Michael Carrick image 16

Michael Carrick England flag

2015-16 Performances

View full 2015-16 profile

5.4 Season Average Rating
Appearances
42
Goals
0
Assists
1
Yellow cards
5
Status
Not open for further replies.
CARRICK: NEW SIGNINGS CAN BRING SUCCESS
Michael Carrick is “desperate” to win trophies during his 10th season at Manchester United and the evergreen midfielder believes the club’s new signings will support that ambition.

The Reds began the highly-anticipated 2015/16 season on Saturday with an important 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford, where Sergio Romero, Matteo Darmian, Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Memphis Depay all made their competitive debuts for the club.

Carrick gave an in-depth interview to the official matchday programme, United Review, to discuss his new team-mates, the fascinating battle for places in midfield, the club's famed youth policy and his recently-celebrated 34th birthday.

We have signed five new players this summer and quite a few have left the club as well. How does it feel in the squad after all that change?
It has been pretty settled actually, all things considered. The new boys that have come in have settled very quickly and I think it helps that four of them were here before the tour. Being away in each other’s pockets every day, you get to know each other quickly. It’s a good squad, there is a good spirit among us and it is a really happy camp. We are looking to carry that on.

As vice-captain, what role have you played in helping everyone settle in?
You obviously get to know them, speak to them and make them feel comfortable but I think it is a general thing among our squad. It is a friendly bunch of lads and the boys have settled in quickly. One of the things, when you do have a new signing, is finding them a home, finding them an apartment, a house, and things like that. So I have just been helping them, telling them about the areas, the restaurants, where to go, where not to go and all that type of thing.

How much quality do your fellow central midfielders Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger add to the group, and have you been impressed by them so far?
Well, we all know about them. Morgan has been at Southampton for a number of years and has been a very good player in the Premier League. Over the last three or four years, he has had some really great performances and we have all seen that. Basti is slightly different, he is new to England, but at the same time we all know exactly what he does and what he is all about. He has had an incredible career so far and he is going to have a big say in this team and this squad going forward.

Bastian seems to be settling particularly well - are the players tapping into his experience?
He has achieved so much. It is like any new signing, the boys – not just myself – ask questions and you try to pick things up, how they have done things in their past experiences and try to learn from it. He has been at the very top. He is a World Cup-winning captain - what more can you ask for?

Personally, are you relishing the competition for places in central midfield?
Yeah, but it is what I have had since I have been at the club. It is what this club is all about, having competition for places and a strong squad. That is how it should be. We want to be challenging on all fronts. We want to be going for the Champions League, we want to be challenging for the league title and to do that you need a big squad, and strength in key areas. It is good that the club has made these key additions and given us a chance to have a good season.

Having recently celebrated your 34th birthday, how do you feel physically?
I feel good, 34 creeps up on you and time has gone quite quickly, but it is not something that bothers me. I just have to judge how I feel, how I am and how I am performing. At the moment, I feel good, I feel fit and I am just trying to do the right things, look after myself right and give myself the best chance of playing for longer.

How good are the other lads, Matteo Darmian and Memphis Depay?
Yeah, I can speak for all of the new lads and say they’ve all done really well. With Memphis, you can see the ability he has got and obviously he is still learning the way we play and he is trying to fit in. But you can see instantly that there is real talent there. Matteo has been very impressive in training and in the games. He is doing really well, you can see what type of player he is and I am sure he’s going to have a good time here.

The boss played a lot of young players on tour this summer. Did they catch your eye?
I think they all did well. It was great to see that seven of the 11 that finished the Barcelona game came through the system. It is great to see in this day and age when there is so much money around with signing big players, that it is still hugely important to have the young boys coming through. This club prides itself on that and it has done for many, many years. It is vital that it carries on. Certainly this year, the big part of the squad is home-grown and there is some real talent in there as well. They just need to develop and when they get their chance, they should take it.

