Michael Carrick | 2013/14 Performances

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He played one of the balls that he's been playing every single match last season, it was around 90th minute I think to Danny but his touch let him down. Through enemy's midfield, right between the defenders, just perfect pass.

Hardly seen any this season from his, hope the next one's a lot better.
 
Zak Smith said:
Really hope to see an improvement next season, a return to the 2012/2013 form is definitely called for. Hopefully with some new midfield partners.
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I think we will see an improvement, but we have relied on him too much for a few years now and that's showed this season. I think we have poorly managed him since the 2011 CL Chelsea game at Stamford Bridge. Maybe under a different system he'll get more protection or whatever, but that doesn't excuse the fact that his legs have gone IMO. That also doesn't excuse the fact that we didn't buy an alternative (with the potential to become a replacement). Fellaini has played the "Carrick role" twice (against Everton and Real Sociedad) and that didn't turn out too well overall. I really thought Strootman was the best option for us...
 
Kostur said:
He played one of the balls that he's been playing every single match last season, it was around 90th minute I think to Danny but his touch let him down. Through enemy's midfield, right between the defenders, just perfect pass.

Hardly seen any this season from his, hope the next one's a lot better.
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I hope Van Gaal doesn't allow him anywhere near our starting XI
 
MoneyMay said:
I think we will see an improvement, but we have relied on him too much for a few years now and that's showed this season. I think we have poorly managed him since the 2011 CL Chelsea game at Stamford Bridge. Maybe under a different system he'll get more protection or whatever, but that doesn't excuse the fact that his legs have gone IMO. That also doesn't excuse the fact that we didn't buy an alternative (with the potential to become a replacement). Fellaini has played the "Carrick role" twice (against Everton and Real Sociedad) and that didn't turn out too well overall. I really thought Strootman was the best option for us...
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He's 33 next season and the game has changed dramatically in the last 5 years. I really hope the club either sorts out his game in relation to modern football allows him to rise again but I really see this season as a 'thanks Michael, great servant and all that but you're not the man to take us forward next season'. As much as I value his contribution over the last 5 years.
 
Dominos said:
Revisionism at its finest. If you were voicing that opinion at the end of 11/12 then you'd have been laughed off the forum.
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My memory isn't what it used to be, so I'll take correction but this is not his first subpar season for us
 
Don't mind him being a back-up/rotation option. Don't think he has the legs for a heavy schedule anymore. Still has enough quality to come on and do a job though.
 
Feel sorry for the bloke - he was our best player season before this one - but ultimately, he hasn't been good enough this season.
 
Would've taken him over Lampard purely because of the nature of the rest of the midfield cohort. It's very attack minded and as an option for 10 minutes to calm everyone down and just pass the ball about (if/when needed) - he's the man. Poor season but very unlucky for me.

Hopefully the free summer can have the same effect it did in 2012.
 
Looking at the English midfield I can see a injury looming somewhere. I won't be slightly surprised if Carrick is on the plane to Brazil come June.
 
He hardly got a call last year in qualifying games when he was easily best England's midfielder, so I am not surprised he didn't get a call this year. I hope he won't go even if someone ends up injured, we need him fresh next season, I still think he has at least one excellent season at top level for us and I think it could be next year hopefully with top manager who will get the best out of him.
 
Its England's loss our gain. I still can't my head around the insanity of having only Gerrard in the DM position. He's not even a defensive midfielder to begin with! That's a big risk. Carrick could have at least gone for squad depth if Barry wasn't chosen.
 
He's paid the price for his poor performances, lack of bollocks, and general hiding all season.

No real loss to England.
 
He's made a habit of following up one brilliant season with a thoroughly average one. At this rate he might look great next season. With all the departures I'd love for him to get a bit more vocal and mentor the young players, which seems to be an issue for him. I've never seen him properly have a go at someone on the field despite being put in blind alleys time and again from some passes.
 
Lets be honest, he was useless this season. And he's at an age where it might be foolish to expect him to get back to his 12/13 form.
 
The Mitcher said:
Its England's loss our gain. I still can't my head around the insanity of having only Gerrard in the DM position. He's not even a defensive midfielder to begin with! That's a big risk. Carrick could have at least gone for squad depth if Barry wasn't chosen.
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No need to have another defensive minded midfielder. The key of having Gerrard in that role is he can dictate the tempo of the game, but also has the confidence to drive his team through a piece of individual brilliance or by his all round style. Had Carrick been used I fear he'd have been moving around like a headless chicken in those conditions. Henderson has the engine to be box to box and the likes of Wilshere and Barkley come deep and occupy different positions on the pitch.
 
