Well, he definitely not the same Carrick we saw in 2007. His form is off for 1-2 season back. But now he has chance to get back into team (due to injury crisis) and he has done superbly. I think only Scholes is better than him in term of passer in game. But Scholes is lacking the interception.

I had the same impression of you last season. Why Carrick was still in the squad eventhough we all can see how shite he was. His passing was amazingly not connecting at all. It's like he was playing FIFA and holding the Long Pass button for too long.

But now (yes you MUST people, I have repent, but the sig it still stays there yo) I have to admit, Carrick is having the form of his life. One thing why he was overpriced is because he's English, and back then he was still a young midfielder, 24 if I'm not mistaken. But the gamble did not turn out good, he did not get selected for England due to his injuries . But doesn't matter now, what we have now is a very good midfielder capable of intercepting and passing, but not yet Roy Keane style (whereby he does a karate kick two footed tackle).

In terms of the behindness, however,
he is behind Scholes and Giggs,
it's hard to compare to Park because both have different style of play,
Ando is behind him by a landslide at the moment due to his form,
Cleverley is, well, we can't judge him yet because he has not played much games for the first team,
Fletcher was on top him, until he took an arrow to the knee until he got that serious injury that kicked him out for the entire season.

Skyrim joke was never funny to me but you just made me laughed

I beg to differ. He has not been off form. The stats back up this claim as his passing percentages, interceptions, tackles a game all speak for itself. Heck, the fact that Carrick has been our first choice midfielder for 5 years and now going on to the 6th year, speaks for itself. I'll admit that he has had bad patches of form, especially when he's not fit, but that's normal.

Carrick started as a box to box player, playing side by side with Scholes in 06/07. Back then, he was allowed to play forward more often and make more ambitious passes.

By 08/09, he was instructed to play as a dm to shield the back four. This "slump" that most people keep harping on about, is not a slump, but Carrick being asked to be a dm. At this point, his game became all about winning and retaining possession. This is proven by the stats I mentioned above. He isn't allowed to take risks, move forward, make ambitious passes, because that is not his job. We have Rooney and Scholes for that. He is being a team player and it's sad that people don't see this and keep asking him to do what he is instructed by SAF not to do. And people call him shit because of that.

It is only now, with Scholes back side by side with Carrick, that the team have reverted back to the 06/07 formula. All of a sudden, you see people praising Carrick again, as if he started out good, suddenly became shit, and now suddenly became good again. When all the while, he's been that damn good. Nothing has changed. Carrick is still Carrick. The only difference is that he is now being given more freedom to move forward and make passes. Like in 06/07

That's why I say. People need to understand that football isn't all about the flashy stuff. It's as much about the subtle stuff as well. Like tactics, interceptions, etc.

This post has been edited by +Newbie+: Feb 15 2012, 11:04 AM

While I agree with you that Carrick is/was overpriced when we bought him 6 years ago, he's been a solid performer for the club. The club isn't about 11 players + 5 subtitutes. The first team consists of about 25 players who all play their part in our success. Yes, Carrick isn't the best performer and he doesn't make killer passes like Scholes and yes, I agree that I've tugged at my hair so many times when Carrick decides to play a backward/side pass when we're trying to counter attack. But after all that, we cannot deny that he's been a good servant to the club over the years. Of course there are better holding midfielders than Carrick around. I personally prefer a box-to-box midfielder like Roy Keane or Darren Fletcher or a defensive midfielder like Owen Hargreaves or Makelele. But this depends on the tactics employed by the manager and in this case it's SAF.

I totally disagree with you that he is behind Scholes, Giggs, Park, Ando, Cleverley and Fletcher in SAF's choice. I honestly think that there is no bigger Carrick fan than SAF. He's stuck by Carrick through his highs and lows and has not wavered in his support for him. As I said earlier, it's a squad game and SAF will play who he deems fit according to the tactic he wants. This could change according to the opposition. Playing against offensive teams, he could choose a more defensive approach like Park and Valencia on the wings with Fletcher and Carrick in the centre or for teams who come out defensive against us, he can choose Scholes to pick them apart and someone like Cleverley/Ando to support him with Nani and someone else on the wings. I personally prefer Ando and Cleverley because I love the offensive movement and fluidity they showed in the few games they played together but against more experienced midfields, their inexperience could be picked apart.

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Added on February 15, 2012, 11:40 amIt depends on your definition of passing. Carrick could work on his long range passing. This is where Scholes excels in and Carrick doesn't show off that side of his game often enough. In terms of through balls, Scholes, Giggs and Rooney are miles ahead of Carrick at this point in time. Both Giggs and Rooney does this extremely well because their movement with the ball at their feet is excellent and they are such a threat with it that it creates gaps and space for teammates to run into. Their proven ability to find them with a through ball is immaculate. Carrick is good at short passes to move the ball around to get the defense on their toes and the catch them off guard rotating from 1 side of the field to the other. In the end, what I'm trying to say is that there's much more to passing than just kicking the ball with your feet to a teammate.