You’ve already won five league titles in your United career, but have the last two seasons made your hungrier for more success?
I wouldn’t say hungrier, because every year when I have been here we have been desperate to win something and to win the league. That hasn't changed, whether we have won it or not, to be honest. Every season, we have started the same and gone again. Regardless of whether you won it or not, you start from scratch and go again. One thing we have always done when we have won something is look at the next one and I think that is a real strength in how we have achieved what we have. Having the two years, that is gone now. When we haven’t been serious contenders and challenging is frustrating. Now is the time for us to get right back up there.
 
Bit sad that we went away from the one holding midfielder formation, Carrick was benefitting alot from having more time and space to do his thing, now he is further up and gets pressed alot.
Still think he will do good though, the 12/13 season isn't that long ago, and he almost single handedly carried our midfield from that same position.

With BFS to rotate with he will have a great season, still my favourite player here.
 
YouOnlyLiveTwice said:
Bit sad that we went away from the one holding midfielder formation, Carrick was benefitting alot from having more time and space to do his thing, now he is further up and gets pressed alot.
Still think he will do good though, the 12/13 season isn't that long ago, and he almost single handedly carried our midfield from that same position.

With BFS to rotate with he will have a great season, still my favourite player here.
Click to expand...
he just made four interceptions, nothing to feel sad as long as he can be used reasonably
 
Aston Villa 0:1 Man Utd
Rather poor today I thought. Seemed to shy away from the ball.
 
The change of formation seems to make different demands on Carrick, less time spent doing what he is good at, building moves and gaining possession through interceptions, and more time higher up the pitch, so far not really impacting the game at either end. When he tries to press high up the pitch, it just looks uncomfortable as he struggles to get there in time and has no chance of getting back to help the defence.

Perhaps the logic behind the new set-up is down to Carrick's age and trying not to rely on him.
 
Last edited:
Yea seems in midfield with 2 holdings and number 10,he looks different (performance wise) compared with 1 with 2 CMs in front,seems he has similar issues like Matic when Mou switched to 2 holdings with Mikel in 2nd half of last season,after change Matic form dropped.
 
kundalini said:
The change of formation seems to make different demands on Carrick, less time spent doing what he is good at, building moves and gaining possession through interceptions, and more time up higher up the pitch, so far not really impacting the game at either end. When he tries to press high up the pitch, it just looks uncomfortable as he struggles to get there in time and has no chance of getting back to help the defence.

Perhaps the logic behind the new set-up is down to Carrick's age and trying not to rely on him.
Click to expand...

This is precisely what I feel. He is little out of his comfort zone at this point and not every move is going through him. Hence, he is not able to stand out like seasons. Its better in the long term for him as well as the team. Arrival of Morgan and Bastian will hopefully benefit him as he is coming towards the twilight of his career.
We are not making the same mistake that we did while replacing Scholes.
 
kundalini said:
The change of formation seems to make different demands on Carrick, less time spent doing what he is good at, building moves and gaining possession through interceptions, and more time higher up the pitch, so far not really impacting the game at either end. When he tries to press high up the pitch, it just looks uncomfortable as he struggles to get there in time and has no chance of getting back to help the defence.

Perhaps the logic behind the new set-up is down to Carrick's age and trying not to rely on him.
Click to expand...

Same here, I think age and the likelihood that he's being phased out of a regular spot in the lineup are playing into this. I don't think Carrick was that bad, he is really playing with half the freedom he used to in splitting the pitch with Schneiderlin. The formation sucks for attacking purposes but at least we're not wetting ourselves every time the ball comes into our half.
 
Does he always start slow every season? He seems a little different to me this time around. He doesn't affect the game or rather run the game like he used to previous seasons. I noticed that even in pre-season. Has his role drastically changed? And this is why I'm not a fan of him and Schneiderlin starting. I think they are similar players. We need Bastian starting so he can be that deeper lying playmaker alongside Schneiderlin.
 
