The Official Manchester United Thread

[Lieutenant]

CL final 08

[Agony]

Forgot to post this before but its seems kinda relevant now

Michael Carrick: Midfield Genius

05. Nov, 2010

Michael Carrick: Midfield Genius

Michael Carrick is the quintessential ball playing midfielder, a player who on his day provides creativity, defensive nous and finesse in equal measure. But why does he get such bad press and further, why is he currently enemy no. 1 with Manchester United fans given the fantastic service he has given the club since his arrival in 2006? It is his name you hear on most supporters’ lips in the last 12 months more than any other when things aren’t going to plan for the team. But away from the emotional and tribal element of the beautiful game for a moment, let us examine whether, after a slightly troubled season (playing with an Achilles injury for large parts) last time around, whether the player can replicate his 2006-09 form once again and become a vital cog in what will ultimately be Ferguson’s last masterplan.

To date…

Carrick’s nimble passing has been pivotal to United’s free flowing attacking football, allowing a smooth transition from back to front with quick initiation passes, equally adept over short or long distances. Indeed, it could be argued that his contribution to the central midfield composition and the team as a whole was crucial to ending the “transition” spell, in which Arsenal and Chelsea took the Premiership title; A period in at United where the midfield – since the departure of the much unloved Seba Veron – would often comprise of the likes of Smith, Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson, O’ Shea, an under-developed Fletcher, and even Rio Ferdinand! Playing the majority of the time alongside Paul Scholes, the duo would often operate on a different planet than the rest of the field; Carrick’s role was integral to the smooth, intricate midfield evolution at United and was hugely influential in the securing of the three consecutive Premiership titles. In short, Michael’s game allowed those with attacking flair to function at their optimum, and the team to exploit the subsequent dynamic fluency.

Unique role?

Less static and with a greater passing range than say a Makelele or a Mascherano Carrick quietly imposes himself in the centre of the field with poise and grace, using both feet and supreme positional awareness – yet seemingly does not receive such comparable lavish praise as the aforementioned. Perhaps it is this very uncertainty about his role that the negativity stems; As an excellent passer much in the same mold as Andrea Pirlo for AC Milan, there is perhaps a misconception that his qualities are suited further up the pitch, an attacking ‘8’ for example. However, despite occasional forays further up the field, Ferguson very much sees his role as a midfield ‘6’ who is able to function alongside or compliment a regular ‘8’ – A player who can intercept and press the space superbly, either just in behind the all-action box-box Darren Fletcher, or the more measured influence of Paul Scholes. The team  “orchestrator” then, and just maybe, somebody who combines the qualities of both Pirlo and Mascherano in a role of his own, breaking up play and distributing efficiently.

Xavi, one such specialised centre midfielder and conductor of proceedings (and who clearly won the psychological battle prior to the CL Final 2009 by saying so) agrees when he stated: “Carrick gives United balance and can play defensively too. He passes well, has a good shot and is a complete player.” Xavi Hails Carrick

It is hard to select a player with such a unique combination of midfield attributes; Of course you would have to throw the names of Alonso, Schweinsteiger and Busquets into the hat; the likes of Toure (Barcelona version), Mascherano, Perez and Melo also have elements of Carrick’s game – but are any of them a true replica?

4-4-2 v 4-5-1

Ferguson’s midfield options are more plush than the media would have us believe, with a variety of combinations available to him; Fletcher is fast becoming the complete box-midfielder in my opinion and is the first name on the teamsheet. Scholes is reliving the 90’s; Anderson’s talent is bursting to get out and Gibson is on the fringes – and that’s not to mention the fantastic prospects of Eikrem and Morrison! – but when fit and on form Carrick is vital to the team’s shape and his contrasting roles in a 4-5-1 or a 4-4-2 formation makes for interesting reading.

Versus Bursaspor Carrick completed a very impressive 91/99 passes (despite poor opposition) and played slightly more advanced than in his role versus Spurs a couple of days earlier. It was he who assisted neatly for the opening goal scored by Fletcher (http://yfrog.com/0nbr3kj), and generally this combination (Carrick-Fletcher-Scholes) has worked well. In such a 4-5-1 (in a “destroyer-passer-creator system”), Carrick is thus generally used at the base of the triumvirate in order to capitalise on his superior defensive capabilities. Zonal Marking depicts this system, and the Ferguson team between 2006-09, as the third greatest team of the decade, which hugely compliments the work of Carrick, at least in part. ( http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/03/20/teams-of-the-decade-3-manchester-united-2006-09/ ).

Carrick can also be utilised at the head of the triangle however depending on the occasion; Arsenal away at the Emirates last season for example, and versus Internazionale in the San Siro the season before are good examples of his effectiveness in this sense, but there is a sense that there is a reduction in the overall productivity of the midfield when this occurs.