Gerrard only did well for Liverpool in that role because he had high energy midfielders playing ahead of him, providing him with a shield, legs, and passing options. Alonso and Pirlo enjoy the same luxury, while Carrick, the same type of player, has to settle for playing alongside just one partner, be it the catastrophic Fellaini, the invisible Cleverley, or the broken shadow of the player that was once Fletcher. Is it any wonder, then, that Carrick has suffered greatly this season, a static system with very few passing options and the bulk of the responsibility of doing everything in central midfield on his own?

Liverpool played some spellbinding football this season, but their defence was even worse than ours. They conceded 50 goals, we conceded just 43. Even with a nice modern midfield built to facilitate and accommodate an aging Gerrard, there was no defensive nous in their midfield, Gerrard isn't a natural for that role. Carrick is. England will be torn to shreds in Brazil, very excited to watch England play, 100% expect second rate talents like Barkley and once great talents like Wilshere who have made zero progress since 19 praised for their lion-heart bravery, while the team performs without cohesion and organisation.
 
Boycott said:
No need to have another defensive minded midfielder. The key of having Gerrard in that role is he can dictate the tempo of the game, but also has the confidence to drive his team through a piece of individual brilliance or by his all round style. Had Carrick been used I fear he'd have been moving around like a headless chicken in those conditions. Henderson has the engine to be box to box and the likes of Wilshere and Barkley come deep and occupy different positions on the pitch.
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Gerard doesn't dictate games, he's not that type of player, never has been.
 
Annihilate Now! said:
Feel sorry for the bloke - he was our best player season before this one - but ultimately, he hasn't been good enough this season.
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I think the signs were there last season tbh. I called it at the start of the season that Carrick was possibly a weakness in our side. He's still probably our best passer of the ball, but he's becoming increasingly less mobile. Reminds me of the situation when we bought Carrick to play alongside a tiring Scholes. You can see this issue plain as day when he plays alongside Fellaini or Fletcher. It's why our best CM partnership is still Clev/Carrick or Jones/Carrick.

Warning signs were there at the start of last season when teams strolled through our central midfield at will. It's even worse this season. It's a shame for Carrick, but I think it's the right decision for this tournament, I feel for him because he really should have been and started in the previous few tournaments though.
 
He has become to comfortable. He looked at his competition this season and laughed. He could put out a half-baked performance and still be our best midfielder, which speaks volume of the type of quality we have in this area of the field.
 
His legs have gone and given he was always an interceptor rather than a tackler you need the legs to get there.

So slow in possession but that could be a lack of confidence and of course the complete lack of movement in front and to the side of him this season.

Don't believe he'll be fit to start next season, have him as an option on the bench when we need to calm things down or play him in cup games and dead rubber matches.
 
For me, Manchester United (or indeed any other top club) is at its best when goals are coming from deep throughout the squad.

Carrick, as a central midfielder, repeatedly struggles to score. In his last four seasons he played 171 games, yet on a season-by-season basis his goal tally was 0, 2, 2 and 1. I always hoped he would develop into more, but five goals in 171 appearances is simply not good enough for a creative player at a club like United.

The only thing in his defense is that our whole midfield suffers from the same malaise: Nani - four goals in two seasons, Young - three goals in two seasons, Cleverly - five goals in two seasons, Valencia, five goals in two seasons, Kagawa - six goals in two seasons, Fellaini - no goals this season. These players need to be averaging closer to 10 each campaign, and Carrick will never do that now.
 
Not had the best of seasons for us (who has) but I'm very surprised he's not in the England squad. If Gerrard gets injured, we've got no one who can play in front of the back four.

If he wanted to drop someone it should have been Lampard. With Lallana, Wilshere and Barkley in the squad, we don't need anymore attacking midfielders in the squad. Poor decision by Roy.
 
Amar__ said:
He hardly got a call last year in qualifying games when he was easily best England's midfielder, so I am not surprised he didn't get a call this year. I hope he won't go even if someone ends up injured, we need him fresh next season, I still think he has at least one excellent season at top level for us and I think it could be next year hopefully with top manager who will get the best out of him.
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If Wayne Rooney was having a blinder last season or Robin Van Persie was English I would have had Carrick in there in a heartbeat. Made him the staple along with those players. As it stood, as a cornerstone player he just doesn't offer enough on his own. Certainly can't be relied upon when the going gets tough and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of managers thought that.
The Mitcher said:
Its England's loss our gain. .
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What have we got to gain from his in-comprehensively awful season in which he's dropped (quite rightfully) in a subsequent major tournament following?...
That's a bizarre one.
Amadaeus said:
He has become to comfortable. He looked at his competition this season and laughed. He could put out a half-baked performance and still be our best midfielder, which speaks volume of the type of quality we have in this area of the field.
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It says the player is a serial bottler and must be removed from the squad immediately if he strolled around half arsed like he didn't care. I'd chin the cnut given the opportunity if he came out to morrow in the papers and said 'I didn't give a shit, I just played half arsed'.

