A tribute to Michael Carrick amid retirement
By Kian Long
It takes a great player to come in to a great club and go down as an all time great. That’s what Michael Carrick has done during his time at Manchester United, which is why I feel it’s only right to commemorate the great man before his inevitable retirement.
Michael Carrick is one of the Premier League players set to retire come the end of the season, but he is probably the most prestigious of the bunch.
The beginning
Carrick began his career at West Ham United, where he made 136 senior league appearances. He was sent out on loan twice during his five-year stint. However, they weren’t long loans, as he made a combined 8 appearances for Birmingham City and Swindon Town.
It was at the London club that the Englishman really started to mature and develop in to a real professional. It was his time with boss Harry Redknapp that set the stepping-stones for what was to be his illustrious career.
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He owes a lot to Redknapp, as it was him who introduced to life at West Ham and nurtured him in his progress from youth to professional football.
In 2004, 6 years after he signed for the Hammers, Michael Carrick deemed it time to move on. He did so by moving across the grass to London counterparts Tottenham Hotspur.
Carrick endured a relatively successful stint at White Hart Lane, making 64 appearances the Lilywhites. Little did he know that he was about to embark on a truly incredible career with the greatest club in the land at that time, Manchester United.
Undoubtedly, the man he owes most of his success to is none other than Sir Alex Ferguson.
Michael Carrick and Sir Alex Ferguson
On July 31 2006, the transfer of Michael Carrick to Manchester United was made official and he had big boots to fill, after Roy Keane had recently departed the club. I guess you could say he filled those boots pretty well…
However, to begin with, that didn’t look like it would be the case. He was forced to be sidelined for the start of the 2006/07 following an injury. His proneness to injury is something that Harry Redknapp had spoken out before, saying his physicality was his main fault.
He soon came back, stronger than ever before, and he instantly became a revelation at Old Trafford.
His role has often been overlooked across the years, but there’s no denying that Michael Carrick has been the heartbeat to a variety of different Manchester United midfields.
One season in particular stood out for me, and you’ve probably already guessed it. The season I’m talking about was the 2007/08 season in which the red clinched both the Champions League and the Premier League.
As always, Michael Carrick played a pivotal role in the heart of United’s midfield, often paired with fellow United legend Paul Scholes.
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Just like today, he wasn’t the kind of player to score you a goal every game, instead he relied on his brilliant reading of the game in order to test the opposition. You would often find him dropping deep to receive the ball from the defence and play a short pass to Scholes, he was happy to do all of the loose jobs and pick up on any scraps.
That’s not to say that he didn’t have the ability and talent to benefit the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, because he sure did and he still shows that to this day.
His range of passing is phenomenal, he has dozens of tricks up his sleeve in order to make the most of forwards running in to pockets of space. So, in summary, his role was never limited to just ‘picking up on the scraps.’
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He’s a player who will be deeply missed by Manchester United, but after already having his testimonial in the summer, it’s looking increasingly likely that Michael Carrick will look to hang up his boots come the end of this season.