Though often maligned for his lack of assertiveness, Michael Carrick is quietly effective for Man Utd in Europe, as tactics blogger Michael Cox argues in a piece exclusive to ITV.com.
Few players have had their recent career so widely defined by one game. The abiding memory of Manchester United’s 2009 Champions League final defeat to Barcelona is the sight of Michael Carrick trying – and failing – to pull the strings from the centre of the park.
It’s a little harsh that Carrick’s performance is remembered in such a negative fashion. The truth is that Barcelona had a clear, deliberate strategy to disrupt his game. United’s main attacking threats may have been Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, but with Barcelona’s backline depleted through suspension, they instead had to cut off the supply to those players. Carrick was the man pinpointed as United’s heartbeat. “Carrick gives United balance and can play defensively too”, Xavi Hernandez said before the match.“He passes well, has a good shot and is a complete player.”
He wasn’t given time on the ball to settle, and therefore his long, diagonal balls to the flanks were often misplaced. At least he was involved, however – Ronaldo and Rooney barely influenced the game at all.
It’s a particular shame the former Tottenham player endured such an unhappy memory in Europe, because it is the Champions League where he’s really made an impact over the course of his United career. He was arguably United’s best player in their most impressive performance since he joined the club, the 7-1 home win over Roma, and was also excellent when United lifted the Champions League trophy against Chelsea in Moscow in 2008. Having started United’s last seven European games, it’s clear Ferguson remains confident in Carrick’s ability.
Calm and steady
Carrick's game is based around a calm, steady passing role from the centre of the pitch. Whilst Barcelona and Spain are the best club and international sides in the world through short passing, there are still some who question the worth of a player designed to keep possession. The frequent criticism of Carrick is that he only plays the ball sideways, favouring easy square balls rather than more ambitious forward passes. That misunderstands the way United play, though – they lack a central attacking midfielder, a Cesc Fabregas or Rafael van der Vaart type, and their main creative threats are all out wide – Antonio Valencia, Nani and Ryan Giggs. Carrick’s job is essentially to get the ball from a teammate and distribute it from side to side, and he usually performs this task admirably.
The statistics back up what a key player he is. In United’s previous Champions League match, against Marseille, Carrick finished with a 93.1% pass completion rate, by far the highest on the pitch. He’s also ranks No 10 in the ‘most passes played’ table for the Champions League so far this season, and yes, he does play a lot of square passes – the seventh most in the competition. However, when you consider that the six names ahead of him on that list are Dani Alves, Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Xabi Alonso, the sideways criticism looks rather impotent.
A confidence player
Without the ball, he doesn’t thunder into tackles like Roy Keane, but he presses, occupies and intercepts, winning the ball in a less spectacular but equally effective way. Again, he’s amongst the best in the competition in this regard – only two players, Benedikt Höwedes of Schalke and Marseille’s Lucho Gonzalez – have made more interceptions than Carrick.
The main problem is that Carrick is a confidence player. When not on his game, he can look as if the game is passing him by – whereas Keane, Carrick’s predecessor in the No. 16 shirt, could always fall back on his attitude.
Wednesday night’s game against Chelsea will be a big game for Carrick. United’s recent trip to Stamford Bridge was a game of two halves – their ‘double pivot’ of Carrick and Paul Scholes controlled the game in the first period, but was completely overpowered in the second. That juxtaposition underlined that a particular type of game suits Carrick – a patient tactical encounter rather than a blood-and-thunder war. Which will it be on Wednesday night? The answer might influence how Carrick performs.
Still, as a central midfielder, Carrick can’t simply go along with the tempo, he must dictate it. If he wants a calm, technical game, it’s up to him to get on the ball and make sure that happens.
Chelsea v Manchester United is live on ITV1, ITV1 HD and ITV.com on Wednesday 6 April, from 7.30pm. Countdown to Kick-off is on ITV4 from 7pm.
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