Lucky in reality that didn't actually happen and in fact he is becoming less mobile and his lack of individual bottle and his lack of defensive ability one on one stuck out like a sore thumb. Breaks down every single player in our team and doesn't form a proper cohesive combination anywhere with the type of immobile game that he plays. (In a 4-4-2 variant system that is).
 
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So off the back of a truly woeful season and he should be in the England squad. He's afforded a forgiveness that no other player in the squad has, its always someone else's fault - personally I can't wait for Van Gaal to get in and iscolate him from the starting XI entirely. Our biggest weakness for the last 4/5 years has been out midfield, Carrick makes up 50% of that midfield.

Tell me, if Gerrard had played this poorly this season (ignoring the captaincy) would you all still be calling for his inclusion in the World Cup squad?
 
I don't think he "deserves" a call up for the squad but when there's no other DM alternative to Gerrard, who has little to no experience in that role in international football himself, it opens a door for Carrick.

Hopefully the new manager gets a couple of quick dynamic grafters in before the season starts
 
Steven Seagull said:
I don't think he "deserves" a call up for the squad but when there's no other DM alternative to Gerrard, who has little to no experience in that role in international football himself, it opens a door for Carrick.

Hopefully the new manager gets a couple of quick dynamic grafters in before the season starts
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In that case wouldn't Barry be a far superior choice?
 
People are missing the point with Carrick and his exclusion from the England squad, I think.

Most of those who are arguing that he should be there are not claiming that he should be a first-choice midfielder who starts the tournament in the team. However, there are literally no defensive-minded midfielders in the squad. I guess Hodgson will continue Gerrard in a deep-lying defensive role, as he's played for Liverpool this season, but he's actually not particularly well suited to that position. Liverpool have conceded a tonne of goals and Gerrard is limited in what he offers defensively. On top of that, a lot of the defensive work which Gerrard does is based on that 'heroic' approach where he barges around midfield making spectacular, last ditch tackles. That's all well and good, until you get to Brazil and it's over 30 degrees celsius. You need someone who is more disciplined and able to protect the back four more effectively.

As bad as he has been this season, Carrick could offer that, whilst also providing back-up for Gerrard, were he to be injured.
 
Steven Seagull said:
Yes, based on this seasons performance. If we're going to have one anchor of the midfield though I would probably pick Carrick. I think current form is looked at with too much importance with England
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Strongly disagree there, form over the period of an entire season should be the main reason to pick a player, especially as he was played consistently and in his favoured position.
 
Ideally he won't be a starter come the 14/15 PL season (in other words we'll have signed a couple of good/great CMs). Carrick has disappointed me massively this season when I think about how he played last year.
 
kouroux said:
Ideally he won't be a starter come the 14/15 PL season (in other words we'll have signed a couple of good/great CMs). Carrick has disappointed me massively this season when I think about how he played last year.
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The biggest disappointment in an all around disappointing season for me. I thought he'll build on last season; become the leader and the deep lying play-maker that we need in the midfield in what would be his prime. Unfortunately, he had his worst season in a United shirt.
 
No surprise in the slightest he is not in the England squad, been invisble all season, folds like a pack of card when pressured and fully deserves to be watching the World Cup from home.

Amazed he is on the stand by list, I'd take Barry, Huddlestone ahead of him.

I wouldn't sell him but he would be reduced to a squad player unless he grows some balls.
 
I think he'll still be with us next year. Realistically, we aren't going to sign three centeral midfielders, so there's no reason he can't stay as a rotation option. At 33/34 I don't think he will be too disappointed to only play 20/25 games.
I'd definitely rather we got rid of Fellaini first, and I'm sure Van Gaal won't want someone who can't pass the ball in his squad.
 
He'll probably still be here next season and I'll be happy to see that, but there's no way that he should be playing anything close to the amount of games as he's used to. We have to bite the bullet and bring somebody better in.
 
Kayo said:
No surprise in the slightest he is not in the England squad, been invisble all season, folds like a pack of card when pressured and fully deserves to be watching the World Cup from home.

Amazed he is on the stand by list, I'd take Barry, Huddlestone ahead of him.

I wouldn't sell him but he would be reduced to a squad player unless he grows some balls.
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He should have gone instead of Lampard. Who will play the anchor role if Stevie is injured? It has been 15 years & 5 managers, but the obsession with Gerrard and Lampard is still alive and kickin'.
 
Shinjisan said:
The biggest disappointment in an all around disappointing season for me. I thought he'll build on last season; become the leader and the deep lying play-maker that we need in the midfield in what would be his prime. Unfortunately, he had his worst season in a United shirt.
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I agree and it is a shame he never really made that final step up. With the season he's had, I am not surprised he doesnt go to Brazil. I dont have much hope that he will be a different player next season
 
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