Written by Abir Ahmed Chowdhury.
Michael Carrick was almost a forgotten man at the latter part of last season. Players in the ‘Carrick role’ are often under-appreciated by many, e.g. Busquets. Although Busquets has a slightly different role to play for his club and country, both him and Carrick are similar type of players. To think of Carrick as a key man may be going a bit too far. Mainly because his performances last season were not worthy of much appreciation and there have been rumours this summer about his possible departure from the club. Even in the small country of Bangladesh where I live in, Carrick’s popularity is declining among the rapidly growing community of Premier League fans. So how could someone who has been out of form for some time now be United’s key man?
With Ferguson opting to play 4-5-1 in big games lately, there is always a need to control the midfield and keep possession of the ball. United’s midfield do not lack in depth, but in quality. Apart from Fletcher, there is no one who can provide stability in the midfield. Anderson has been out injured for a long time and it will take him some time to get back to full flow. Hargreaves’ career apparently seems over. Giggs and Scholes cannot play every game while Gibson has to improve his overall game and not just rely on shooting. Despite the rumours about Oezil recently, any new signing looks highly unlikely on the cards.
There is no denying the fact that Carrick is one of the best passers in the game. A product of the West Ham youth academy, Carrick played a major role in his first two seasons at Old Trafford. After the disastrous performance in the Champions League final defeat against Barcelona, he suffered from a severe dip in form and found himself on the bench for many important games last season. However, a great distributor of the ball, Carrick can play either as a holding midfielder or further forward as a playmaker. He can read the game well and make valuable interceptions. More importantly, he can provide the creativity which United lacked so many times last season with his immense footballing intelligence.
Carrick is often guilty of fluctuations in form and a lot depends on it. But on his day, he can work wonders with his accurate passing. If he can replicate the form that convinced Sir Alex to splash £14m to bring him to Old Trafford, United are in for a fine season.
