one of my united husbands does an interview with a proper newspaper
Michael Carrick unsung but totally at home in the famous No16 shirt
Midfielder may lack celebrity status but United fans see him as the natural successor to Paul Scholes, while others think he doesnt match up to Roy Keane's famous legacy.
The Guardian, Saturday 18 April 2009
When the Professional Footballers' Association announced its candidates this week for Player of the Year there were five Manchester United names on the shortlist - but not necessarily the right ones. Edwin van der Sar, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic will all be measured out for their dinner suits over the coming weeks. One or two might even put together the first words of an acceptance speech. Yet there is also a sense of surprise at Old Trafford that the player who really makes Sir Alex Ferguson's team tick did not even make it on to the shortlist.
It is certainly strange that a footballer of Michael Carrick's grace manages to be so under-appreciated. When it comes to an appreciation of space and the ability to hit the perfect pass, long or short, Carrick is probably the nearest English football has to Glenn Hoddle. Yet this is very much an unsung hero.
Even at Old Trafford, where the supporters have come to regard him as Paul Scholes's natural successor (and there is no greater compliment than that at Manchester United) you won't hear his name being sung. They still serenade Roy Keane at home matches but the man who took his No16 shirt is still waiting to find out what it is like, that adrenaline rush, when 70,000 fans start chanting your name.
Ferguson has his own theory, drawing a similarity with the former full-back Denis Irwin as someone else whose performances were consistently excellent but who "never had the celebrity status of a Ryan Giggs, David Beckham or Eric Cantona".
As for the man himself, there is just a shrug of the shoulders. "It doesn't bother me," Carrick says. "I suppose there isn't much that rhymes with Carrick. I've spent a few hours trying to think up something myself, but I haven't come up with one yet either. What can you do?" (lol)
The midfielder has grown accustomed to not getting the appreciation his team-mates and manager thinks he deserves - so it is probably good that he is remarkably ego-free.
It has, after all, been like this for him at every club. At West Ham, where he was in the shadow of Joe Cole and came to be seen as the rosebud that never properly flowered. At Tottenham, where Martin Jol built his entire team strategy around him yet some fans still complained that he fell short. And in his early days at United, when there were misgivings about whether he was worth the £18m fee and could fill the enormous void left by Keane.
Almost three years on, what cannot be disputed is that Carrick has succeeded on both fronts. In fact, compared to some of Ferguson's recent buys - Dimitar Berbatov at £30.75m, plus Nani, Anderson and Owen Hargreaves, all £18m - it could even be said that United got a bargain.
"I don't really like to talk myself up," he says in that soft Geordie accent, "but I hope I have got past that now. It was natural, really. It was a few quid and at the time people questioned it, which is fair enough. It wasn't something that could get to me, so I just forgot about it. I just wanted to come and do what I was bought for and, after that, I'm just pleased that things have gone pretty well."
In many ways, it was a matter of acceptance. Keane was a once-in-a-lifetime legend and Carrick is almost the polar opposite in terms of personality. But United, sans Keane, was always going to be a different place.
"It is a lot more controlled in the dressing room these days," says Carrick. "It depends how it goes, but there are times when it is just silent after matches. Everyone just sits there, gathering their thoughts, nobody really says much. Even after the Liverpool game [a 4-1 home defeat] it was pretty silent really, we just thought about what had gone on and what we would do after that."
The accusation that is sometimes thrown at Carrick is that he does not dominate a game of football in the way his predecessor did. But it is not just a coincidence that since he took over from Keane United immediately re-established themselves as England's top team. In his first season, they prised the Premier League trophy from Chelsea's grasp. Last season he picked up a second league title and a Champions League winners' medal. This season United have already accumulated three more trophies, with another three possibly to come.
Carrick has become integral to United's success, more so than any other midfielder at the club.
It is, he says, his finest season in terms of stamping his authority on matches. "I have got more consistent. It is not just setting a high standard but keeping those standards and obviously the longer you are here the more responsibility you feel to influence things more."
A bit like Keane, however, he is not entirely satisfied. "It's been a funny season because we haven't really exploded. There have been games where we have come off the pitch and, yeah, we've won, but we've actually felt really disappointed. It hasn't been a happy changing room.
"Over the season you have waves. It is very hard to go through the whole season at the same standard and winning games in the same way. We've had spells where everything seemed to go right and spells where we struggled to play great football. It has just been a case of getting the right results."