RDCR07 said:
Does he always start slow every season? He seems a little different to me this time around. He doesn't affect the game or rather run the game like he used to previous seasons. I noticed that even in pre-season. Has his role drastically changed? And this is why I'm not a fan of him and Schneiderlin starting. I think they are similar players. We need Bastian starting so he can be that deeper lying playmaker alongside Schneiderlin.
Click to expand...

Fergie said he always start the season slow and takes him about a month to come into form so hopefully he's right.
 
Man Utd 3:1 Brugge
Extremely poor first half. Can't effect the game higher up the pitch and is misplacing too many passes.
 
Sloppy again. It has long been a cliche that 'Michael Carrick starts slowly ' but he can't afford to with Bastian waiting. To be fair, Bastian is a level above anyway, and I reckon the boss was just planning on showing some loyalty to a senior player who had served him well by having Carrick first choice at first.
 
Rozay said:
Sloppy again. It has long been a cliche that 'Michael Carrick starts slowly ' but he can't afford to with Bastian waiting. To be fair, Bastian is a level above anyway, and I reckon the boss was just planning on showing some loyalty to a senior player who had served him well by having Carrick first choice at first.
Click to expand...

More to do with fitness of Bastian I think. I do expect Bastian to be starting ahead of him for a part of the season once he's up to speed.
 
Terrible game from him and not because of his own goal.

How many misplaced passes did he have? How many times did he charge off pressing the player with the ball leaving our midfield wide open with a simple pass by the pressured Brugge player? He looked like a naive 18 year old looking to impress someone. He usually has slow starts to his season. Maybe Schweini should take over starting duties?
 
Not mobile enough. He wasn't available to our defenders and his passing was off. Good that he went off
 
He hasn't been the same midfielder we saw last season, perhaps age is just catching up to him.
 
Thought again he was poor tonight generally with his play. Would much rather see Bastian in there.
 
Carrick is 34 now? I've loved him more than most since day one but I wonder if Basti might phase him out this season leading to Carrick leaving the club next summer

Sad to think that may happen but every great player's career has to end with us at some point
 
He looks fine physically though his mental sharpness/concentration has been lacking. I think he's just a bit slow getting up to speed after the summer and will be hugely important for us this season still.
 
Worrying about his form. After 3 games, he looked so lost. Having rough time adapting the new role?
Luckily, we have Basti but still neither of them can play 2 games a week.
 
You know he’s in poor form when he does that laser passing that only Mata in our team can control. The ball to Memphis was very creative and brave but kudos to Memphis for controlling that one, 9/10 would’ve lost it.
 
He'll probabaly play less ..its a pity that both him and Bastian are over 30 as they would have worked as partnership in their younger days with one at 6 and another 8..now we need Schneiderlin's energy a lot...But he's not done..Hes adjusting
 
As i've wrote before, i think he could have problems getting back to a 2 man midfield, the lone pivot role fits him better at this age where he has more time and space to do his thing.
Either way we will still have Bastian to rotate with him, so i'm not worried about this.
 
Think he is at least 30% better when playing that solo DMC role in 3 man midfield with point back.
 
Except for his assist he had a poor game. I don't think taking him off at half time was because he picked up a knock, I think it was tactical. He's been a good servant for us and vital to the way we have played at times over the years and it's a joke that he's not won more caps for England. I do however think this will be his last season for us and I would like to see Schweinsteiger get some starts rather than coming off the bench.
 
He's the biggest casualty of the switch to 4-2-3-1 IMO, I think playing as a #6 with 2 #8's in front of him doing a lot of work was ideal, like how Juve used Pirlo in his twilight years.
 
Man Utd 0:0 Newcastle
People probably disagree, but he's been much better than BFS. Spends much less time on the ball and closes down space better. Weirdly enough, he's been much more mobile as well.

Can only attribute it to Bastian not being completely fit yet.
 
He's been good since coming on ahh.

Seems whoever starts gets sucked in to our slow tempo a little and whichever comes on has the automatic advantage of being able to inject pace into the side with quicker passing.
 
Best midfield performance of the season.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.