Carrick: Momentum is building

James Robson

December 31, 2008

Michael Carrick

GIVEN his connections with Tottenham, Michael Carrick will hardly appreciate comparisons with Arsenal.

Not that United are being likened to Arsene Wenger's side, rather the Gunners' previous incarnation under George Graham.

It's not so much "1-0 to the Arsenal," as "1-0 to United."

Sir Alex Ferguson's side are making a habit out of winning by the narrowest of margins - even if their play of late should have seen them rack up a host of cricket scores.

Instead it has taken scrappy strikes to see off City, Sunderland, Stoke and Middlesbrough by one-goal margins, while Aston Villa and Tottenham have held them to stalemates in their previous six Premier League matches.

The last time they scored more than one in the league was their 5-0 trouncing of Stoke in November.

But while Ferguson has spoken of embarrassment and wastefulness - he can't fail to have been impressed by United's defensive resolve, which has seen them keep seven consecutive clean sheets in the league.

It is a statistic that looks even more impressive considering it has been achieved amid a host of changes to the back four.

Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Rafael and Gary Neville have all missed out for various reasons in recent weeks, with Nemanja Vidic the only ever-present during that run. Injury has meant Wes Brown hasn't featured at all.

But the impact of those absences have been softened by impressive performances by Jonny Evans and John O'Shea.

And it is United's meanness at the back that has allowed their forwards to be so profligate at the other end.

Wasteful

That was evident again on Monday when Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carrick and Ji-Sung Park were guilty of wasting a hatful of chances against Middlesbrough.

It is a trend that is causing Ferguson no end of concern, but Carrick insists United's recent form is that of champions.

"It's strange how things go," he said. "We had a spell last season when we kept winning 1-0 and went on a run of about five or six games on the spin.

"But it all counts come the end of the season and sometimes it is those games that turn out to be the big results. It's not all about the nice three, four or 5-0 wins - this is where you achieve success.

"Hopefully it is getting us momentum and on a nice run with something to build on come the New Year.

"Every game is big now. They all mean so much now. We've had two tough games against Stoke and Middlesbrough, but we can look ahead to a good rest of the season."

Even if United are fast becoming 1-0-specialists, it hardly represents a change in approach from Ferguson.

Only slack finishing has prevented them from significantly adding to the goals for column.

Instead they have saved their sharp-shooting for cup competition, hitting five against Blackburn in the Carling Cup quarter final and another five against Gamba Osaka in the Club World Cup.

Convinced

And Carrick is convinced it is just a matter of time before United get back to their usual best in front of goal.

"It's been difficult just because the teams we've come up against have defended really well," he said. "We had a number of chances against Middlesbrough and should have been more comfortable, but we've got to be happy with two 1-0 wins.

"The performances over Christmas weren't bad. They could have been better, but the important thing is that we won.

"I'd rather have missed chances than none at all. We've got the players to put them away, that's for sure, and I am sure they will start flying in for us.

"But you are successful by wining 1-0 when things are tough and we've managed to do that."

Carrick has known nothing but success since joining United in 2006, winning back-to-back titles, the Champions League and Club World Cup in only two years at Old Trafford.

But he insists that he is far from satisfied with his lot and is determined to add to his medals collection in 2009, with United still capable of winning an unprecedented quadruple.

"The year has been incredible," he said. "We set out what we wanted to achieve and to win three major trophies is something special.

"As players we can look back on our careers and take it all in when we've finished. Now we want to strive to achieve more and more hopefully 2009 even better.

"We said if we are in touch with the top after Christmas we would be happy. We've had a funny start, but if we can keep winning we will be right in there."

What do you think? Have your say.

Submit Comments | Comments (13) |

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The Big Red, Manchester (31/12/2008 at 09:36)

Carrick is right, The Man Utd Frieght Train will demolish everything in its path, weather it be 1-0 or 5-0, come the end of the season they all count.

I would rather win trophies by winning 1-0 than win nothing at all.

MUFC1878 (31/12/2008 at 09:49)

Looking at the fixtures, it is a big possibility that we can finish the season unbeaten.

From what I can make of it, the tough tests will be at home against Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Away, i'd say West Ham because of our recent record there, and possibly 'Boro.

Aside from perhaps a few draws here and there, if the forwards - and midfielders to a certain extent find their shooting boots, 2009 could be another memorable year for us.

the artist formerly known as Saha Rocks, pundit land (31/12/2008 at 09:49)

I fear that the next league programme will see us taking another step back. We can easily drop points against Chelsea (I can see a draw) whilst Liverpool, Villa and Arsenal should see off Stoke, WBA and Bolton.

Realistically, we'll be fourth again with 39, behind Liverpool (48), Chelsea (43), Villa (41) and just above Arsenal (38)though we can climb back to third (42) and still with a game in hand with a win against Wigan the following Wednesday.

