Michael Carrick

[zudomiriku]

United Set to Give Michael Carrick New Contract



Manchester United star midfielder Michael Carrick will receive an offer from his current club at the end of the season.

Sir Alex Ferguson is believed to have once again been impressed with the 31-year-old this season and will hand him a one-year contract as a result.

Per Yahoo! Sports:

The England midfielder's current deal at Old Trafford expires in the summer of 2014, which Sir Alex Ferguson's side are ready to extend by a further year once this campaign is over.

Given the fact he is now 31, United will then continue to review Carrick's situation on an annual basis with his deal becoming a rolling agreement which is renewed one year at a time, similar to the situations of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs over recent years.

The midfielder would likely remain on a pay package close to the £80,000 per week that he is currently on at Old Trafford (via The Daily Mail).

And having seen the way in which Carrick has performed so far for United this season, you'd have to say that is money very well spent by the Red Devils. Both in attack and defense, Carrick has been superb this season—as statistics provided by WhoScored highlight.

Carrick currently leads the team in average passes per game (80-plus) at a very high 88 percent completion percentage for the season. He sits behind just Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie for assists this year also, and turns the ball over just once in every two games, on average.

Yet defensively, Carrick has also been thriving this season—leading the team in interceptions and ranking inside the top three for tackles also.

Which, for a midfielder who has also come to terms with a new playing partner in the middle this year in Tom Cleverley as well as other changes around him with the arrival of Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa, are very solid numbers indeed.

Michael Carrick vs. other Premier League midfielders
Player----------------------------Avg. pass---Comp.%--Tackles--Int.
Yaya Toure (Manchester City)--------82.5--------89.3%-----1.1-----0.9
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)------------67.4--------86.7%-----2.4-----1.3
Juan Mata (Chelsea)-----------------53.0--------85.0%-----1.0-----0.6
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)--------------56.0--------87.2%-----1.8------1.2
Michael Carrick (Manchester United)--80.1--------88.1%-----2.1------2.1
Santi Cazorla (Arsenal)--------------66.0---------87.0%-----1.7-----1.7
Moussa Dembele (Tottenham)--------55.2---------91.2%-----3.0----- 1.7

Carrick joined Manchester United from 2006 and has made himself a household name in that time, with domestic and European glory to his name.

And if he continues to shine like he has done this season for the Red Devils, there's no reason to suggest he won't add to that collection in 2013.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1503132-manchester-united-transfer-news-united-set-to-give-michael-carrick-new-contract

[vdgquintana]

#LEGEND

[zudomiriku]

Manchester United Analysis: Is Michael Carrick Underrated or Overhyped?



It's now that time of the year when Premier League professionals consider their votes for the PFA Player of the Year, and one must wonder whether Michael Carrick's name will be featuring alongside the inevitable inclusions of Robin van Persie and Juan Mata .

Any player who plays such an integral role to the champions elect is bound to be worthy of consideration, and Carrick has undoubtedly enjoyed his best season at Old Trafford since signing from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006.

Van Persie's gifts and goals may have grabbed many of the plaudits for the Reds this term, but Carrick's quiet and unassuming performances have been just as important to United's overall team demeanour.

His calm and assured distribution provides the base for Sir Alex Ferguson's side to grip games and the 31-year-old has demonstrated a variety to his passing which suggests he's much more than a "short, back and sideways" man.

Now ordinarily I'm not someone who lives and dies by statistics, but it's hard to dismiss this EPLindex article as coincidence considering Carrick's undoubted upturn in form over 2012-13.

Yet, what the numbers do demonstrate is that Carrick's major enhancements have been without—rather than with—the ball.

The EPL index shows that with Carrick, United are conceding 0.4 goals per game and that figure is down by almost half a goal per game on the same criteria from the previous two seasons.



The index also shows that the Wallsend-born player has significantly improved his minutes per tackle, tackle success ratio and number of interceptions made during games, suggesting he has become more effective as a ball-winner than a ball player.

Carrick's pass completion rate of 90 percent is only up marginally on previous seasons and that doesn't even make the list of top five most error-free distributors in the division, whilst other barometers such as passes per game and minutes created per chance are all roughly the same as they were.

Statistically at least, the England international has not particularly seen any great growth when in possession, yet has become more adept in gaining it.

That arguably makes the former West Ham trainee a better all-round individual, and that has been hard to argue against over the past year, but just how good is Michael Carrick?

United colleague Paul Scholes described his midfield partner as a "Rolls Royce" during an interview last January and on various recent phone-ins and internet forums I've heard Carrick labelled as "world class."

