Spot on article. Ok Carrick was never going to replace Scholes who could but few could have predicted the Corporal would fail to improve his game so little if any.

If he came through with even10 at United, i'd kiss the man full on the lips.

Lampard is not England's inventor. England have only had one creative player for two years: Rooney. Capello should pile more responsibility and belief onto Gerrard and feed his ego if he wants England to progress this summer.

Why isn't Carrick more central to plans?

I can offer a few reasons: Burnley away, Bayern Munich home and away, and April-May of 2010.

"Though he has proved he can be a top-class creative midfielder" Not meaning to be a hater but when!!!
He only scores about twice a season,cant recall him ever setting up loads of goals, his long range passing is much over hyped, great at punting into space and passing backwards though.

Birdy asked for some Carrick stats on one of the other threads, well here are some for the 2009/10 PL season.

Minutes played: Carrick 2111, Scholes 1946, Fletcher 2576
Goals: 3, 3, 4
Assists: 2, 3, 5
Attempts created: 30, 21, 40
Fouls won: 23, 18, 34
Fouls conceded: 14, 33, 37
Tackles won: 49, 60, 66
Tackles lost: 19, 20, 16
Total shots: 24, 26, 22
Shots on target: 10, 7, 9
Total passes: 1524, 1616, 1725
Pass success rate: 85%, 89%, 84%

his passing ??. most are back or sideways . a lucky man to have played for such a great club for so long . please go and good luck . lets move on

[quote name=Alias Smith, over the moon]Birdy asked for some Carrick stats on one of the other threads, well here are some for the 2009/10 PL season.

Minutes played: Carrick 2111, Scholes 1946, Fletcher 2576
Goals: 3, 3, 4
Assists: 2, 3, 5
Attempts created: 30, 21, 40
Fouls won: 23, 18, 34
Fouls conceded: 14, 33, 37
Tackles won: 49, 60, 66
Tackles lost: 19, 20, 16
Total shots: 24, 26, 22
Shots on target: 10, 7, 9
Total passes: 1524, 1616, 1725
Pass success rate: 85%, 89%, 84%[/quote]
That's a pretty formidable midfield by anyone's standards.

Carrick has been a good buy for United and has contributed greatly to the three EPLs won in his time. Unfortunately, the 2009/2010 season was a bad one for him. Only for a brief period, in early 2010, did he play anything like his potential. He has to be congratulated for shoring up the central defence when the back line went down like nine pins but, although I am a fan of Michael, it is plain that he was off his game and, towards the end of the season, it was no surprise to see Paul Scholes being chosen for nearly all games. I'm not too sure what happened to him - marraige, childbirth or something else - but we can only hope that he can get back his form for next season. Given his poor form, it was perhaps surprising that he was in the last 23 for the World Cup and it is difficult seeing him getting many starts in South Africa.

We don’t suffer from lack of goals in the team, he is the nucleus in midfield than ensures we retain possession, if you were to listen to half the moaners on here we would be playing route 1 football. With 9 man defenses week in week out at OT it is patience and guile that opens the doors, Carrick makes the other team chase the leather, 60 minutes later the gaps appear.

SIMPLES

BELIEVE

I still dont know what to think of Carrick. We won the league 3 years on the spin with him a regular in the side, and I dont think we did that despite him being in the 11. I think he does lack that little bit of self belief, at spurs he was a fine player, trying those 50-60 yard passes every game, he never does that for United. Although he was perhaps a suprise signing fo us, you could argue he had done enough to get his chance at the big time. However, I do agree that since he has been with us, like his passes, he has gone backwards as opposed to forwards. I wouldnt be shocked to see him leave this summer, but i do think he'll stay for another season but only becuase we cannot afford to buy anyone else.

Never was and never will be a world class creative midfielder. He has played beside one for a few years though. thats about as close as he'll get i'm afraid. An average player who is almost always exposed against good opposition and even against moderate opposition often fails to impose himself on games. Dropped for a player of the calibre of Darren Gibson for the crucial run-in says it all. If we think this guy is going to assume the mantle from Paul Scholes then we're in for a let down

Well done Alias but ultimately meaningless drivel. The player's errors meant we lost key games in the 2 biggest tournaments for us. If United supporters don't agree our CM needs to improve then ok Rooney will have to become superhuman. Given reptiles own the club maybe a plan is in place.

