Cash & Carrick

Even though I can’t say sincerely that I’m a fan of Michael Carrick, the hue and cry in the papers and on the blogs that has accompanied his contract renewal, along with that of Darren Fletcher, touches on hysteria. First and foremost, although everybody clearly recognizes that he has lost the desire he showed at Spurs and in the 2007-08 season, not signing him would be stupid. Having overpaid to get him at £18M at a time when the Gaffer was obsessed with having a player of his own who could approximate the deep-lying, killer passing game of A.C. Milan’s Andrea Pirlo., I’m certain that Fergie went into the transaction with his eyes open. Yet, because he was terrified of any kind of physical contact, Carrick has just always seemed to be too soft and foppish to be a true Manchester United player.

Carrick thrived in a system where, particularly in Europe, opposition defenses were so stretched and overtaxed by the high-energy whirling dervish of activity that was the attacking trident of Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, that he, Owen Hargreaves, Darren Fletcher, Anderson and Paul Scholes could be sort of interchangeable. Indeed, it was only toward the end of the 2008-09 that we witnessed the wheels fall off the bus. When it became clear that Tevez and Ronaldo would not be back, it seemed to be Carrick who took the news hardest and give up the ghost long before that fatal meeting with Barcelona.

Although he’s been slightly better this campaign, the tall Geordie still tends to exhibit a kind of pig-in-a-factory-farm forlornness too often. Giving the ball away easily. Telegraphing too many passes. Absent-mindedly leaving the barn door open in front of his center-backs. As such, he has become very very unpopular and often suffers a relentless barrage of abuse from the Stretford End faithful. All this is true, yet I definitely think that Gilly and the Gaffer have it right, nevertheless.

Why? Well, clearly he’s not getting any younger, and the club could probably get five or six million quid for him from the likes of Sunderland, Newcastle United or his old club Tottenham Hotspur. Signing him for four years more means that those same clubs will have to pay substantially more to acquire his services. Indeed, any fool can see that, protected by the likes of Lee ‘Clatters’ Cattermole, Wilson Palacios or Cheik Tioté, Michael Carrick would probably thrive once again. Which prompts an even more logical idea. Isn’t it possible that, if United, having finally given up on the resurrection of Owen Hargreaves, buy an honest-to-goodness midfield enforcer like Yann M’Vila or Moussa Sissoko–someone who can run interference and protect him–Carrick’s career really could be revived.

Allowed breathing room and what I’ll politely call freedom from fear, Carrick, who hates running, can sit deep in midfield , and perpetually execute transitions from defense to attack. As with Pirlo and another United failure, Juan Sebastian Veron, although Carrick may not be even come close to the kind of strategic-thinking technicians these two are, provided he is not forced into a position where he has to win the ball, a lot of damage can be done to the opposition with his short and long passing, provided it is consistent and accurate.

Last, but not least, beyond selling or keeping him is his value as possible swap bait. United have been sniffing around Alexis Sanchez of Udinese for almost two seasons now. A team of very promising young players similar to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, Udinese have been discussing the idea of Carrick and and our sweet passing winger, Luís-Antonio Valencia being included in any transaction for the Chilean. Very much admired by Udinese’s manager, Francisco Guidolin, according to La Stampa, Carrick may not really want to play out the latter part of his career in the Calcio, but he will also surely recognize that his slow, deliberate style and eye for the killer pass would definitely be at home in Italy.

Congratulations to Darreninho also. Darren Fletcher may not own a whole lot of talent, but he can be relied upon, week-in week-out, to go out there and give 100%. I had no faith in him for years: too many giveaways, too many bad passes. Sir Alex Ferguson saw something different, however, a deep-seated determination to defy his own limitations. And in the end, the Gaffer was right and I was wrong. He has never quite been up to the role many people wished upon him as Roy Keane’s successor. He simply isn’t good enough to be that, but in the realm of ‘water carrier,’ as an eclectic player who can start for someone injured or come on to fire up his teammates in the 60th minute, the lad is irreplaceable. I expect he’ll be a red devil forever.

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Category: Manchester United