So, to keep the momentum we cannot afford to lose against Chelsea. We'd still be potentially three points behind Liverpool but the Chelsea points would be the last we can afford to drop. We'd have to beat Liverpool at home and even then would still then be second on goal difference.

IMHO, I cannot see us winning the league this season.

joey (31/12/2008 at 11:57)

@ the artist formerly known as Saha Rocks: One thing we can all safely say about matches this season is they are not so predictable. Liverpool is not definitely going to defeat Stoke, if things were that simple we would already be 16 points behind the leaders, but as things panned out there's a twist lurking in every game this season. Settle down and enjoy the ride!

Cyprus Red, Cyprus (31/12/2008 at 12:09)

We should be in good shape for the rest of the season. I would be more concerned if we were not creating chances and I'm sure the goals will come. I read that Fergie is considering sending Ronaldo to Portugal to recharge his batteries before the Chelsea game and that sounds like a good move. He is certainly not playing at the top of his game and I don't think it's because he wants away. He is far too arrogant to allow defenders to better him which is what seems to be happening lately. I do believe that some team is in for a hiding very soon.

mick the red fireman, middleton (31/12/2008 at 12:17)

Well said Carrick its a marathon that ends in May not December. I was not in favour of the trip to Tokyo but when our team came on the pitch on a bloody freezing night v Middlesbrough to the introduction CHAMPIONS OF ENGLAND, CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE AND WORLD CLUB CHAMPIONS I felt two foot taller and a hell of a lot warmer,all the best to every one and can some of you bloody cheer up.

Andy Bergen, Bergen, Norway (31/12/2008 at 12:59)

@tafka Saha rocks: Stoke has proved they can take points from the fool. Villa, who I want to do well to pip the arsenal's fourth place, is playing a derby match, whilst Bolton is a team that the arse do not like to play.

As for chelsea, they should not, satistically, go undefeated in the season's first ten away games ;-)

As for the season so far, I'm a little ambivalent as how to feel; We're close to the top even though we really haven't played as well as last season, none of our bigges stars have really shone. So is this a sign of strength or a sign that we'll fall behind when the other top teams start winning at home? I both hope and expect the team to start the big red machine running, but we'll need Rooney and Ronaldo to fire on all cylinders, footballwise rather than agressionwise, more consistenly to compete on all fronts.

On another note: Can anyone explain to me why a lot of newspapers list Frazier Campbell as Hull's dream signing in January? He's played for United and Spurs this season, so unless the rules are changed he shouldn't be able to change clubs, should he?

Red Culture (31/12/2008 at 13:28)

I just cannot see it.

This season has been a frustrating one indeed. I cannot remember a good game thus far. Rooney promises us goals, it's half the season gone and he has only scored 4 Premiership goals. It's almost as if they are conserving some energy. He has not been injured so cannot use that one as an excuse. Ronaldo is off form, like any other player but you can see the team is suffering without his influence and goals. This proves Ronald is our most important player guys believe it or not. I know most of you would say it is Rooney for one obvious reason.

latiy2k, Toronto GTA (31/12/2008 at 13:41)

I am not sure if some people just write to wind others up or whether they say what they actually feel and believe. Why fear Chelsea and assume a draw. I actually believe that we will win. The boys will have rested well as SAF will mix it for the cup games, Ando, Nani etc will all play i the cups. Evra will be back, the only player truly missing is Hargreaves, a big miss, but they are also missing Essien. Are people assuming that Liverpool will not drop points in 18 games to the end of the season? Get real people and support the team. By the way, I do wish Old Trafford can be made a noise cauldron to frighten the opposing teams even more.

george (31/12/2008 at 13:46)

Ronaldo had a marvellous season last time.It was exceptional and it's a hard act to follow.This season he is being singled out for treatment which has little to do with football.Hopefully refs will protect him a bit more in the second half of the season because I think the continual physical assaults are beginning to frustrate him.A break in Portugal is a good idea.He's a footballer I hope he's allowed to play football otherwise we'll never see the Ronaldo of last season again.

george (31/12/2008 at 14:44)

Latiy2k;sadly people do post simply to wind people up.I find it unbelievable that those wind up merchants could actually be stupid enough to believe what they actually post.Hey wish 'em merry xmas and read the sensible ones.

Gerry, Glastonbury (31/12/2008 at 15:23)

We'd all take a scrappy 1-0 against Chelsea wouldn't we?

Lachupracobra, Nairobi (02/01/2009 at 12:19)

The momentum is there but Mr. Carrick u need to improve with the game coz u wasted like three goals at the last game coz there is no way a player can play with only one leg u have two, so pls i beg u to make those changes pls we need to top the league before the end of January.

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