy, but Carrick was equally important that year for me.
 

groovyalbert

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He definitely had a dip in form from 09-12 but either side of that he was superb. I'd argue he peaked late on his career, although that's not to say he wasn't excellent at times before that, which was a bit of a shame. A few more seasons of him performing at his 12-13 level would have definitely elevated him to the Alonso, Busquets level.
 

roonster09

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But there was also a rare sight of him on-screen last Sunday when he was spotted in the audience at the World Snooker final. That felt like an appropriate setting: a sport about positioning, angles, tactics and patience, all qualities also relevant to Carrick's game
Nice one and well written.
 

Acole9

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I wouldn't say he's underrated by us, you'll find very few United fans who don't appreciate Carrick. It's more England, ridiculous how he never won more caps.
 

Ubik

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It's funny in hindsight to remember all the hand-wringing over the £18m fee (think that included add-ons as well).

In the summer of 06 I was aboard the Mahamadou Diarra and Riquelme trains, heady days.
 

caid

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I love Carrick but don’t think he was at the level of Busquets/Alonso in the holding midfielder role.

Excellent read though and I do agree he was a big reason for our success from 2006/2007 to 2012/2013
Yeah, that covers my thoughts. He struggled a bit when put up against the best of the best.
 

ivaldo

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No he isn't. To the point where he's now overrated.
 

Sir Scott McToMinay

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He was never/rarely any good whenever i watched him play for England.
That 2006-2009 side wasn’t that reliant on the midfield, it was all about the front three and the defence. Of course Scholes was fantastic and Carrick played his part too. But to me, if anything, he became overrated.

He wasn’t agile enough to deal with a press, and soft at times.
Very smart player, don’t get me wrong, but the comparisons with Xabi Alonso or Busquets are absolutely ridiculous, he was never on that level, and he never played in a midfield dominant side like Busquets or Alonso did.

They never played with Cleverley in a two, but the United sides he played in were never midfield dominant side, and his role was far more simpler than theirs.
 

Zoo

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I love Carrick but don’t think he was at the level of Busquets/Alonso in the holding midfielder role.

Excellent read though and I do agree he was a big reason for our success from 2006/2007 to 2012/2013
Alonso needed a yard dog or hard runner next to him like Mascherano or Khedira. Defensively Carrick was streets ahead of Alonso. Only Busquets has definitely been better.
 

Smores

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Took our fans a while to figure what his game was but after that i think he was appreciated bar the odd dip in form where we got bad carrick
 

Aboutreika18

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I wouldn't say he's underrated by us, you'll find very few United fans who don't appreciate Carrick. It's more England, ridiculous how he never won more caps.
He had a pretty torrid reputation on here around 2009-10.

People blamed him for not stepping up in the CL final and while he had some good performances, especially in Europe in 2009-10, him being outmuscled by Olic for the first goal and slow to block Robben's goal in the Bayern game saw a lot of people wanted him to be sold that summer.
 

promisedlanchiao

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No he isn't. To the point where he's now overrated.
Care to explain why?

He was never/rarely any good whenever i watched him play for England.
That 2006-2009 side wasn’t that reliant on the midfield, it was all about the front three and the defence. Of course Scholes was fantastic and Carrick played his part too. But to me, if anything, he became overrated.

He wasn’t agile enough to deal with a press, and soft at times.
Very smart player, don’t get me wrong, but the comparisons with Xabi Alonso or Busquets are absolutely ridiculous, he was never on that level, and he never played in a midfield dominant side like Busquets or Alonso did.

They never played with Cleverley in a two, but the United sides he played in were never midfield dominant side, and his role was far more simpler than theirs.
Well-written post, but firstly, without a midfield an attack in nothing, as there will be no one passing to them. Also, as you mentioned, alonso and busquets had modric and iniesta while Carrick had cleverley and anderson, which made his job just as hard as the former two already.
 

Acole9

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He had a pretty torrid reputation on here around 2009-10.

People blamed him for not stepping up in the CL final and while he had some good performances, especially in Europe in 2009-10, him being outmuscled by Olic for the first goal and slow to block Robben's goal in the Bayern game saw a lot of people wanted him to be sold that summer.
I know he got some flack in the Champions League finals vs Barcelona but one forum doesn't form the opinion of the entire United fan base.
 

Dundrummer

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In the three best years of the club's history there were 7 players who nearly always played when fit. VDS, Rio, Vidic, Evra, Rooney, Ronaldo and Carrick. That was the core of our greatest ever side, and yeah, he wasn't the best of those players, but he deserves his place amongst those names.
 

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In the three best years of the club's history there were 7 players who nearly always played when fit. VDS, Rio, Vidic, Evra, Rooney, Ronaldo and Carrick. That was the core of our greatest ever side, and yeah, he wasn't the best of those players, but he deserves his place amongst those names.
I dont know if Carrick was one of te best players of that team, but what im completly sure he was one of the most important players and one of the first names of the team sheet
 

Isotope

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He's like Albertini in that great Milan team. People talk about that famous back four, the GOAT DM, and trio Dutch they had. But not many actually appreciate Albertini, the metronome.
 

shamans

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I honestly think he has been a bit overrated last year or two while we remember him. Carrick had a great United career but he was comfortable below Scholes/Keane/Rio etc in terms of importance I think.

He had some amazing seasons, some good ones and some not so good ones.
 

Ole90+3

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No he isn't. To the point where he's now overrated.
Alonso needed a yard dog or hard runner next to him like Mascherano or Khedira. Defensively Carrick was streets ahead of Alonso. Only Busquets has definitely been better.
Yep. Defintely overrated by some, if not most of this forum.

