surprised and not surprised we don't have one. the older ones were back and forth debate about him being too soft like when Olić overpowered him for that header etc. when people (myself included) didn't fully appreciate his talent or just didn't care for him that much at the time. regardless, 8 years ago today he was signed and it's been a great 8 years so good time for a new thread i think
I just did a passes successful, forward and backward comparison of a few CMs on Sqwaka. This is just to illustrate how often Carrick finds a way to pass forward when compared to some other good CMs. Notice how people bitch about Cleverley, but the difference between him and everyone else bar, Carrick is hardly noticeable. I, more than most, have a huge appreciation for Carrick. I know it isn't popular, but I think he's been the best CM we've had since before Keane's knees went. He's not always pretty, but he's always effective and were it not for him, the last 8 years might not have been so successful. Proof that you don't have to shout to be heard, Michael Carrick has become and remains one of the top CMs in the game.
Agreed. I feel we could have won at least one more CL (atleast one of the 2 CL finals we lost) had we paired him with a good quality CM. I am genuinely worried that age is going to catch up to him now. Considering the amount of games he has played over the last 8 years we start to see him get injured a lot. Its sad because I feel we wasted his prime years by not pairing him with a proper CM. Yeah we won PL titles but the CL, we could have sure won one more.
I think he'll be fine. It isn't as though he uses physical gifts. He'll probably split time between CM and CB. As the 'sweeper' in the back 3 he could thrive.
i wonder if there is a way that the new arrivals will see carrick in a position to take a few shots per game. i would like to see him routinely take at least 2-3 shots from mid range each game. i think he needs to be aggressive in that regard. he doesnt need to barn storm past the forward players to run in the box but i think it is imperative he now resurrects that shot to give us some variation to his and our game. any thoughts on this being the case? @johno
He needs to be fit. Carrick will always be the furtherest back central midfielder due to his role. However he will move vertically when we attack so there is always a central point available in order to switch play. If the defence is sorted then it frees Carrick to be slightly more adventurous in order to take advantage of any lapses in the opponent when we are in possession. At the moment if he goes too far forward or looks to shoot then we are ********ed on the transition due to our defence. It should also be noted that if three at the back is here to stay then one of the central defenders should be stepping out to enable Carrick to be proactive when we have the ball.
Carrick hasn't worn shooting boots or the 8 years he's been here, I hardly think he's going to start popping up with them now, regardless of the tactics. I still remember how amazing it was to see him score against Roma back in the CL game in 06-07.
PhysioRoom.com News @physioroom 38m #MUFC midfielder Michael Carrick has stepped up his recovery from ankle surgery & could return ahead of schedule
Seriously. Herrera is still learning his feet, but that leaves us Fletch who's been appalling and....Anderson. I see us possibly misusing Mata or maybe Wazza as a CM, and possibly even calling up a kid.