Why Michael Carrick Deserves Credit

As pleased I was with Manchester United’s win over Chelsea on Wednesday night, there was one player’s performance in the game that shone out that as a United fan satisfied me the most.

Michael Carrick may not be the most gifted or popular player at United, but his performance in the heart of the United midfield was nothing short of exceptional. Carrick never has or never will be blessed with pace, but he used his reading of the game well last Wednesday and made sure that he was always in the right place at the right time for United.

It wouldn’t be wrong of me to say that Carrick is not the most popular or gifted player at the club. Over the last 2 seasons or so, his performances have not always been brilliant and often when United don’t play well, he usually is one of the first players that our fans blame for our misfortune.

It’s just one of those things that happen to players, just like for how Emmanuel Eboue was blamed by Arsenal fans seemingly week in and week out when Arsenal were going through a bad patch 2 seasons ago.

Eboue famously of course was able to win over the Arsenal fans and while it looks likely that he’ll move on from the Emirates in the summer, he can look back on that dark time in his career and say that he’s got over it.

Of course Carrick hasn’t quite been criticised by United’s fans to the extent that Eboue suffered, if barley at all. However when it was announced last month that the England midfielder had signed a contract extension to stay at the club until the end of the 2013/2014 season, there were a lot of United fans puzzled by the news.

With Carrick being 29 and looking seemingly unlikely to get better as a player or at least get back to the form of his first 2 seasons at the club, it seemed like there were better options in the centre of midfield for United. As funny as football is, it looks as if Carrick’s confidence has shot up since getting that contract extension and finally he looks like he’s getting back to the form that saw him a regular in the United midfield.

His performance at Stamford Bridge was great to see. His pass to Ryan Giggs that helped set up Wayne Rooney’s 24^th minute strike was nothing but sensational. It was the kind of pass that was reminiscent of the Carrick that played at Spurs, when often he would produce passes that would have Aaron Lennon, Jermaine Defoe and Robbie Keane licking their lips in similar scenarios.

To a degree had Paul Scholes produced that pass, probably more and more football fans worldwide would be raving about the pass and adoring it over and over again on YouTube. Sadly because it’s Michael Carrick, the pass won’t be getting the major recognition that it deserves at least on the continent. But that’s football for you.

Should Carrick’s good form continue it will be good news for United who with Paul Scholes looking likely to retire at the end of the year will need the Wallsend-born boy to produce more alongside the likes of Darren Fletcher, Darren Gibson and Anderson.

With the likelihood that a big-name midfielder such as Wesley Sneijder or Daniele Di Rossi will be joining the club next season, it’s vital those already at the club help make it easier for that new signing to bed in.  It’s all about getting the right ‘balance’ in midfield, and Carrick according to his club captain Nemanja Vidic’s praise certainly has plenty of that.

Adam Dennehey - http://twitter.com/#!/ADennehey87