One man midfield in the second half. Harsh to blame him for anything, today.
Alas poor Carrick...WTF has happened?
- Thread starter Carl
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Remember when people used to think 18million was too much for him
I read that old thread when we just signed him. To be fair, posters who were there (and didn't agree with the price) and still here now, are 7 years wiser.He was basically playing Chelsea's midfield on his own.
At one point Chelsea had 3 or 4 players running past him with Cleverley nowhere in sight.
I didn't think Giggsy's assist for van Persie at West Ham would be bettered for us this season...
It's like that quarterback on American Football. Sometimes you are left scratching your head, how they could make those inch perfect 60 yards pass to the running wide-man (receiver).
The thing about today though is that some people will say that it's just another example of us needing someone who will control midfield and it's just harsh. There's only so much you can do, you can't stop the vast majority of players giving the ball away under little pressure or continually making poor choices. Carrick had a really good game and he was let down by those around him.
Yep. Seemed to be our only player who remembered how to pass... and he also was popping up with some vital interceptions.
I hope we don't end up burning him out.
Amazing pass (and even better finish to slow it right down like that) but struggled a lot later on, partly down Cleverly seemingly being knackered I think. Saying that, you can't blame wayward passes putting Evra in dodgy situations (and ultimately giving away possession for 1094848484th time) on someone else.
The 1 man midfield strikes again, it's a shame he couldn't see us through to a win but it's just evidence that Cleverley isn't quite there as a reliable talent for pretty much every game.
Chelsea's swarming was tough, but 5 of the front 6 were pretty woeful once Nani had gone off.
For this week, most will forgive and forget but if this becomes a habit..this run-in is going to cause heart-attacks.
Chelsea's swarming was tough, but 5 of the front 6 were pretty woeful once Nani had gone off.
For this week, most will forgive and forget but if this becomes a habit..this run-in is going to cause heart-attacks.
He was pretty poor in the second half too imo. No one should be beyond criticism. Especially with that showing. He didn't help himself either.
Didn't think he was poor in the second half.
Nope. It was utterly evident at the ground he had no support. For some reason Cleverley seemed to think it was a good idea to be 20 yards away from him at all times. Chelsea's midfield literally smothered Carrick - I think he did as good a job as possible.
I thought he was the only one second half who looked like a footballer, intercepted a lot of passes and played a lot himself that actually went to another footballer wearing a shirt of the same colour, as well as clearances that did not do the opposite. Seemed a novel prospect in that game.
Chelsea also pushed alot of men forward, they really went for the game hell for leather in the second half. Mata and Hazard were popping up everywhere and Carrick couldn't do everything.
His passing and reading of the game is just immaculate and he's a player that will play for this club for years yet, I still see Carrick here when he's late 30's, he's that good.
His passing and reading of the game is just immaculate and he's a player that will play for this club for years yet, I still see Carrick here when he's late 30's, he's that good.
He's knackered and with good reason. The guy needs a rest.
you're not always right.Though there was a really good slide tackle late in the game that left me with the usual sense of 'why don't you do this more.....' especially when he pussied out of a couple of duels with Ba who turned without any pressure and opened up play.
Thanks for that.
Aye. He's carried our midfield all season. We're fortunate he rarely picks up injuries.
I'm with the majority on this one. He wasn't poor in the second half at all. For one, he looked like the only bloke on our team that could pick out a fellow red shirt, and for a second, he made a few vital interceptions.
He's one of the reasons why we managed to hang onto a draw... him Rio and De Gea.
carrick is going to turn 32 this summer, we need to get high quality work-horses to compliment him like how marchisio and vidal let pirlo lord about on the pitch.
he's been a colossus this year but we need to start protecting him or else he won't last much longer at utd.
he's been a colossus this year but we need to start protecting him or else he won't last much longer at utd.
For about 4 years I've been waiting for Fergie to see this and buy some quality 'hard men' to run the legs around him.
In a 3 man midfield
--------HM-------
--Carrick--XXX
or
-----Carrick-----
--HM-------HM
Or in a midfield two someone to stay back and snap ankles and get in peoples faces and give him the ball on a platter. When he has to defend a lot of the time it runs him ragged and I am sure teams see this. It's not so much the 'get at Michael Carrick' but it can also be 'make sure he has no options for a one touch or quick pass'. He is so shit with his feet at taking the ball forward that often if you close down the options for him to make a quick one or two touch pass it completely nullifies him.
It's also why we sometimes struggle with getting the ball back and penetrating against continental teams. Hard men to do the dirty work for him would be fantastic but Fergie obviously knows a feck of a lot more than I do.
I'll look at the second half again but he didn't cover himself in glory from what I remember. No one really did. that's my point.
I bet you'll be surprised regarding Carrick. I remember him being the main one keeping good possession and also remember him playing some lovely balls.