It must be acknowledged however that Ferguson has a distinct preference for 4-4-2 this season, especially on the domestic front where Berbatov is used to great effect in a creative role behind Rooney (or the effervescent Hernandez at present). Crucial to the system then is the positional maturity of the defensive central midfielder and this is where Carrick’s ability to intercept the ball (not tackle) by reading the game superbly and releasing the ball where appropriate, is key. See his interceptions chalkboard versus Tottenham here as an example (correlated interestingly to an area of the pitch where a certain “Bale” was plying his trade):

Guardian Chalkboard

A pertinent and practical example of this tactical instruction is well explained here in another fantastic piece by Zonal Marking (http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/07/30/central-midfield-role/) on the role of the modern central midfielder:

“Therefore, intercepting is the new tackling. It’s not as spectacular, not as obvious, it won’t get the supporters on their feet (nowhere traditionally cheers a crunching tackle as much as English football terraces), but it’s just as useful. You’re immediately in possession, whereas after a tackle, the ball can run away to an opponent. And there’s more chance of launching a quick counter-attack, and transforming defense into attack swiftly.”

The ability to “dominate”

Another criticism is that he does not dominate games (and score) as much as he “should”. Again, we have to ask if there is any legitimacy to the claim? Carrick is not only tasked with keeping the defensive shape for large periods of the game (see Carlos Queiroz influence) but more, the greater efficiency is certainly in playing the ball out wide with pace or looking for the quick pass into the forward’s feet/path rather than the adoption of the Darron Gibson model of shooting on sight! (Wayne Rooney has currently had over 350 shots since his last long-range success in the league versus Newcastle in 2007!). How does one define “dominate” then? Pressing the space ahead of the opposing forward players requires concentration as well as an understanding of the game pattern; therefore protecting the back four is a form of domination itself.

“But as a‘6’ he doesn’t tackle, have the energy or win-at-all costs attitude of Roy Keane” comes the response.  Not only can there never be the comparison to the United legend and great central midfield enforcer of his day, but the evolution of the destroyer-creator model has meant that this argument no longer holds water. Further, an important point to make at this juncture is that Michael’s quiet demeanour does not necessarily reflect negatively or his strength of character and will to win.

In Summary

Giving him much needed game time versus Wolves and Bursaspor sandwiching the game v Spurs at Old Trafford Fergie’s ploy has had the effect of galvanizing the midfielder, eliciting a much needed confidence boost to a player who is important to United’s success in the league and in Europe. His absence has coincided with some dreadful United defensive displays and collective concentration lapses, and a return to form would be a huge bonus and at an opportune time as we enter the busy Winter schedule seeking to remain unbeaten on all fronts. Carrick offers a special blend of defending and attacking capabilities and is able to function with equal effectiveness in a number of formations. Backed by the fans and free from injury, Carrick should easily be able to step up to the plate and deliver on the big stage once again – and at the prime age of just 29 years, he could yet lift another premiership title (or three) in the coming years.

http://www.stretfordendarising.com/2010/11/05/michael-carrick-midfield-genius/

[mp*]

lol void due to the title..

Why didnt you post some of the comments?

/

So if Carrick was to leave u man think he would go to a big club yeh?

[Agony]

Yeah the title went a bit too far but it did make me want to read the story.

I haven't even seen the comments. Couldn't get them to load up on my phone.

It would be good to see him in a big club in Italy or Spain but he'll probably end up in a top half/mid-table prem club.

[Che Clarke]

If there was one player you United fans would compare to Pogba(past or present) who would it be, i've heard alot of good things about him?

[anelka]

lol @ Carrick being average..

This boy is a top top footballer, played a major role when Utd won the league in 06/07 and has been a massive part of Utd's success over the last few years

[Guest M12 Part 2]

shutup hes been sh*t for time

[Michel Kane]

Carrick is a class footballer but am not a United fan so I'm not going to question his form against someone who has probably seen him play more recently.

[Agony]

Berba's record of 38 goals from 71 league starts (1 every 1.86 starts) is better than Cantona (1/2.2), Rooney (1/1.98) and Ronaldo (1/1.87).

[BATTY BOY BUM BANDIT]

What a hero.

[Guest Portuguese]

Berba becoming a one track bully?

[The King]

Berbs>>

/

Did anyone see lawrenson on motd 2?

Something like ... Berbatov needs Rooney to play because Rooney can adapt to different people and positions.

[Guest Portuguese]

He actually said that? LOL

You still watch MOTD with volume on? LOL

[Kompressor]

If Berbatov repeats similar form to this next season,

the comparison i made with him and Sheringham will be complete,

in regards to how the fans see him, and how he will go down in United folklore

[The King]

Drinkwater recalled from loan @ Cardiff.

