Centre Of Excellence

There are different ways to make your mark at Manchester United.

While renowned midfield battlers Bryan Robson, Pat Crerand and Roy Keane carved their legends with axes, rather than switchblades, Michael Carrick is carefully etching himself into indispensability for Sir Alex Ferguson's latest team.

The softly-spoken North-Easterner is a midfielder for the modern game. Nick possession, keep possession. Simple, but devastating to those who are chasing the ball. The gradual filtration of old school enforcers means top class midfields are no longer patrolled with menace. Rather, they are courtyards for craft, as the top exponents merge athleticism, dexterity and vision. Few blend those virtues as expertly as United’s number 16.

Addressing the nation’s media before Christmas, Sir Alex declared: "Michael has been one of our best players. He's been instrumental in what's happening to the team at the moment. He's grabbed the nettle - there's no question about that.

"I think it's time Michael became the pivotal player of our team. We've always known he's got that in him. He's a laidback character - quiet, unassuming - but in different periods during his time here he's shown his quality. Now is the time for him to start a long period of dominating the centre of midfield.”

Finally free of an Achilles injury which disrupted over a year of his career, Carrick’s importance at Old Trafford are undisputable in a campaign where he has kept the cogs moving despite a spate of long-term injuries in central areas. Anderson, Tom Cleverley and Darren Fletcher have all missed or continue to miss sizeable portions of the season, while Paul Scholes’ retirement U-turn has only just given Sir Alex an extra weapon at his disposal.

While praise has been forthcoming from all in football, and especially within the confines of Carrington, recognition for Carrick’s endeavours has been comparatively reticent among some sections of the United support. The problem is that, in every position at Old Trafford, illustrious forebears cast inescapable shadows.

Roy Keane and Paul Scholes loom largest as two of the outstanding central midfielders of the Premier League’s history, and their exploits are still fresh enough in the memory – especially now that the latter has returned for an encore – to invoke comparisons for anybody brave enough to follow them.

Despite ending a 70-game goal drought with relatively quickfire strikes against QPR and Bolton in recent weeks, Carrick’s scoring ratio compares unfavourably with that of Scholes, who has averaged a goal every five games. Nor does he bang heads with the ferocity of Keane. In his five and a half seasons at Old Trafford, Carrick has picked up eight Premier League bookings. Keane mustered as many in 35 appearances during United’s Treble season.

But such juxtapositions, in this instance, are rendered futile on grounds of differences in style and role. Scholes knows better than most just how important Carrick has been, and will continue to prove, to the Reds’ ambitions.

“I've always found him very easy to play with,” says the veteran midfielder. “He's capable of doing anything. He can score goals, he can create goals, he's a great passer of the ball, he's a big strong lad with a lot of presence, he can run all day long. He's great for team-mates.

“Over the last six years at the club he's been terrific, one of the most underrated players the Premier League has had. Since he's come we've won the league in all-but one season - that says it all.

You need players like Michael to be successful. He's a total team player, which players around him really appreciate.

“There's no better player at just keeping the ball and keeping it simple. You wouldn't want to be on the opposing team when you're chasing the game, because Michael's great at keeping the ball. He can hit long passes as well as short passes. He's such an unselfish player, players really look forward to playing with him.

“From playing with him, from Ryan Giggs playing with him, from Wayne Rooney playing with him, we all recognise how important he is to the team and at the end of the day that's the important thing: that your team-mates know what you're doing in the team. As long as they and the manager are happy, that's all that matters.”

Having played through a period of seismic change in the way football is officiated, Scholes recognises the evolution of the role of a midfielder, and Carrick stands comparison with any of the more tenacious middle men of the most opulent period of United’s history.

“Michael is a different breed to the likes of Nicky (Butt) and Roy (Keane),” he admits. “They were brilliant and so is Michael, in a different way. He brings a calmness to the game and he parades around the pitch like a Rolls Royce. He's a great athlete and he has quality too, which helps.

“The game has changed, without doubt. You can't tackle like Roy and Nicky used to be able to. Maybe some of the things they did would be frowned upon now! Michael's sensible, he's never in any trouble - he's never had any disciplinary problems. He's just a calm and calculated person who's always thinking of the best way to do something, rather than doing it the nasty way.

"He's something of a saintly figure - he'll never answer back to referees or have a go at them. That's what he brings to this team: a relaxed attitude which transfers to the rest of the team as well.

“To be a central midfielder at this club you have to take responsibility, take the ball all the time, defend at times and be prepared to drive the team on to score goals and win games. Michael does all of those things - he can do everything.”

Carrick’s effectiveness is underlined in the more considered arena of European football. It’s noteworthy that his absence for the first time in 19 successive Champions League away ties coincided with United’s shock defeat at Basel. In the previous 18, Carrick had tasted defeat just once – the last-minute reverse at Bayern Munich in 2010.

The 30-year-old has been paired with a variety of midfield partners this season – and has also reprised his moonlighting role in defence when necessary – but Sir Alex’s praise has set the scene for Carrick to man the United engine room for the foreseeable future.

Typically, the midfielder is keeping calm in the face of such a prospect. “When the boss says good things about you, then it's pleasing,” he admits, “but it is a team thing and we want to be winning as a team. I'm happy with the way I've played, but that doesn't count for much - we win as a team and lose as a team, it's as simple as that.

“I haven’t changed as a player. But as you get older and gain more experience, maybe that brings more responsibility. You’re looked at slightly differently and that’s fine, I’m comfortable with that. This is the way I’ve always played. I’m not going to change because situations change. You’ve got to do what you’re good at and keep improving. I enjoy the responsibility and as you get older maybe the younger players look at you in a different way. I’m comfortable with that.

“This is my sixth season here now and I feel I’ve improved every season since I've been here. I've had some better spells than others, but that's just natural. You've got to take on board other things - as I said, responsibility - but that's just part and parcel of the team growing and changing as the years go by.”

As he continues to whittle his own legacy, Michael Carrick may just be one of the few constants in the ongoing evolution of this rapidly evolving Manchester United.

This article originally appeared in United Review, the club's official matchday programme.