The Michael Carrick Appreciation Thread

He’s a player you appreciate a lot more when you see him live. He had very good anticipation and positioning of where to be and I think I spent one whole half of a match solely watching him and seeing how he managed to be in the right place at the right time

I had a Spurs mate who raved about him silly when he played for them and was adamant that United had signed an absolute diamond of a player when United did sign him, even though he wasn’t as eye catching as other centre mids at the time like Riquelme or Ballack.
 
Zumbi said:
Comments like this are a good way to identify people who don’t have the slightest clue about football.

In a ranking of progressive passes per 90 mins for Man Utd CMs between 2009 and 2022 Carrick topped the list with 11.24 in the 2012-2013 season. Pogba’s best season was 10.49. Scholes’ best was 9.88.

From the top twenty in that list, Carrick has seven of the spots.

For context, in the 23-24 PL season Maddison topped the PL charts with 9.45 progressive passes per 90.
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It was just a joke statsman. As i remember at the time he was the poster boy for this issue via King Louis.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37441538/michael-carrick-defends-louis-van-gaal-tactics
 
Guardiola voted him the best midfielder in the world in 2007. It's a myth that he was inconsistent in his early years at United... Bar that 10/11 period, he was always quality for us.
 
Comical opinion when Carrick essentially has the same G/A record as Kante and a superior record to Makelele.

Our only signing in the season we wrestle the title back from Jose’s Chelsea (IF you suffered through the 04/05 and 05/06 seasons you’ll know how much of an achievement that was and how unlikely one signing would get us there)

Replaced Keane and anchored the team in one of our most successful periods.
dave1956 said:
People see Carrick's contribution at different levels, he certainly at times let the game pass him by with little involvement. His goal scoring or assists was not outstanding for any of the teams he played for. He played 464 games for utd and managed only 24 goals with 35 assists, West Ham was 154 games and 6 goals with 5 assists, whilst his Spurs period was 75 games and 2 goals with 11 assists.
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madzo2007 said:
One of his passes that always sticks in my mind was away to Bolton, we won 4-0 I think. It was played first time over the top and curled round the defender for Rooney to put away.
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We played some of our best football in 06/07 with Carrick plus Scholes (still in prime)
 
Dr Foo said:
We played some of our best football in 06/07 with Carrick plus Scholes (still in prime)
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My favourite season. We were more efficient in 07/08, but it was more fun to watch in 06/07. We played some incredible football.
 
Carl said:
I love Carrick but if you get the chance to pick literally any player from our past for present day and you selected Michael Carrick then I think you're fair game to be publicly lynched by other United fans.
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It’s about who would fill the gaping hole and need in this current team first, and I think it starts in the heart of midfield.

Between Keane, Scholes, Carrick and Robson - I think Carrick has the most balanced set of skills defensively and progressively to suit, even if he is a tier below world class. Of course, ideally we would need a more robust version of him (ala Rodri) to make pairing with Bruno work in the modern game.
 
Dr Foo said:
It’s about who would fill the gaping hole and need in this current team first, and I think it starts in the heart of midfield.

Between Keane, Scholes, Carrick and Robson - I think Carrick has the most balanced set of skills defensively and progressively to suit, even if he is a tier below world class. Of course, ideally we would need a more robust version of him (ala Rodri) to make pairing with Bruno work in the modern game.
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Keane's passing was better than most people seem to remember, and paired next to Bruno who will do most of the playmaking stuff no matter who he is next to, then Keane makes the most sense.
 
When he was leading the side in touches and passes per game, in a two-man midfield nevertheless, United finished on 89 points (more than once). He wasn't a stat padder and he was never busting a lung for the cameras (the curse of several modern footballers) and he never looked like either the maverick or the bulldog type of midfielder which are adored on the island. He was the manager's "pet", one of the on field captains who made sure that the nuances of the general's game-plan were executed to perfection. He had his ups and downs, but he ended up as one of the players Ferguson trusted the most in the post-Ronaldo era. I still remember him saying in an interview that if the game is being played at 100 mph, you shouldn't lose your head and get carried away. If you see the openings, join the attack. Otherwise, try to anticipate dangers in the defensive transition. There's a solid piece of advice there for our current lot.
 
CloneMC16 said:
My favourite season. We were more efficient in 07/08, but it was more fun to watch in 06/07. We played some incredible football.
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Man Utd was truly special between 2006 and 09. People always talk about the 07/08, but in my opinion the 06/07 and 08/09 squads were as equally as good as the 07/08 squad. It was really the margins that separated them.
 
KingEric04 said:
Man Utd was truly special between 2006 and 09. People always talk about the 07/08, but in my opinion the 06/07 and 08/09 squads were as equally as good as the 07/08 squad. It was really the margins that separated them.
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Definitely was mate. Most people will talk about 07/08 because we won the CL. Probably should have won the treble that season. I will never forget the Pompey FA Cup game. Those 3 seasons were very special indeed.

Take me back :(

USREDEVIL said:
He was a really good midfielder but i think time has put a nice sheen on his playing days.
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I really don't. He was an excellent midfielder and mainly only gets talked about by a certain section of United fans. Even this thread has barely any comments. I 100% believe he's massively underrated.
 
USREDEVIL said:
He was a really good midfielder but i think time has put a nice sheen on his playing days.
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He did in one/two touches what most of the midfielders we’ve had since he retired can’t do in 7.

It’s possible to be great without being extravagant.

The way Rio talks about him says it all, because he had the best view of what he did.
 
CloneMC16 said:
Definitely was mate. Most people will talk about 07/08 because we won the CL. Probably should have won the treble that season. I will never forget the Pompey FA Cup game. Those 3 seasons were very special indeed.
Take me back :(
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Michael Carrick was talking about that Portsmouth game with Rio and he said that he was inches away from scoring a goal. That game against Portsmouth has to be one of the most one sided matches that I've ever seen. We missed quadrillion different chances and we simply couldn't score.
 
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