Has Carrick proved himself good enough for Utd?

Michael Carrick, an English footballer, is considered by many as a lackluster midfielder; not only by ‘football pundits, but there are also a lot of of ‘Carrick haters’ even in Man United’s fan base! Since I am an engineering student, I have a question in my mind which I will answer it myself, to make it clear that “Michael Carrick is important in Manchester United”. Since, I am a Engineering student (yeah I wrote that once again!), don’t expect a direct answer.

Has he proved himself good enough for Man United?

A. “Probably Yes, Probably No!” This is my view on the above question and now I will convert that possibility into certainty. Bought in as a 24-year old from a North London club called Tottenham Hotspur, Carrick has so far spent 6 years at OT, and won 4 league titles, 2 League cups and a Champions League, during his spell up till now. Well, this sparkling trophy cabinet is understood by most of the so-called ‘footie brains’ as ‘luck’ or a result of hard work of the Ronaldos, the Rooneys and the Berbatovs in the then Man United line-up, and this is what I think is the small mentality of a football fan!

Sorry to say that, but it’s true when people judge the greatness and the talent of the footballer on the basis of goals scored! Yes, obviously it is an important factor, rather it is the most crucial factor in judging the player, but not the only one. It is because of this reason Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the best two players in the world (which obviously they are!) and in front of these two, players like Yaya Toure, Xavi, Alonso don’t stand a chance to be called ‘World’s Greatest’, though they are given the title like ‘Greatest Mid-fielder’ or ‘Greatest Defender’. But why this injustice? Aren’t they working hard or don’t they score crucial goals or don’t they assist? Sorry for changing the topic, but it was necessary to point out the reason behind me defending Carrick to be good enough for United.

So far in his career in a red shirt, he has played in various positions, from a mid-fielder to a central defender; he has played in each and every position for the club, apart from the role in between the sticks and those forward positions. Carrick has been criticized for not performing well when placed in the back-four, and this is indeed the bitter truth that he is not that good in winning the ball as a defender, like the one he is whilst playing in mid-field, but when used in his preferred mid-field role, he is one of the best central mid-fielders in the Premier League when it comes to keeping possession of the ball.

He is not the most suitable of midfielders whom you want to make forward runs, but is quite important when counter attacking, as he makes sure that the ball remains in the other half of the park. He forms an impeccable partnership with Paul Scholes, in which both the Englishmen transform the traditional 4-4-2 formation of Man United into a virtual 4-1-2-1-2 formation, with each of them swapping their relative positions with great understanding. It is nothing more than bad luck for him, that the super talented fellow English midfielders, Mr.Chelsea and Stevie G are still having the hunger and instinct to score vital goals and even braces and ‘tricks on the odd day, but that’s no valid reason to undermine the talent possessed by Carrick.

Adding to his misery, he has one more rival, another Englishmen who is often rather always preferred over him. Gareth Barry lives in the same town as him, but fortunately not for the same club! But again, like all the Man City players you cannot ask Gareth Barry to rescue his team by playing as a defender or a emergency striker, which is a plus for Michael Carrick .

Well, certainly Carrick is not my relative but as a die-hard Man United fan, it’s my responsibility to thank every player and more precisely, Michael Carrick in this article. Though he is not as influential as Paul Scholes or Steven Gerrard for the team, he is crucial for the club!