I appreciate what Carrick brought to our team but you can't forget how he struggled when pressured or forced to play within tight spaces.

He's quite comfortably a level below Alonso and Busquets.
 

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Yep. Defintely overrated by some, if not most of this forum.

I appreciate what Carrick brought to our team but you can't forget how he struggled when pressured or forced to play within tight spaces.

He's quite comfortably a level below Alonso and Busquets.
That's ridiculous. How can you claim to appreciate what Carrick brought to our team yet rate him lower than Alonso? Alonso played alongside Gerrard and failed to make the same kind of impact that Carrick and Scholes did at that time. Carrick basically held together our midfield during one of our most successful periods.
 

tenpoless

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Him and Scholes were the reasons why I always thought 2 man midfield was enough and 3 man midfield was stupid.
Both of them made it look so easy to control the midfield.
 

Sir Scott McToMinay

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That's ridiculous. How can you claim to appreciate what Carrick brought to our team yet rate him lower than Alonso? Alonso played alongside Gerrard and failed to make the same kind of impact that Carrick and Scholes did at that time. Carrick basically held together our midfield during one of our most successful periods.
Alonso was comfortably superior to Carrick when he played for Liverpool.
I don’t see a reason to explain with words what is obviously visible on the pitch.

Alonso had more impact than Carrick, if anything. He played for a lesser side and under an inferior manager.
 
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ivaldo

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Not really. He is underrated because he wasn't given the credit and dues when he was at his peak. Seems like you're just being contrarian for the sake of it.
It might be difficult to comprehend, but people have opinions that differ to yours.
 

Silver

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It might be difficult to comprehend, but people have opinions that differ to yours.

It's fine if you have a different opinion but if it's based on just what other people are saying instead of an actual opinion with substance about the player then there might be something to consider. All you're doing is being contrarian which isn't an opinion.
 

Lash

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It's funny in hindsight to remember all the hand-wringing over the £18m fee (think that included add-ons as well).

In the summer of 06 I was aboard the Mahamadou Diarra and Riquelme trains, heady days.
:lol: That takes me back. I remember being convinced he was the answer to our midfield.
 

Silver

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Alonso was comfortably superior to Carrick when he played for Liverpool.
I don’t see a reason to explain with words what is obviously visible on the pitch.

Alonso had more impact than Carrick, if anything. He played for a lesser side and under an inferior manager.
Alonso stood out in a mediocre team. That doesn't mean he was more superior to Carrick. Did he have more of an impact in that team... probably yes but again that's because he was a stand out in a poor team. But Alonso had more impact than Carrick? Really? Did Alonso's impact give Liverpool sustained premiership titles?
 

Zoo

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Yep. Defintely overrated by some, if not most of this forum.

I appreciate what Carrick brought to our team but you can't forget how he struggled when pressured or forced to play within tight spaces.

He's quite comfortably a level below Alonso and Busquets.
Alonso was a liability defensively. He was a very good player but also a luxury one who needed a partner to do the dirty work.

Carrick was a one man midfield in 2013, Alonso could never do that.
 

Sir Scott McToMinay

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Alonso stood out in a mediocre team. That doesn't mean he was more superior to Carrick. Did he have more of an impact in that team... probably yes but again that's because he was a stand out in a poor team. But Alonso had more impact than Carrick? Really? Did Alonso's impact give Liverpool sustained premiership titles?
No one midfielder, slash that, not a single player who ever played the game could’ve had such an impact that would take that Liverpool side on to win sustained PL titles competing against Chelsea and SAF’s greatest team, It’s a non argument mate.

Very few (if at all) objective football viewers will rate Carrick on Alonso’s level.

That doesn’t mean he wasn’t a very good player.
Imo, he had 3 great seasons for us, the first two and Fergie’s last.
Alonso was world class for at least twice that.
 
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ivaldo

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It's fine if you have a different opinion but if it's based on just what other people are saying instead of an actual opinion with substance about the player then there might be something to consider. All you're doing is being contrarian which isn't an opinion.
Well yeah, of course it's based on what other people think, thats the whole point of the thread: to discuss the wider view of Carrick as a player... :houllier:
 

Gordon S

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My favourite player in his time here, not kidding. How on earth he managed to keep looking class while playing in midfield with players far below his quality is beyond me. Loved to see him play with Scholes when he was still playing at a good level. We were really good back then.
 

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No one midfielder, slash that, not a single player who ever played the game could’ve had such an impact that would take that Liverpool side on to win sustained PL titles competing against Chelsea and SAF’s greatest team, It’s a non argument mate.
What's a non-argument here? You said Alonso had "more of an impact" than Carrick... how? You seem to be contradicting yourself. How did Alonso have more of an impact than Carrick? Alonso had an impact in La Liga. But in the EPL? He was good but not good enough. Carrick.... certainly good enough in the EPL to be an integral part of a winning generation.

Very few (if at all) objective football viewers will rate Carrick on Alonso’s level.[
Pep rated Carrick on Alonso's level. Carrick was on Alonso's level. He just didn't stand out in a mediocre team and then move to an inferior league.[/QUOTE]
 

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The mind boggles at why Capello preferred a Gareth Barry over him in 2010, let alone an unfit Gareth Barry. What is it about managers and Gareth Barry? Didn't Rafa try to offload Alonso in favour of him too?

I don't know if he's underrated or not but he's one of my favourite united players ever, that's for sure.
 

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Alonso was a liability defensively. He was a very good player but also a luxury one who needed a partner to do the dirty work.

Carrick was a one man midfield in 2013, Alonso could never do that.
I'm not getting into the Alonso debate and I was never as hot on Carrick as many (especially for England) but he was brilliant in 2013 and was our most important player behind RVP, crucial to our last title.