Attack wasn't really the problem in the second half though, was it? Though I do remember 3 or 4 times when we countered he held up play with a bit of a sloppy pass by his standards.
It's these times when the opposition has a boulder sitting in front of their defense allowing 5 to free-float in the attacking half. He just doesn't seem to have the ability to sit with the defense and not get drawn out to the ball as if we are controlling the game. I agree when Cleverley wilted he had to compensate and that in turn dragged his fitness levels down another notch. Toward the end he was letting people by him for fun and jogging about well in front of the ball.
Though like I said, so was Cleverley and Patrice as well.
Even he was sloppy with his passing which tells you a lot. But I can forgive him as he's been class this season. I'm sure this is just a one off.
Was our best midfielder out there once again. Though at times it did seem like he was playing the role by himself. For large parts he shielded the defence really well and made some very vital interceptions to cut out Chelsea's chances.
I really hope we get a quality midfielder in the next transfer window to help him out, because as good as cleverley can be he goes missing in other games and Anderson can't stay fit enough to be relied on still.
I really hope we get a quality midfielder in the next transfer window to help him out, because as good as cleverley can be he goes missing in other games and Anderson can't stay fit enough to be relied on still.
Sublime
We should have broken the bank foe Javi Martinez. Oh well.
Here's an honest question to everyone over the last couple of pages who's been saying "Carrick has finally come good":
so you have a player who was signed in 2006, and has since then been the mainstay of the team (along with VDS, Rio and Vida) during one of the most successful periods the club has ever experienced, and somehow, he's only become good now?
I'm not buying this line to be honest.
so you have a player who was signed in 2006, and has since then been the mainstay of the team (along with VDS, Rio and Vida) during one of the most successful periods the club has ever experienced, and somehow, he's only become good now?
I'm not buying this line to be honest.
Oh yes, Carrick has been good since the beginning (apart from his one horrible season).
My theory in this is that when Carrick arrived, tough tackling, in-your-face defensive midfielders were still all the rage. Mascherano and Gattuso were viewed as the pinnacle of the DM position (with Makelele almost gone) and Carrick was so not like them.
The trend has shifted though, not least thanks to Barcelona and Spain and, well, Busquets. Suddenly, the elegant intelligent midfielder who is capable of retaining possession is something everyone needs. Carrick was always doing that but some people expected him to be a Roy Keane or Essien. Nowadays even Essien has turned to crap so the perceptions changed.
There's this perception that if the player is a tough tackling midfielder (destroyer type), that's all he can contribute. The fact is, player like Masch, Gatusso, and Makelele are good passer as well. They may have limited range of pass, but still decent in finding and distributing the ball to others. Otherwise, the like of Carragher could be a world class DM.
I've never got the tough tackler thing as a slight on carrick. Sometimes you want that yes and sometimes you want the guy who can do it in a much more controlled fashion, it's like having a go at rio for not being a tough tackler, all about partnerships, that's what vidic is there for.
I think for carrick one of the biggest things is that he's rarely had a proper partner in his time here beyond the first 2 seasons. After that both scholes and giggs have varied in form and increasingly needed protection when central. Anderson and now clev have needed time to settle/adapt and so need carricks experience, and fletcher and Hargreaves were only periodically available and perhaps not ideal partners for him.
Having a stable midfield makes a big difference imo and I've always had it as a factor in carrick not always being at his best or showcasing all his talent, it's tough.
I think for carrick one of the biggest things is that he's rarely had a proper partner in his time here beyond the first 2 seasons. After that both scholes and giggs have varied in form and increasingly needed protection when central. Anderson and now clev have needed time to settle/adapt and so need carricks experience, and fletcher and Hargreaves were only periodically available and perhaps not ideal partners for him.
Having a stable midfield makes a big difference imo and I've always had it as a factor in carrick not always being at his best or showcasing all his talent, it's tough.
Basically the only times Carrick has struggled at United is when he hasn't had a consistent partner, but luckily we've been able to provide that to him for the most part. His first three seasons it was Scholes, then Giggs for a season, Scholes for the second part of last season, and Cleverley for a majority of this season.
Giving Cleverley regular games is what I feel was the single biggest factor in us getting out of the zombie passing stage that plagued the beginning of the season.
He's had his ups and downs in his time here. Even his ups before have been not been the kind we've been over the last year and a bit.
Felt quite sad when I realised that he's 31 (32 in July) years of age. Probably is the type to go on until his mid 30's; but time has really flew by.
Also realised how much of an excellent professional he is. Doesn't make a peep of the field - like Scholes.
Also realised how much of an excellent professional he is. Doesn't make a peep of the field - like Scholes.
From first angle that assist look even more spectacular. Pass of the season definetely.
From first angle that assist look even more spectacular. Pass of the season definetely.
pirlo-esque.
please surround him with the same talent old-andrea has or we're going to destroy his legs.