Replacing a crucial player is never the easiest thing in
football. It’s a skill even the likes of Fergie and Wenger found hard to
master. 10 years on, Arsenal are STILL yet to replace Patrick Vieira, no matter
how many times the issue is mentioned on Soccer Saturday.
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| Roy Carroll's finest moment |
Fergie was able to get it spot on at times – Ronaldo
replacing Beckham didn’t turn out too bad at all. Then at times he got it
wrong. After Peter Schmeichel left the club, a string of goalkeepers including
Mark Bosnich, Fabien Barthez, Tim Howard, and Roy Carroll attempted to fill the
number one spot before Fergie finally settled on Edwin Van der Sar.
There was one issue the Scot had more trouble with though:
replacing Paul Scholes. The Ginger Maestro couldn’t play on forever, and
finding his successor promised to be a near Herculean task. Sure enough in 2011
Paul Scholes announced his retirement and after months of searching United
replaced him with….well Paul Scholes. Stroke of genius or helpless desperation?
Scholes eventually called it quits just before David Moyes’
disastrous United reign, performing the greatest bullet dodge since Neo in The
Matrix in the process. While Scholes has finally found his voice as a pundit, his heir apparent is still yet to surface. Now, United
find themselves with a much bigger problem – preparing for life without Michael
Carrick.
The holding midfield role is one that has become crucial in
the game, and it is utilised with rigid uniformity amongst near enough every
team on the planet. Like any position on the pitch (bar goalkeeper) there are
several variations, which countless hours playing Football Manager helped me
discover. There’s the anchor man. Jose Mourinho’s bread and butter. The Nemanja
Matic type who’s main objective is to sit in front of the defence, nick the
ball and give it to the more creative players. There’s the ball winning
midfielder. The destroyer. The hard man in the Mascherano/De Jong mould charged
with winning the ball back at any cost. Then there’s the Regista, which roughly
translates to ‘The Conductor’. He’s the metronome, the heartbeat, the guy who
makes everything tick. Not only can he recycle possession quickly and
accurately, but he has the eye for a killer pass. The likes of Andrea Pirlo,
Xabi Alonso – and Michael Carrick.
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| Setting the standard |
Yes I’ve put Michael Carrick in the same sentence as Pirlo
and Alonso and I’ll debate this until my dying day. Is he as good as the two of
them? Probably not. Is he far off? Not at all. His beard game may be
significantly weaker, but he is the closest thing England have to them. Carrick
is seemingly the perfect player to play at the base of the diamond formation
Roy Hodgson persists with, yet he is continually overlooked for England. In terms of a
midfielder who just sits and dictates the pace of a game, few players in the
country are as good as him. Maybe Gerrard last season, but his form has been on
a ‘slippery’ slope for the past year. Maybe Fabregas when he plays deeper.
Maybe.
Carrick possesses all the qualities of a top quality
midfielder. His passing range is much better than people give him credit for. There’s
a common consensus of fans outside of United that Carrick only passes sideways.
Frankly it’s a myth which does him a huge disservice. I once made a friend
watch a 15 minute video dispelling the notion. It’s easy to see why fans think it’s
hard to believe he’s not Scholes. His positioning and reading of the game are
also excellent, which is why he’s been trusted to play centre half during his
United career. My Sunday League manager once said to me its speed of mind that
counts, not speed of body. It was no help to me as my legs and mind were
equally pedestrian, but it’s evident in players such as Carrick and John Terry.
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| Carrick with the Champions League in 2008, after scoring a penalty in the shootout against Chelsea |
Experience is another quality often overlooked in Carrick. Multiple
league title winner, Champions League Medal, Club World Cup title, not too dissimilar
to Pirlo and Alonso. Granted he’s missing a World Cup, but it’s not his fault
England are depressingly unsuccessful. He’s been at one of the biggest clubs in
the world for nearly a decade. That kind of knowhow is invaluable in a dressing
room. In United’s last title winning season during which Robin Van Persie
almost single-handedly delivered the trophy with his 30 goals, it was Carrick
and not the Dutchman who received the Player’s Player of the Season award - a true
indictment of his value to the team. He may not be as agile as a Matic or a
Busquets. He may not be as aggressive as Roy Hodgson’s Ballon D’or winner
Mascherano. And he may not be able to strike a dead ball like Pirlo. But his
game is so well rounded that he becomes an asset to the team.
Herein lies the problem. In Louis Van Gaal’s new possession based
United team, Carrick is essential. When he is injured, the team simply doesn’t
function properly without him. The tempo becomes slower, more predictable, and
easy to defend against. Possession without purpose. Players in his position take extra unnecessary touches to move the ball on, and when the forward players make the runs, nobody has the quality or the stones to make the pass. Upon Carrick’s introduction
into the team at the start of the season, United went on a 10 game unbeaten
run. More recently, United won 6 in a row including away to Liverpool, and home
to Tottenham and Man City. Carrick gets injured, and United lose three in a row
to Chelsea, Everton and West Brom. United’s win ratio with Carrick in the side
this season stands at 72%. Without him, 35%. Coincidence?
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| Carrick hasn't appeared since the Manchester Derby. United haven't scored a goal in his absence. |
United have tried to fill Carrick’s void at times this
season and it hasn’t worked. Rooney, Blind and Herrera have all tried but to no
avail. Carrick turns 34 this year, so time is hardly on his side. Injuries have
become increasingly frequent for him, and United suffer as a result. If and
when Carrick starts to decline, United can’t afford to spend 2 or 3 seasons
replacing him if Van Gaal wants to make good on his promise of bringing the
title back to Old Trafford within 3 years. At the very least they need a suitable
deputy who can come in when Carrick is side-lined. The right player may be hard
to find, but United need to find him as a matter of urgency.
The video helps make my point. Not really sure why it was made though.
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