After reaching the incredible milestone of 700 career appearances for Manchester United in their last home league game against Wigan, the continued appraisal of Paul Scholes has reopened some difficult questions about the Manchester United midfield. But in the mirth of the current debate, the United legend wasn’t the only one to recently celebrate a statistical feat.
Indeed, amongst the United team that beat Liverpool 2-1 last Sunday; one Michael Carrick celebrated making his 350th appearance in the Barclays Premier League. Like the man himself and not too dissimilar from that of Scholes either, he turned out with little fanfare, little fuss and seemingly little celebration.
Yet although Carrick might not carry quite the talent and set of gifts that Scholes does, his value in this United team over the past six years hasn’t necessarily deserved quite the gulf in appreciation that currently exists between the pair. The chances are, that is never likely to change. But in some respects, Michael Carrick feels like one of the most under-appreciated English assets of his time.
Such a title immediately gives a certain sense of hyperbole, the sort that can only usually be attributed in cases of supremely talented footballers. Is Michael Carrick a supremely talented footballer? He may not be remembered as one of the greats of the game. But he will always be remembered as one of the most prominent and vital cogs of a Manchester United side that domineered the latter half of the last decade and continue to do so today. Or at least he should be, anyway.
For there’s always been a certain lack of trust and appreciation in this country for the skillset that Carrick brings to the table. Often described as classy, neat or reliable, very rarely is he ever denoted as a match winner or irreplaceable.
Those accolades have always been reserved for the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. Perhaps it’s now a little clichéd, but unless you harness a level of goal scoring panache or all-action quality about your game in midfield, recent times suggest you might not necessarily get the recognition you would on the continent. Just ask Scholes himself. For years, the likes of Thierry Henry, Marcelo Lippi and most recently Andres Iniesta have sung his praises. It took for him to retire from competition for this country to truly acknowledge the value of his abilities. Carrick, again, isn’t of the same class as Scholes, but perhaps his lack of England caps – 24 at the time of writing – shouldn’t count against him.
So while the likes of Sven-Goran Eriksson, Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello were happy to overlook Carrick, his record for United signifies that at least his club manager has never been in any doubt of his abilities.
Since joining United for a few of around £18million in 2006, Carrick has only failed to win the Barclays Premier League in two of his six full seasons at the club – and even then, Fergie’s side only lost last season’s title on goal difference. An ever-present, the Wallsend-born midfielder can’t be accused of hanging on the coattails of success either. Since his time at the club, he has never failed to play less than 28 times in the league. He’s obviously been doing something right.
Of course, the general strength of the United teams he’s played in, especially at their most recent zenith with Cristiano Ronaldo at the helm, you could argue that the team could probably function with a slightly timid, passenger-like presence in midfield. But to do so is as shortsighted as it would be insulting. You don’t win titles, cups and Champions League titles with a distinctly ‘average’ presence sitting in central midfielder.
Carrick has been the metronome, the glue that sticks of sorts, within the Manchester United team. People moan that he doesn’t score goals, but the truth is, he hasn’t needed too. Ferguson’s model has been proven time after time to work without Carrick putting the ball in the back of the net. He brings, poise, balance and a sense of alarming consistency to the side. He may very rarely make the barnstorming runs forward, but equally, very rarely does he give the ball away. No Hollywood balls,, no self-indulgent Hollywood tackles that might cost the team and no Hollywood fuss, either. Just Geordie-crafted consistency.
The bad times have come of course and like all players, Carrick has a tendency to become pedestrian from time to time and watch the game pass him by. But it has felt that when he has occasionally gone off the boil, he’s got it in the neck more than others. When you’ve got a trick or two to hide behind, or a 30-yard screamer in your locker, it’s easier to deflect stinging critique or cover up having a dire 90 minutes. Carrick doesn’t have this, but his qualities cannot and should not be devalued as a result.
Again, after a Liverpool fixture in which United seemed to be overrun in every area of the pitch, Carrick was immediately painted as the weak-link. The bulletproof Ryan Giggs, despite offering nothing but impotence alongside Carrick, was of course spared the flack. But typically, it seems as if the blame that Carrick shoulders from observers, seems totally out of proportion to that of many of his colleagues. United need to find another driving force in central midfield but the school of thought seems to be that this should be at expense of the glue that sticks, aswell.
When asked quite why the national team failed to prosper in South Africa 2010, it was one of the eventual winners in Xabi Alonso, who offered a tribute of sorts to the Englishman. Claiming that the English prefer those who stand out individually to those who make the team work, he suggested that Carrick would offer the perfect solution:
“Michael Carrick: he makes those around him better, regardless of the fact that he’s not the one who scores the most goals.”
Sir Alex Ferguson once suggested that perhaps it was Carrick’s disdain for the limelight, that has affected the standing of his public profile. Whether that’s true or not, who knows. But even if he remains something of a devalued commodity in the present, history suggests that it may only be when he’s gone, that people truly remember what they had.
How do you feel about Michael Carrick? Eternally Underrated? Or horridly ineffective? Let me know on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and bet me your views on this one.