This post has been edited by konichiwawa: Feb 15 2012, 11:40 AM

Still flashy stuff, ambitious passes play important role. stats isnt all there is to judge also. it doest really tell the whole story

i like carrick coz he is such a team player,dont lose ball and work hard on the pitch. always make room for others to pass him.but he did shown some slump the past 2 season. he can do better as shown first 3 season. glad he hv step up finding back his form this season. But he never was a shit. people who call carrick a shit really dont understand how football being played

He just started playing, is a newbie

cant agree more than that, personally I love carrick, well his passing is not as great as scholes, but his interception is inch perfect, everytime when he is on the field, his 1st step of interception is superb crucial for tackling, he is definately one of the box to box midfield around in the league, the only player I can compare with him will be Scott Parker or the Real Madrid Alonso

Carrick bashing time now? When is Evans?

IMO the reason Carrick's form slumped in the previous seasons is due to adapting for his new role. Let's see if he can continue his form around, but most definitely he is the 1st choice CM right now.

coming soon

live in any footy forum

Carrick is always the first choice. no one can easily replace his role

interception is the new tackling since years ago. replacing makalele's role while player like mascherano doesn't much fit in anymore imo.

and with titles he's brought with the team since he joined us, he's not overpriced.

but he's being underrated is not surprising, even scholes was clearly underrated, usually top football players recognized quality of 'them', better than pundits/supporters.

serious???

Read OGS is being considered for Wolves job.

For me, carrick has been our automatic starter since he's fit. He's like rooney, if not injured, he'll play..he's not like the bullish type of roy keane, he's the opposite...i would say he's like rio (opposite of vida's style). Carrick is more of a classy type..trust me, if cleverley's fit, he'll partner carrick..and he's our first choice actually...the question is who to partner carrick..is it scholes, cleverley, giggs, fletch, ando or whoever is available.

I thought football is a team game? We as a team failed in those games, against Barca especially in thw two finals where we got outclassed. And against Barca, with how they pressed us, even Scholes would give the ball away. As for the Bayern game the fact that we were a man down for the 2nd half were the reason we went out.

As for his passing range, it depends on the role he plays. But if you look at Scholes' stats, it would be the same sideways passes that would dominate the chart. And I read somewhere a while back, he attempted more forward passes than any other players aside from the defenders at the club.

You expect him to be spectacular? Why is that? His role in the team is to shield the defence and keep the ball moving and he does it well than most players. He's been first choice ever since he got here, although he struggled for a bit before this season losing his place to Fletcher. But he was struggling with his ankle injury if I'm not mistaken.

People have been underrating our midfield a lot over the years. But with the supposedly weak midfield, we won the league 4 times in five years and went to the CL finals 3 times, winning it once. Should have been 4 finals really if the ref had any balls to give Bommel a couple more cards in that game..and against Inter, I would fancy our chances.

He's been consistently been very good in most games. He had a dip in form, which happens to even Scholes and Giggs when they're nearing 30, but this season ever since he got back in the side, he has stepped up another gear. He's very important to our defence too being the only one currently capable of shielding them.

Indeed

Remember when he scored a goal this season (where he dribble from middle of the field) sir alex even said that he shouldn't left his position to attack. He should be covering the back four

Simple passes are often overlook, I'd say. Cleverly has been doing what Carrick has done all the years with just an another advancement. A mobile type of Carrick.

Despite of getting worried of Carrick, we should be worry of Anderson. I'm not trying to question his ability but his consistencies that gets me. He's at what age now? Yet, he just can't be consistent with his gameplay.

And I agree with Wan, our midfield isn't as poor as it rumored to be. Just because we don't have any BIG names, we are NOT poor.

as the saying goes, only goal scorers gets remembered.what ever others do gets forgot, similair and very true with carrick.

if fans can easily play down the importance of dennis irwin, carrick whom still has years in him will be forgotten even faster. glory huntah mudah lupa

This post has been edited by mhyug: Feb 15 2012, 05:44 PM

Park? In the CM role he's behind everyone.
Scholes, Giggs, Cleverley..they would play with Carrick next to them.
Ando, still too hit and miss right now but he too more often than not is more suoted to play next to someone like Carrick.
Fletcher when in form is certainly a threat to his place when in form. But he can't shield the midfield as good as Carrick does.

As for overprice..look at all the English players that move clubs over the years. They all cost a lot. And his performance and contribution have more than made up for it.