Yet I simply cannot agree with any suggestion that Carrick is anything other than a Premier League class player playing well at the moment. He's good, but he isn't great.

To kill this world class analogy off before it gets too far, in his position, Xavi, Xabi Alonso and Andrea Pirlo are world class—Carrick isn't fit to lace their boots.

That trio all perform a similar function but with much more style and effectiveness. They dominate games of their own accord, they set the tempo and dictate the rhythm of their sides whether things are going well or not, yet Carrick still only seems to become involved for United when the whole team is on top

If we take it down a rung, how many top European sides would Carrick get in? We can count Barcelona and Real Madrid out immediately and I personally wouldn't even pick him over Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.

We have to remember that since he was ran ragged by Barca at Wembley in 2011, United flopped out of the Champions League group stages last year and were dominated by both Ajax and Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League. Although Ferguson and the whole United side must take collective responsibility, Carrick was amongst the main culprits and many United fans were baying to see the back of him.

He's also never done anything for England, and again although those sentiments can be echoed about many, but genuinely great players don't simply disappear into the mediocrity around them.

Of course people may draw similarities to Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard's performances for the Three Lions but at least those two can look back on elongated brilliance—for their clubs at least—both at home and abroad. Carrick cannot.

Even domestically there are foibles over Carrick. He's not scored a Premier League goal in over a year and has also failed to register a direct assist since 2010. Although assists can be misleading and it's often the assist which leads to the assist which is most important, you would still expect a player of his purported class to be conjuring up more opportunities for his team.

In my opinion Carrick is currently performing better than he ever has done, but that really is a criticism of his previous form rather than a testament to any newfound brilliance.

I am not denying he has been a key cog in the Manchester United machine of late, but he seems to have found a niche which suits and he is revelling in that role.

He can pass effectively without being incisive and has added a functionality to his game which is helping ease the burden on his defence, yet I really cannot view Carrick as anything other than Premier League class player playing well, and a few months of positive performances cannot mask a decade of indifference.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1516065-manchester-united-analysis-is-michael-carrick-under-rated-or-over-hyped

'lahir' di West Ham, ditempa di Spurs, mencapai 'kematangan' di United

[iamsetia]

Michael Carrick aims for long career

By Sian Cowper, Reporter
Filed: Saturday, February 23, 2013 at 12:51 UK
Last Updated: Saturday, February 23, 2013 at 14:06 UK

Michael Carrick has insisted that he feels fit enough to continue his playing career for a number of seasons.

The Manchester United midfielder will turn 32 in the summer, but hopes to remain a regular in the squad for several more years.

Carrick told Sky Sports News: "When I started out in the game, once people saw you were past 30 they thought you were on a downward spiral in terms of your career and you had peaked at 28 or 29.

"Now I think you reach that stage a lot later and I'm feeling great. There is also the responsibility of leading the younger boys and showing them just how to do things and how to act, not just on the pitch but off it.

"This is my seventh season here and the older you get, playing a lot of games all helps."

Carrick made his Premier League debut in 1999 while playing for West Ham.

[troy andreas]

Ada yang tau lirik chants Carrick tadi yang di nyanyikan red army?

[troy andreas]

Carrick happy to win ugly

Report by Nick Coppack for manutd.com



Michael Carrick was delighted with Manchester United's win at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, even if it wasn't always the best advert for "the beautiful game".

Rafael and Ryan Giggs netted either side of the interval to clinch a hard-fought win that took the Reds 15 points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League.

It was a battle, though, with the London side making life difficult for Sir Alex's men on a pitch that played havoc with United's fondness for fluid, passing football.

"We expected a tough game and we certainly got it, especailly in the first half," Carrick told MUTV. "The pitch was bouncy and bobbly and it's tight at the best of times here [at Loftus Road].

"It was just a case of adapting to the conditions and the context of the game, battling it out at times. I thought we did that well.

"Sometimes you have to do that. Throughout the season it's not always going to be pretty. Sometimes you have to grind out results, work hard and make the most of your opportunities.

"We were able to cope with QPR and, at times, we played some good football. At other times we defended well and played on the break. In the second half we controlled the game and created more chances.

"All in all I think we can be delighted with how the day's gone."

United opened the scoring on 23 minutes when Rafael ran onto a bouncing ball and sent a thunderous shot screaming into the top corner from 20 yards.

"A goal like that from Rafa put us in a great position," Carrick said. "I was right next to it. It was an unbelievable strike. It caught me by surprise, to be honest. Probably like everybody else!"