Proving that stats in black and white tell you very little when it comes to football. Its why SAF sends scouts to actually watch games not accountants to listen to the radio and read statistics.

Alias,

Was there a stat for calamitous errors conversion ?

Interesting stats there Alias - they tell me that if Fletcher gets the ball on target he is lethal, that he gets tackled a lot and that a 35 year old Scholes has won far more tackles than Carrick despite less time on the pitch and that Carrick is a marginally better passer of the ball than the mdfield general, Fletcher:)

Duncan, you could certainly interpret it that way, if you were determined to. You could also look at the stats and say actually despite them being three very different players there's surprisingly not a lot between their stats. We'll see how much playing time SAF gives him next season.

It is funny though to see the usual childish pops at me when all I've done is post the stats Birdy asked for. I've not even suggested they mean anything!

Look, every player has their poor games and their mental lapses. Sadly, Carrick's were too numerous this campaign and cost us dearly. While dubbed a "slow starter" by SAF at the beginning of the year to try and cover up some abysmal efforts, he started to come into it around midseason and then totally went off it by the end of the season. I do lay into Michelle quite a bit, but I do think it undeserved. He certainly can pass. To the calibre of Scholes....but he needs a heartbeat or two longer to do so which is where the problem lies. Certainly confidence came into it a bit, however I echo Steve, Glossop in stating that he directly got us the boot in both major competitions this past season (and spare me the "its a team sport.")

John Terry's, in Europe you could make n equal case for Evra, Rio, Vidic and Rafael getting us booted out of Europe. However, they aren't Carrick, so he cops it all.

Sorry Alias, I find it hard to believe any stats that show Scholes has made twice as many successful tackles as conceded fouls.

T&C - Perception, as they say, is reality. Sure Rafael can shoulder a lot of the burden for giving us the boot. Alas, he is/was...what, 19 at the time? Carrick the seasoned veteran should have known and done better.

And do not get me started on Rio. He bears some blame. There is plenty to go around. Carrick, however, was most notable for his failure to deliver and so justly gets slated.

Like SAF, I too thought we should have been in the final. Maybe it is my temper but i was happy to see Carrick on the bench the rest of the season as that would have been my reaction as well. I hope he comes back focused from the WC (if he isn't off) and proves me wrong. I truly do.

First of all, I want to say what a horrible article this is. It doesn't surprise me, though, because Mr. Mathieson is as anti as people on here, a real Boddingtons of a journalist trying to out-James Robson James Robson. I continue to stick up for and defend Carrick, and will never apologise for doing so. Partly because he's my favourite player, but also, because pretty much nobody is on his side these days. Above that, I find the wave of hate towards him very disheartening, and no player deserves that. Funny, in a stupid and bizarre way, that his haters dismiss statistics as meaningless whenever they're in Carrick's favour, but they're fine to use when you use goals and assists to compare him with Scholes, Xavi, Lampard and Gerrard- something that a few of you have done. Yes, scouts are sent, but both SAF and his scouts' judgements arrived at the conclusion that he was more than good enough for us!! He wasn't the player some of you wanted United to sign, and that much has been evident from the day he arrived at the club- Get over it, and get over yourselves. People have even questioned his 'mental strength', yet they're the ones with their knickers in a twist, with prophecies of doom, because we 'only made the CL quarter finals, won the League Cup (it's still a trophy), and finished second' (out of 92 clubs in the Football League, some of which are struggling for existence). I rather question those peoples' 'mental strength'. Carrick isn't an attacking midfielder, but because he's an intelligent passer, people expect every single play to present a chance on goal, and he's measured against those players wrongly and unfairly. No player can do that. He's always been defensive-disciplined, and when you look at other players in that position (Senna, Diarra, Toure, Mascherano, Pirlo, Mikel, Alonso, De Jong, Busquets... and perhaps that Ever Banega guy that Midfield General was banging on about), you soon realise that it's typical of such players not to score many- However, he still gets more goals and assists than those guys; what you have here, is other players being praised and acknowledged as great, worldclass midfielders when they don't do as much, and our own being dismissed by 'fans', know-nothing pundits and anti-United 'journalists', when the likes of Barcelona, Serie A, SAF and various top coaches and professionals recognise him as an outstanding player. Not only that, he made and won a higher percentage of tackles, had more clean sheets, and had a higher pass success rate than Alonso in at least 3 of the 4 seasons he's had at United, and Real paid up to £30m for that guy- By that reckoning, if a club wants to offer £40m, they can have an autographed t-shirt, and at a stretch, a guided tour of Old Trafford with the player. And that's before mentioning that he can play very competently in defence- an option that will be available to him in his late career, if he wants it. If his goals/assists makes him a 'screw/small cog', then please note that Carrick has scored more goals for United than Fernando Redondo did in his domestic career. Didier Deschamps was never a prolific midfielder, either, but you couldn't call him 'non-influential'- In fact, he went on to represent his country 103 times, and win that World Cup trophy along the way. You can also see how Real Madrid declined after letting Makelele go (he scored 2 goals for Chelsea, and one of them was a penalty- I wonder if he was a screw/small cog, too...). It's a very British/Irish thing to dismiss such players as 'crabs', 'screws/small cogs', 'rubbish', etc.- but on the continent and beyond, these players are cherished. Great sides recognise the value of defensive discipline and conservative play. The defence, as great as they are, will also tell you they're grateful to have Carrick in the side. United are an infinitely better side with him in it, and I for one, hope that he finishes his career here.

