Gossip: Carrick’s Spurs Return?
Telegraph: Tottenham coach Juande Ramos wants to bring Michael Carrick back to White Hart Lane in the January transfer window.
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Is Time Running Out For Michael Carrick?
When United run out against Blackburn tomorrow, chances are that Michael Carrick will be asked to add guile and wit to United’s midfield against one of the Premiership’s in-form sides.
The match is yet another opportunity for the midfielder to stake his claim to a first team position after a season interrupted by injury and bewitched by the rival claims of competitors.
With Scholes absent until the New Year, it would seem that the England midfielder has a clear run at nailing down a place in the United engine room. Carrick, though, is taking nothing for granted. “The squad is terrific,” he admitted. “A few lads have been rested, and that will continue throughout the season. The manager has got a lot of bodies, but I’m sure it’s a happy problem for him. I think everyone has raised their level of performance up a notch or two now. That is what this club is all about. They are all top players - and whoever plays will not let anyone down.”
Carrick’s magnanimity fits with a character which, publicly at least, seems to be of easy disposition. He is an accomplished player, wearing a £18 million price tag, who helped United to win the title in his first season at the club. However, the first three months of the campaign may have already provided tangible evidence that time and good fortune may not be on the player’s side? With Sir Alex committed to rotation and Anderson and Hargreaves providing an irresistible glimpse of the future at the Emirates Stadium last week, Carrick faces the toughest fight of his United career, amid sneers that he doesn’t hurt the opposition enough and may be destined to play the role of midfield support act rather than leading man
Luck and an uninterrupted run of games allowing for the return of his best form, should be sufficient to recast the midfielder again as an unsung yet fundamental element in the United team. Carrick hopes his comeback against Kiev will prove to be a springboard. “It was nice to get back,” he added, speaking of his comeback in the destruction of Dynamo Kiev. “It was a frustrating break, because I was starting to play well and the team was playing well. But it is a long old season, and I am looking forward to the games ahead.”
When the midfielder joined United, under the headline ‘Carrick: a Keane or a Kleberson?’ the Mail newspaper wrote: “At 25, Carrick certainly has time to improve his football under the guidance of United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. He now has the stage he has craved for so long.”
Carrick has the stage. Now he must deliver.
Carrick: Elbowed Out
Independent: Manchester United have been forced into a midfield reshuffle for their next four games including the Champions League visit to Dynamo Kiev on 23 October after Michael Carrick joined fellow England international Owen Hargreaves on the injured list.
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Carrick: Top Defence
Sky:Michael Carrick believes Manchester United’s defence is the ideal foundation on which to build a title-winning side.
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Carrick: Ready For The Fight?
Redville
After recently losing an automatic place in the team at club level, Michael Carrick is likely to be on the bench this evening when England take on Russia. → continue reading
Carrick: Under Pressure
Telegraph: Two weeks into the season and Manchester United’s Michael Carrick must already be wishing he were back on that summer beach, basking in the sunshine of his first Premier League title medal.
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The Fall Guys
Times: Rio Ferdinand will be given two games to prove his commitment to England after the team’s third defeat under Steve McClaren, the head coach.
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Carrick: Sven, Tev And United
Mail: Michael Carrick insists Sven-Goran Eriksson can look back on his time as England boss with pride.
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Carrick: My Summer Nightmare …
Sun: MICHAEL CARRICK admits Manchester United’s failure to land the Treble last season haunted him all summer — even on his honeymoon.
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Carrick: United Are Stronger …
With both Manchester United and Liverpool undertaking their pre-season preparations in the Far East, the mere 37-mile stretch of water between United’s base in Macau and Liverpool’s Hong Kong training camp is perhaps an early indication little will separate the two clubs over the coming months.
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Michael Carrick: What have I done to deserve this? …
In all the excitement generated by Sir Alex’s excellent summer, is under-threat midfielder Michael Carrick justified in asking : “What have I done to deserve this?”
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Carrick: Ready For The Fight …
Sky: Michael Carrick accepts he will not be guaranteed a starting role with Manchester United next season.
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Season Review: The Midfield …
Fergie has flashed the cash to buy Nani and Anderson for £30 million and may now be under pressure from the Glazer family to recoup some of that outlay with a few sales of his own.
AbsolutelyUNITED looks at the players who won the title last season, to see who might be for the Old Trafford exit …
The Hargreaves Risk
After a chase lasting one year, Sir Alex has finally bagged Owen Hargreaves and moved a step closer towards the tactical transformation of his side.
Carrick: Bring On Hargreaves …
BBC: Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick says he would be delighted if England colleague Owen Hargreaves joined him at Old Trafford.
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The Star That Fell To Earth …
What a difference two months have made to the career of Michael Carrick.