A second-half strike from Giggs made sure of the win, while at the other end of the pitch United kept a third successive clean sheet. At the heart of the Reds' defence was the formidable pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, a factor Carrick believes was vital in helping to secure the three points.

"You know what you're going to get [with Rio and Nemanja]. They know each other's games inside out, and with me in front you have that little triangle that we use to try and defend well and start counter-attacks from.

"It was a case today of doing the basics right and letting the front boys produce the quality. As it turned out it was Rafa who produced the quality! It could have been more in the end but we'll take what we got."

[Mahesa_Jenar]

It's hard to believe it's not Scholes....
It's Carrick you know....



Totally Silent Knight..!! setelah bertahun tahun nongkrong di Old Trafford baru sekarang dapet Chant khusus....

[zudomiriku]

Michael Carrick says Manchester United will not relax despite big lead

Michael Carrick insists there is no complacency in the Manchester United camp despite their big lead in the Premier League title race.



Carrick played his part as United beat QPR 2-0 in West London on Saturday but the midfielder insists boss Sir Alex Ferguson will not allow the squad to relax.

"We've got a job to do and the manager said that we need to take it game to game and just win the next game if we can," he said.

"You can't look too far ahead because it can come back and bite you. We've got the experience around the place and obviously the manager sets the tone.

"I think you saw against QPR it was just about that game, getting the result and moving onto the next one."

"It's not always going to be pretty," he said, speaking to MUTV. "Sometimes you have to grind it out, work hard and make the most of the opportunities.

"That comes from experience as well and the manager picked an experienced side (at QPR), who would be able to cope with that.

"We played some good football at times when we had the chance, but other times it was about defending well and playing on the break.

"All in all, I think we can be really delighted with how the day went."

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11661/8521508/

[troy andreas]

Carrick quashes title talk
Report by Nick Coppack



Michael Carrick says nobody inside the Manchester United dressing room believes the title race is over, despite the Reds' healthy lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League.

Sir Alex's men have established a 12-point gap with just 11 league games remaining but United midfielder Carrick insists not even a hint of complacency has crept into the Reds' camp.

"We're trying the best we can [to block out talk of the title being won already]," he told MUTV.

"We have a job to do and the manager has said we need to think game to game and just win the next match, what's in front of us.

"You can't look too far ahead because it can come back and bite you."

Last season the Reds blew an eight-point lead with six games to play, an experience Carrick and his team-mates will be determined not to repeat this time around.

Certainly, the current signs are good. United are unbeaten in all competitions since 5 December and manager Sir Alex Ferguson has almost a full squad at his disposal. Only Phil Jones (ankle) and Robin van Persie (hip) are doubts for this Saturday's game against Norwich, with Paul Scholes almost certainly ruled out with a knee injury.

"We've got the experience around the place [to cope with the pressure]," Carrick said. "You saw at QPR, it was all about getting a result and that's what we focused on. Now we move onto the next game."

[rondwisan]

Carrick has been an unsung hero, says Vidic
Nemanja Vidic has been impressed with Michael Carrick's midfield performances of late and believes he has been a key player for Manchester United this season.
FOX Sports - Wednesday 27th February 2013


Vidic has been forced to watch from the sidelines due to injury but has paid close attention to United's matches.

He has seen Carrick boss the midfield with much gusto and the ex-Tottenham midfielder has also ensured that veteran midfielder Paul Scholes' presence has not been too sorely missed with his exquisite passing skills.

The midfielder has especially earned the praise from an adoring United fanbase who have even come up with a cheeky song entitled 'hard to believe it's not Scholes!'.

The United captain joined the list of the 31-year-old's admirers as he told Manchester Evening News: "Michael is an important player for us. It is not just this season. He has always been an important player for us."

"He is that kind of player who you maybe don't see much or people don't notice the same but he is always doing a really good job for the team.

"His passing rate this year is much better. He has been more highlighted this season but he's always been important. He is an unsung hero. The players probably appreciate him more than anybody.

"He is a key player. He plays for the team and sometimes he has to sacrifice his game for the team.

"He gives us the balance we need and he is a great player."

Moreover, the Serbian is happy at United's strengh in depth as it has allowed them to deal with a varying number of opponents both in the Premier League and in Europe.

"It's nice to see the points gap. We are in a good position," Vidic added.

"We have a big and good squad and we adapt to the teams we play. We can adapt to teams who are playing the football and teams who play the long ball.

"As we have seen over the last few weeks, the team is always changing but the players continue to do their job and that is a good position for the manager to be in."

United are next in action against Norwich in the Premier League for a home fixture on Saturday night.