Burnley away- Jensen saved the penalty. It was wrong to take him off that duty, and completely a knee jerk reaction.

Bayern away- WHAT BULL. As someone else pointed out at the time, he was responsible for 50% of the interceptions/breaking up of Bayern attacks. It was a poor TEAM performance, but in relation to the other players on the night, he was one of the better passers (as far as I remember, the best percentage in our midfield) Park was accountable for 25% of interceptions. BOTH Bayern goals came AFTER those players left the pitch, so, to then turn around and blame him for goals which he couldn't have been on the pitch to do anything about is totally asinine as such claims are without foundation. The substitutions were tactical suicide, especially if the plan was to hold on for the 1-0.

Bayern at home- An unfortunate slip, but nobody questioned why he, a midfielder, was tracking a striker's run, or where the defence were, or Van Der Sar's position. You cannot put the blame on his shoulders alone. There were at least four or five others who had equally as much, if not more, to answer for. Nobody gives Olic enough credit, either!! He had work to do for that goal, and I thought he did well. No wonder United fans have an ungracious reputation.

He didn't play in the home defeat to Chelsea, or the goalless draw at Blackburn, so can't be blamed for anything there. You could just as easily say "No Carrick, No title"- the only difference is that that headline would have greater credence.

Excellence Of Execution
I agree with you about the constant moaners about Michael Carrick and I, too, am a fan but no player can constantly be at the top of his game. You must surely admit that Michael had a poor season by his standards in 2009/2010 but, hopefully, he can get back on track next year. Young Anderson also didn't make the progress we were all expecting last year and he is another player who can hopefully contribute more. If Owen Hargreaves has overcome his knee problems, we do have the potential to be up there challenging for the EPL again next season. Expect Michael Carrick to be part of that push - I ceratinly expect him to even though he was 'pants' for most of last term!

[quote name=Ed from Davyhulme, Manchester]Excellence Of Execution
I agree with you about the constant moaners about Michael Carrick and I, too, am a fan but no player can constantly be at the top of his game. You must surely admit that Michael had a poor season by his standards in 2009/2010 but, hopefully, he can get back on track next year. Young Anderson also didn't make the progress we were all expecting last year and he is another player who can hopefully contribute more. If Owen Hargreaves has overcome his knee problems, we do have the potential to be up there challenging for the EPL again next season. Expect Michael Carrick to be part of that push - I ceratinly expect him to even though he was 'pants' for most of last term![/quote]
Ed, I don't want to steal Ex's thunder but I thought Carrick started slow as a result of last season's injuries, then hit form before being pushed back in the defensive crisis. He played well deep but as the defenders came back to health and form Carrick went off the boil. He didn't play bad but Scholes played better. I don't see why any blame is being dished out to Carrick, when Rio, Vidic, Evra, Rafael, Neville, Evans and Brown are dodging the bullet

carrick, he wouldnt get in the blackpool team