Michael Carrick | Match Performance Thread

[JSNFRMN_MUFC]

Manchester United Official Web Site - Carrick signs new deal

Michael Carrick has signed a new three-year deal which will see the midfielder stay at Old Trafford until the end of the 2013/14 season.

Carrick, 29, made his debut for United in August 2006. In that time he has made 218 appearances, scoring 17 goals. He has won three Premier League titles, one League Cup, one Champions League and the Club World Cup.

Sir Alex Ferguson said: “I am delighted Michael has signed a new contract. He has been outstanding since joining us from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006, he is a true professional and it’s great he has committed his future to the club.”

Michael Carrick added: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at this great club. There is fantastic team spirit within the squad and I'm pleased to have committed my future to United. We are in a very good position at the moment and I am confident this team will be successful for many years to come.”

[JSNFRMN_MUFC]

Must say i'm delighted about this as a fan of his. He's been stuck in a rut recently but I thought he was excellent on Tuesday. And after all my mates have been mocking me, saying I know nothing about football because I think Carrick is the most underrated player in England, I can rub this in their face now.

Thought he was one of our best players the other night over the 90. Despite not running around like a headless chicken, his defensive work was amazing and his attacking play was a lot better than it has been too. Unfortunately we ended up losing and therefore his performance won't be remembered.

[Berba_God]

I agree with you guys, I am a big fan of Carrick and glad he has signed a new contract. Although I did feel that he needs support and he is not getting that from the other midfielders this season except Scholes.

[wellsie]

I really like Carrick as well i think he is very under rated, when hes on form hes brilliant, but when he is off form he can make one to many mistakes, if you know what i mean.

[Scholesy18]

Fantastic news

[Paedar_1958]

Good to have him on board

[se7en]

Full article Why Michael Carrick must shine for Manchester United against Arsenal | Football | guardian.co.uk

Rio Ferdinand will always remember his first day at Manchester United and the childlike excitement of pulling on the strip. "I was thinking to myself: 'These are Man United socks, this is how they feel. This is how the shirt feels, these are their shorts.'" Then he went out for his first training session and, bang, Roy Keane was screaming in his face.

Ferdinand had made the mistake of taking the safe option, playing a nice, easy pass to his nearest team-mate. He remembers Keane "went mental and barked: 'Pass the fucking ball forward.' I looked at him, his face all contorted, and he goes: 'It's fucking easy going sideways, pass it forward.'"

Keane was always good at cutting down to size those he suspected did not fully understand what it meant to play for the club. Dwight Yorke experienced something similar, also in his first training game, when Keane booted the ball at him, deliberately too hard, and the new signing miscontrolled it. "Welcome to United," Keane hissed with that Tommy DeVito stare. "Cantona used to kill them."

[JSNFRMN_MUFC]

The funny thing is although some stats can be misleading, 40% of Carrick's passes are forward.

[worriedturkey]

But where do the other 60% go.......lol

[JSNFRMN_MUFC]

As a player who plays deep though, he's not a player who needs to pass forward, our game is very much focussed on wing play so of course he's going to pass sideways. He's probably instructed to keep the ball too and then when we need a goal he's given more freedom to venture forward and take more risks.

[se7en]

Our very own Gareth Barry.

[Geoff]

But where do the other 60% go.......lol

..back to Edwin usually!

[JSNFRMN_MUFC]

WOW! WOW! WOW! 9/10 performance. Was key to winning that. MotM for me but probably get given to Rooney who also played really well, not doubting that but these people always give it to the goalscorer.

[se7en]

More like it.

[JSNFRMN_MUFC]

Brilliant again. One of the players of the tie. Giggs will get all the plaudits and rightly so but Carrick deserves a lot of love too. Essien and in particular Lampard were non-existent at times. New contract has done him good, seems to be fitter now too.

[se7en]

Needs to play against Chelsea everyweek

[Geoff]

Yeah, Carrick's been outstanding over recent games, really impressive tonight. His tackling back is excellent.

[se7en]

Composed throughout could do whatever he liked with the ball tonight.

[Geoff]

Composed throughout could do whatever he liked with the ball tonight.

Yeah, another excellent performance from Carrick. He played very well.

Man of the match for me.

[metatron06]

Carrick's confidence is back, looking like a proper player again. For too long he's played like he thinks the ball's a live grenade. Redemption for Carrick if we play Barca again in the final? That'll be a story.

[Geoff]

Carrick's confidence is back, looking like a proper player again. For too long he's played like he thinks the ball's a live grenade. Redemption for Carrick if we play Barca again in the final? That'll be a story.

I think Carrick will be that much wiser if we meet Barca again.

At least i'm hoping so!

[JSNFRMN_MUFC]

Carrick was sensational. But he was allowed so much time and space, he doesn't get that in the Prem, that is why @metatron06 you sometimes see him as a man playing football with a live grenade. In the Prem he is made to hurry up a lot more because people know how good he is. That is what Barcelona did in 09.

[metatron06]

Totally agree, which is also why he performs best when there is good movement ahead of him in midfield, like Park, Rooney, Giggs, Fletcher (until he lost his form) and Scholes (until he lost his legs). It creates outlets for his short passes so he doesn't feel pressurised in possession especially when he is facing his own goal. Midfielders like Gibson, Ando and Scholes (since he lost his legs) are too static for Carrick which is why he doesn't do as well when paired with them (i.e. not enough off the ball running). Carrick is the ultimate player at the base of an inverted passing triangle with 2 mobile central midfielders ahead of him. Ando, if he gets some consistency, could be a good foil (as we saw against Everton when paired with Gibson doing a similar role as Carrick) but Ando tends to be mobile on the ball and not so much off it (something he needs to improve I feel).

[se7en]

Didnt happen today, he's great against a team like Schalke, not singling him out....just saying.

[metatron06]

Proved that he cannot play alongside Ando against strong opposition, as I had said earlier. Once again there was not enough midfield running off the ball. Carrick was passing backwards again and Vidic/Rio were waving their arms around imploring the other players to move off the ball. It was deja vu like watching us earlier this season when we struggled. Against a team strong in possession like Arsenal, Ando is not good enough as he loses the ball way too often with his speculative passes (neither of which were defence-splitting yesterday).