[The King]

As the English national side stumbles from one underwhelming tournament display to the next, it’s a frustrating and frequently self-defeating habit of both the media and supporters to pin all hopes for the future on one man (or boy, as is often the case). Gascoigne, Beckham, Owen and most recently Rooney have all borne that burden – and suffered to some extent under the weight of expectation – with the 18 year-old Jack Wilshere seemingly the next in line. Meanwhile, progressing rapidly through Manchester United’s youth ranks is another potential ’saviour of English football’ of even more tender years.There’s already quite a buzz surrounding Ravel Morrison, despite the 17 year-old having only established himself in the Red Devils’ reserve side over the last couple of months. The midfielder from South Manchester has been tipped for the top ever since breaking into United’s Under-18 side back in 2008, when a virtuoso display in a losing cause against Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup prompted The Times’ Matt d*ckinson to wonder out loud “when (we) last saw such balance and daring from an English 15-year-old”.

Similarly effusive praise has followed from many of the country’s top footballing writers, each glowing report or throwaway comment further raising hopes amongst United’s support that a new superstar is about to break through. James Ducker of the The Times described Morrison as “a hugely gifted individual, with a remarkable turn of pace, close control and a keen eye for goal.”

The Telegraph’s Mark Ogden remarked that “his prodigious talent is the worst-kept secret in Mancunian football circles”; most emphatically, fellow Telegraph scribe Henry Winter hailed the Mancunian teenager as “a potential gem for 2014″, proclaiming him to be “better than Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshire, certainly up there with Jack Rodwell” and tipping him to emerge as “the pre-eminent English footballer of his generation” under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson.

High praise indeed, and while you could perhaps accuse Mr Winter in particular of getting somewhat carried away, such excitement becomes understandable upon seeing the youngster play. Fleet of foot and blessed with wonderful balance and technique, Morrison seems to almost glide across the pitch, making the most mundane of actions look graceful and the most difficult look entirely routine.

Everything you want from an attack-minded midfield player is there – he skips past defenders with the skills that have been causing a stir on Youtube, he shows vision and the ability to pick out and play passes beyond both the imagination and execution of 99% of his peers. He scores goals too, lots of them for a player of his position.

Morrison is, without question, the most technically gifted youngster to come through United’s ranks since Paul Scholes. Throw in an utterly fearless approach to the game and a level of cockiness that seems almost prerequisite for an Old Trafford idol, and you’ve got quite a prospect. Nevertheless, progression to the first team and full international honours is far from a gimme; you can say that about any young player of course, but it is especially prevalent in this instance.

Raised in the same sort of tough area of Manchester that Ferguson worried would see Wes Brown led astray over a decade ago, Morrison has already featured in the tabloids for undesirable (and, it must be said, relatively unsubstantiated) reasons and the club are known to have had serious concerns about the company the player keeps away from football.

Additionally, question marks have persisted about the teenager’s attitude towards the game itself. It may have been said in good-natured fashion, but when United’s 18 year-old Irish winger Robbie Brady last year singled Morrison out as the worst trainer at the club – stating that “when he’s on his game he’s quality, but I reckon it’s just when he fancies it!” – it won’t have come as too much of a surprise to most regular followers of the Reds’ academy side, who will have become used to often seeing a self-indulgent, over-elaborate approach when in possession and a serious lack of effort when not, as well as a predilection for picking up cards for reckless, rash challenges. As even the admiring Winter observed this summer: “Ravel Morrison has the skill but not yet the maturity”.

As it happens though, that comment may have been a little outdated and unfair. Morrison missed several months of last season through injury but returned for the run-in, where he surprised and impressed everyone with some wonderfully mature displays for the U18s as they won their Premier Academy League group. Previously most often deployed on the wing, Morrison was trusted with a central midfield berth and thrived under the responsibility, melding a hitherto unseen appetite for the less flashy aspects of the game, vastly improved decision-making and a cooler head with his obvious natural talents.

Any concern that that late season form may have merely been a false dawn seems to have been allayed by Morrison’s start to the new campaign, which has seen him promoted to the Reds’ second string on practically a full-time basis and continue to impress.

England youth team coach Noel Blake – who only recently remarked that “(Morrison) is very talented boy but he has to help himself as well” – has welcomed him back into the international fold after a long absence with selection for the current England U18 squad, while another big step came during October in the form of a first team debut as a late substitute in United’s Carling Cup win over Wolves at Old Trafford. Everything seems to suggest that the penny has really dropped.

