With the likelihood of Man Utd signing fresh faces decreasing with every passing day and every Sir Alex rebuttal it appears it will be left to the current crop to bring in silverware, a task that isn’t beyond them.
Last season a number of factors played a role in Chelsea taking our title back to the Bridge. Injuries as well as players under performing saw United finish the season with just the Carling Cup to show for the player’s efforts.
A few players were singled out for lax performances, Brazilian Anderson who’s season was cut short by injury was one, but the main culprit was Michael Carrick. Many felt the midfielder had been a shadow of the player who joined us in 2006 and helped us win the league in his debut season then the league and Champions League double the year after. Carrick hadn’t looked at the races for a while and the Champions League quarter final against Bayern Munich capped it off when fingers were pointed at him for costly mistakes including allowing Ivica Olic to drag Bayern Munich back into the game with a goal before half time to make it 3-1.
Despite a somewhat lacklustre season, Carrick still went to South Africa and after England struggled to impresses eventual World Cup winner Xabi Alonso highlighted England’s problem:
“England missed a player like Carrick in the midfield, somebody who knows how to be in the right place at the right time.
Gerrard gains a lot from having a player like Carrick as a partner, somebody who provides the back-up he needs to be free and bring his power to bear decisively in a game.
I think that he could easily fit in the Spanish system because I really like the way he plays. He reads the game so well, he is always ahead of what is going to happen and he is always in the right position. When he gets the ball, he plays it easy and he is available to his team-mates all the time. For me, he has the profile to play for Barcelona or any of the Spanish teams. “
High praise from a quality player and there is a truth to this.
At his best Carrick reads the game and has high quality passing to make him an influential part of any midfield but recently we haven’t seen this from him. He has looked sloppy in possession of the ball, getting caught by the opposition as well as misplacing passes. Dips in form have seen him out of the team but this season provides the chance for a fresh start.
Carrick will know that a massive improvement is required from him especially having been linked with a move away from the club to Sunderland. He will also know that with Paul Scholes aging and Owen Hargreaves again injured his work load and playing time may increase, so a consistent high level of performance will be required from him.
This is a massive season for the club as well as a number of players. Some have a point to prove, others want to show they are worthy of a first team place whilst others just want to show they are fit to wear United’s colours. Carrick could fit in all 3 groups. I feel he has simply fallen on hard times but the difference is that at a club like United you can’t afford to do so as it will be highlighted tenfold.
If we do not in fact bring in fresh blood we will need every player to stand up and be counted, especially a player of Carrick’s ability, lets just hope with Alonso’s words ringing in his ears he can get out of this slump.
I always thought that the Gaffer saw Pirlo as a sort of home grown ‘Andrea Pirlo II.’ Problem is that the P.L. is not the ECC or the Italian League. Carrick had a splendid time of it with Heargreaves/Scholes /Fletcher in the diamond formation feeding the two worker bees Tevez and Rooney: All selflessly setting up Ronnie–especially in ECC games. That all got messed up with the arrival of Berbatov, which slowed, skewed and screwed up everything. All of a sudden, Ando, Carrick or Scholes were forced into a more sedentary, static role and expected to up their quota of 50/50 tackles, which was never going to work for either on of them. Unfortunately, although he’s improved a lot, Darren Fletcher’s passing game always deserts under pressure. Losing him would not be a disaster, but we wouldn’t get much. If we go and get Mireiles or one of the Diarras, or, my personal favorite, Gojko Kacar AND get shot of Berbatov, Carrick could still return to form.