The 1-0 defeat of Porto on Wednesday night was a sign, he hopes, that United have come out of the slump that was threatening to derail their season. "We got back to what we do best. We defended well as a team and looked really solid."
So what of that sudden loss of form? Carrick remembers that 4-1 defeat to Liverpool as "the worst day since I've been here" and he doesn't disagree when it is pointed out to him that Jonny Evans and Vidic have both independently blamed it on complacency. Ferguson has spoken of the players believing their own hype.
"Maybe," Carrick nods. "We were in an unbelievable position before that Liverpool game. If we had won things would have been a whole lot different [United would have been 10 points clear with a game in hand]. But if it was the case that we'd got complacent then it definitely isn't now.
"We have had a big wake-up call over the last few weeks and we know there is no more room for error. That is probably a good thing because we are very focused again, determined not to let it slip. It was terrible for us to lose the way we did against Liverpool, but you still have to look at the bigger picture. We lost two games. It was a blip. But we are still in a terrific position."
It is interesting that he should have worse memories of the thrashing to Liverpool than he does of being on the losing side against Chelsea the last time United reached an FA Cup final, in 2007. Don't be fooled, though, into thinking this is not a competition that is of great importance to him.
"It is something I have been desperate to win for as long as I can remember," he says firmly.
"It was always the biggest day of the season when I was growing up - the build-up, everything that surrounded it. I used to spend the whole day in front of the telly. The Champions League and the Premier League are now both huge, but the tradition and history of the FA Cup is still very special."
It is also the one medal that has eluded the 27-year-old since moving to Old Trafford. "But it's not just me. There is a mixed bag in the changing room really. Some of the lads have won it a number of times but some haven't won it once. Wayne [Rooney] hasn't got one. Rio has missed out for other reasons and is desperate to put that right.
"This is a good chance; it is another semi-final and anything can happen now." And maybe, just maybe, if Carrick can help United to another trophy at Wembley on 30 May he may hear his name being sung.
source: the guardian
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i do feel bad for him because i dont think we'll ever replace roy keane. such high expectations for him because of roy keane's attitude towards games, and the way he dominated the pitch, and took shit from no one. and carrick doesnt really dominate or get into fights or have a visibly strong attitude towards winning, but he's still a good player and totally set up that last goal macheda got meaning we won the match. poor guy.
also wtf he's 27? he looks like a bb
Midfielder may lack celebrity status but United fans see him as the natural successor to Paul Scholes, while others think he doesnt match up to Roy Keane's famous legacy.
The Guardian, Saturday 18 April 2009
When the Professional Footballers' Association announced its candidates this week for Player of the Year there were five Manchester United names on the shortlist - but not necessarily the right ones. Edwin van der Sar, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic will all be measured out for their dinner suits over the coming weeks. One or two might even put together the first words of an acceptance speech. Yet there is also a sense of surprise at Old Trafford that the player who really makes Sir Alex Ferguson's team tick did not even make it on to the shortlist.
It is certainly strange that a footballer of Michael Carrick's grace manages to be so under-appreciated. When it comes to an appreciation of space and the ability to hit the perfect pass, long or short, Carrick is probably the nearest English football has to Glenn Hoddle. Yet this is very much an unsung hero.
Even at Old Trafford, where the supporters have come to regard him as Paul Scholes's natural successor (and there is no greater compliment than that at Manchester United) you won't hear his name being sung. They still serenade Roy Keane at home matches but the man who took his No16 shirt is still waiting to find out what it is like, that adrenaline rush, when 70,000 fans start chanting your name.
Ferguson has his own theory, drawing a similarity with the former full-back Denis Irwin as someone else whose performances were consistently excellent but who "never had the celebrity status of a Ryan Giggs, David Beckham or Eric Cantona".
As for the man himself, there is just a shrug of the shoulders. "It doesn't bother me," Carrick says. "I suppose there isn't much that rhymes with Carrick. I've spent a few hours trying to think up something myself, but I haven't come up with one yet either. What can you do?" (lol)
The midfielder has grown accustomed to not getting the appreciation his team-mates and manager thinks he deserves - so it is probably good that he is remarkably ego-free.
It has, after all, been like this for him at every club. At West Ham, where he was in the shadow of Joe Cole and came to be seen as the rosebud that never properly flowered. At Tottenham, where Martin Jol built his entire team strategy around him yet some fans still complained that he fell short. And in his early days at United, when there were misgivings about whether he was worth the £18m fee and could fill the enormous void left by Keane.