Morrison still has a very long way to go and will face many a challenge as he seeks to fulfil his own undoubted potential and the aspirations and expectations of others – not least strong competition from fellow young prospects Tom Cleverley and Davide Petrucci at club level and the likes of Wilshere, Chelsea’s Josh McEachran and Jonjo Shelvey of Liverpool on the international front.

Nonetheless the boy wonder from Wythenshawe now seems to be firmly on the right track, and while his introduction to senior football may have only lasted 63 seconds, fans of both United and England will hope to see an awful lot more of Ravel Morrison in the very near future.

[The King]

Double

[Badman]

United are running on borrowed time

They are one loss away from a potential meltdown

they havnt got the squad to sustain the league/unbeaten run

Relying on Berbatov to score goals and Giggs to carry the team is evidence of this

what are your thought on this?

discuss

[Davicious X]

Agree but only if in that loss they are outplayed. If it's some flucky loss then I would expect them to batter the next team. CL will play a major part in if they do actually go the league season undefeated cos I doubt they will lose before the CL is back underway.

They will lose a CL game somewhere and that may spill into their league form but if they didn't have CL games to play I can't really see where they would lose. I know they still got plenty of big games to come but they don't have to try to win those.

Many a game has been lost just trying too hard to win it.

[The King]

Edwin van der Sar has confirmed he will quit football at the end of the season to spend more time with his family.

It has been suggested for a while that the Manchester United goalkeeper would hang up his gloves in the summer and the Dutchman has now confirmed his intention to step down from playing.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted earlier this season he fully expected the 40-year-old to call it quits at the end of the current campaign.

Ferguson was reportedly keen on having Van der Sar joining the coaching staff at Old Trafford, but the keeper says he will take a complete break from football in the summer.

Van der Sar has admitted he wants to spend more time with his wife Annemarie after she suffered a brain-related illness last year.

"I cannot really identify a time when it [the decision] happened," van der Sar told Sport-Promotion.nl.

"Let's just say that it was playing on my mind from the moment Annemarie had her stroke.

"She has fought back from it. We decided on another year in England and thus to stay at Manchester United.

"But, once engaged in the season, the thought of saying goodbye started to gnaw a bit more emphatically.

"Do not ask me how or why, but suddenly you know. That was sufficient.

"The time has come to pay greater attention to my family.

"Although they have never complained, everyone in the family has indeed always had to focus on me, but all together we have also had a lot in return."

The former Holland international insists his age played no part in his decision to quit as he still feels fit at the age of 40.

"No, my age played no role," added Van der Sar. "I am 40 years old, but I still feel fit."

[Kompressor]

Fair play to him, nobody with sense would've slated him if he had left straight after the Stroke,

came in did a good job, and highlighted that he should've been bought after The Danish bloke left,

will be a big gap to fill, it wouldn't shock me at all if the same mistakes are made that were made after 99

fingers crossed we start spending some of the Bond money,

and this is also a way of Fergie sidetracking the "VALUE" issue as now are 1st choice is retiring we need to sign a GK and opposing teams will know this,

bet he regrets even muttering that word.

[Kompressor]

United are running on borrowed time

They are one loss away from a potential meltdown

they havnt got the squad to sustain the league/unbeaten run

Relying on Berbatov to score goals and Giggs to carry the team is evidence of this

what are your thought on this?

discuss

Potential meltdown is abit of a strong phrase,

haven't got the squad to maintain an unbeaten run? guess that depends on those around us that we are due to play. coz many would argue we didnt have the squad to maintain an unbeaten run up untill this point, but look at the table's loss column

United in recent years have often had a heavy reliance on 1 key player with other backing that person up when needed,

the likes of Nani, Giggs, Hernandez, Rafael, and Vidic, Have been excellent this season. and along with obviously Berbatov have carried the teams at some parts of the season, nearing to the end of the season i expect Scholes to regain his form after injury, Fletcher to play a big role and Anderson to kick on,

considering people could easily say people like Evra hasn't been on top form aswell as the likes of Rooney and Carrick shows theres more gears to go up into.

on going unbeaten, it'd be a nice thing to do, however if you give me the choice right now, of losing 3 games in the league and winning both the league and Fa cup or the league and CL i know what one i'd be taking,

the league is ours to lose evidently., and the boost of confidence earnt on Tuesday night will stand us in good stead, whether it was papering over the cracks or not, we dont have to fix that wall till the summer as the papers doing a very good job at the minute

[BATTY BOY BUM BANDIT]

>>>City fans

[FANTA]

Obers wants out...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1352318/Manchester-Uniteds-Gabriel-Obertan-demands-shock-exit.html?ITO=1490

[Kompressor]

I'm f*ck*ng devastated,

right then we may actually sign someone in the Summer then,

saying that i'm sure we'll here "ohh Valencia returning to full fitness and Cleverly and Welbeck returning is like 3 new signings"