Almost three years on, what cannot be disputed is that Carrick has succeeded on both fronts. In fact, compared to some of Ferguson's recent buys - Dimitar Berbatov at £30.75m, plus Nani, Anderson and Owen Hargreaves, all £18m - it could even be said that United got a bargain.
"I don't really like to talk myself up," he says in that soft Geordie accent, "but I hope I have got past that now. It was natural, really. It was a few quid and at the time people questioned it, which is fair enough. It wasn't something that could get to me, so I just forgot about it. I just wanted to come and do what I was bought for and, after that, I'm just pleased that things have gone pretty well."
In many ways, it was a matter of acceptance. Keane was a once-in-a-lifetime legend and Carrick is almost the polar opposite in terms of personality. But United, sans Keane, was always going to be a different place.
"It is a lot more controlled in the dressing room these days," says Carrick. "It depends how it goes, but there are times when it is just silent after matches. Everyone just sits there, gathering their thoughts, nobody really says much. Even after the Liverpool game [a 4-1 home defeat] it was pretty silent really, we just thought about what had gone on and what we would do after that."
The accusation that is sometimes thrown at Carrick is that he does not dominate a game of football in the way his predecessor did. But it is not just a coincidence that since he took over from Keane United immediately re-established themselves as England's top team. In his first season, they prised the Premier League trophy from Chelsea's grasp. Last season he picked up a second league title and a Champions League winners' medal. This season United have already accumulated three more trophies, with another three possibly to come.
Carrick has become integral to United's success, more so than any other midfielder at the club.
It is, he says, his finest season in terms of stamping his authority on matches. "I have got more consistent. It is not just setting a high standard but keeping those standards and obviously the longer you are here the more responsibility you feel to influence things more."
A bit like Keane, however, he is not entirely satisfied. "It's been a funny season because we haven't really exploded. There have been games where we have come off the pitch and, yeah, we've won, but we've actually felt really disappointed. It hasn't been a happy changing room.
"Over the season you have waves. It is very hard to go through the whole season at the same standard and winning games in the same way. We've had spells where everything seemed to go right and spells where we struggled to play great football. It has just been a case of getting the right results."
The 1-0 defeat of Porto on Wednesday night was a sign, he hopes, that United have come out of the slump that was threatening to derail their season. "We got back to what we do best. We defended well as a team and looked really solid."
So what of that sudden loss of form? Carrick remembers that 4-1 defeat to Liverpool as "the worst day since I've been here" and he doesn't disagree when it is pointed out to him that Jonny Evans and Vidic have both independently blamed it on complacency. Ferguson has spoken of the players believing their own hype.
"Maybe," Carrick nods. "We were in an unbelievable position before that Liverpool game. If we had won things would have been a whole lot different [United would have been 10 points clear with a game in hand]. But if it was the case that we'd got complacent then it definitely isn't now.
"We have had a big wake-up call over the last few weeks and we know there is no more room for error. That is probably a good thing because we are very focused again, determined not to let it slip. It was terrible for us to lose the way we did against Liverpool, but you still have to look at the bigger picture. We lost two games. It was a blip. But we are still in a terrific position."
It is interesting that he should have worse memories of the thrashing to Liverpool than he does of being on the losing side against Chelsea the last time United reached an FA Cup final, in 2007. Don't be fooled, though, into thinking this is not a competition that is of great importance to him.
"It is something I have been desperate to win for as long as I can remember," he says firmly.
"It was always the biggest day of the season when I was growing up - the build-up, everything that surrounded it. I used to spend the whole day in front of the telly. The Champions League and the Premier League are now both huge, but the tradition and history of the FA Cup is still very special."
It is also the one medal that has eluded the 27-year-old since moving to Old Trafford. "But it's not just me. There is a mixed bag in the changing room really. Some of the lads have won it a number of times but some haven't won it once. Wayne [Rooney] hasn't got one. Rio has missed out for other reasons and is desperate to put that right.
"This is a good chance; it is another semi-final and anything can happen now." And maybe, just maybe, if Carrick can help United to another trophy at Wembley on 30 May he may hear his name being sung.
source: the guardian
------------------------------------------------------
i do feel bad for him because i dont think we'll ever replace roy keane. such high expectations for him because of roy keane's attitude towards games, and the way he dominated the pitch, and took shit from no one. and carrick doesnt really dominate or get into fights or have a visibly strong attitude towards winning, but he's still a good player and totally set up that last goal macheda got meaning we won the match. poor guy.
also wtf he's 27? he looks like a bb