Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore has launched a scathing attack on Manchester United star Michael Carrick, claiming that the midfielder repeatedly fails to deliver on 'big occasions'.
In his weekend column for The Mirror, Collymore - who formed a magnificent striker partnership with Robbie Fowler during his two years at Anfield - conceded that Carrick is a 'reliable player' in the Premier League, but insisted that he fails to step-up in the Champions League, and accused the midfielder of one-dimensional play on European nights. He barked:
"Carrick does not offer enough on big occasions. In [Europe] you have to have more about you and too often I see him sat deep simply shutting down players. Any decent midfielder could fill that role.
"That is not the sign of a top-quality midfielder. He struggles to dominate these big matches, [and] it is just not good enough. United need a player more mobile than him and I still hold that opinion now"
Carrick - who cost Man United £18.6m - has a lot in common with Liverpool's Lucas Leiva, another unspectacular player who is often very important to the team in his own quiet, no-nonsense way.
Is Collymore right though? Alex Ferguson doesn't seem to think so, and he plays the midfielder regularly in the Champions League. United's CL record with Carrick in the team over the last five years:
P - 37
W - 22 (60%)
D - 10 (27%)
L - 5 (13%)
Unbeaten - 32 (86%)
The same question that applies to Lucas also applies to Carrick: what is his primary role in the team? Is it to score/create goals, get involved in attacks, or shut down players and protect the back-four? Not all 'top quality' midfielders are attacking players.
I would argue that protecting the back four and helping your team to an 86% unbeaten record in Europe is a sign of 'dominating games' in that particular defensive position.
The same applies to Lucas - he often dominates games defensively for Liverpool, and his work goes unnoticed a lot of the time. It's always noticeable when he's missing though, and stats show that the Reds concede far less goals with Lucas in midfield (as opposed to Joe Allen, for example)
Ultimately, since arriving at United Carrick has picked up four league titles and a Champions League winner's medal. Not bad for a player who's not 'top quality'.
Who is the better player though: Lucas or Carrick?
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
In his weekend column for The Mirror, Collymore - who formed a magnificent striker partnership with Robbie Fowler during his two years at Anfield - conceded that Carrick is a 'reliable player' in the Premier League, but insisted that he fails to step-up in the Champions League, and accused the midfielder of one-dimensional play on European nights. He barked:
"Carrick does not offer enough on big occasions. In [Europe] you have to have more about you and too often I see him sat deep simply shutting down players. Any decent midfielder could fill that role.
"That is not the sign of a top-quality midfielder. He struggles to dominate these big matches, [and] it is just not good enough. United need a player more mobile than him and I still hold that opinion now"
Carrick - who cost Man United £18.6m - has a lot in common with Liverpool's Lucas Leiva, another unspectacular player who is often very important to the team in his own quiet, no-nonsense way.
Is Collymore right though? Alex Ferguson doesn't seem to think so, and he plays the midfielder regularly in the Champions League. United's CL record with Carrick in the team over the last five years:
P - 37
W - 22 (60%)
D - 10 (27%)
L - 5 (13%)
Unbeaten - 32 (86%)
The same question that applies to Lucas also applies to Carrick: what is his primary role in the team? Is it to score/create goals, get involved in attacks, or shut down players and protect the back-four? Not all 'top quality' midfielders are attacking players.
I would argue that protecting the back four and helping your team to an 86% unbeaten record in Europe is a sign of 'dominating games' in that particular defensive position.
The same applies to Lucas - he often dominates games defensively for Liverpool, and his work goes unnoticed a lot of the time. It's always noticeable when he's missing though, and stats show that the Reds concede far less goals with Lucas in midfield (as opposed to Joe Allen, for example)
Ultimately, since arriving at United Carrick has picked up four league titles and a Champions League winner's medal. Not bad for a player who's not 'top quality'.
Who is the better player though: Lucas or Carrick?
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
In response to Jamie's question at the end of the article - 99% of Man U fans would pick Lucas over their own player.
ReplyDeleteI guess me and everyone I know is in the 1% then Tate :|
ReplyDeleteif i was picking one as a defensive midfielder it would be lucas,but carrick others a bit more in attack,mite have something to do with carrack playing with a better team,nut i would take lucas everyday,and another factor to consider is what they cost each team so lucas is clearly the bigger bargain of the two when it comes to price too
ReplyDeleteNo Tate I pick Carrick. Guess I am the 1%! I would bet 99% of united fans would pick carrick over Lucas
ReplyDeleteStan isn't the sharpest tool in the shed!
ReplyDeleteTate
ReplyDeleteAre u joking mate? Carrick is a far superior player. Lucas has bags full of energy, but nothing more. To be honest I don't see the comparison between the two myself. Carrick is a composed and graceful player, who has been at the heart of utd's midfield while they have won leagues and got to finals of CL and Lucas is a workhorse, nothing more
no mate...you would rather prefer carrick yourself
ReplyDeleteAverage player in a great team. nothing more nothing less
ReplyDeleteKey player and Sir Fergie, same guy that has won a bazillion trophies, and managed scores of top players rates him highly, so seriously, who cares what anyone else thinks. It just doesn't matter...
ReplyDeleteCarrick is average is one dimensional and would be found out in a lesser team Lucas is more skillfull and has done well as an attacking player in his native Brazil.
ReplyDeleteYes Lucas is more energetic and best of all has plenty of years ahead of him unlike Carrick.
what the f"ck more mancs on here than lfc
ReplyDeleteRvP and Rooney aside, Man U doesn't have any outstandingly good players, but as a team they're ridiculously amazing. They can play terribly and still win. The way they create chances is really quite something as they tend to try to create situations where 4 players can arrive in the box to receive a cross or cutback. This almost always guarantees they beat the keeper with a variety of scorers. And they are patient. They don't attack relentlessly, rather, they do more defending.
ReplyDeletewhat are stats for when Carrick is not playing Jamie?
ReplyDeletelucas is way better than carrick. carrick has the 'winning mentality' united carry with them and much better players around him an this allows him to showcase his abilitys much more. lucas is so robust in the tackle and despite some of his critisicsm, i fully acknowleges his qualitys and respect him for changign his position from an attacking player to a defensive player. this is the same thing carragher did when he changed his position ffor the common good of the team.
ReplyDeleteand lucas is better than carrick as he often breaks up play much more than carrick does and carrick is not completely a defensive midfielder, hes a more central midfielder like scott parker and yet he doesnt contribute whatsoever to man uniteds goals
I think that the easiest way to settle this is: Assuming they play similar roles to now, what would happen if the players switched teams? Lucas goes to ManUtd and Carrick to LFC.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, ManU would get better and LFC would get worse. Hence, Lucas is the better player.
Well Lucas cost us £6m, he never had the pressure of being an expensive buy. I feel that has contributed into the valuable first team player he is and he defenetly offers more than Carrik.
ReplyDeleteBusquets does not win the ball with robust defending - Alonso is tougher but hardly a Keane or Viera -- the modern game does not require one player to be an enforcer, hence the reason Carrick is by far the better all round player...Fergie knows best and the 12 point lead is hardly a fluke...
ReplyDeleteThey can and do play extremely well and win also...The 30 point differential is no fluke boss!!!
ReplyDeleteSuarez aside and Pool have only no outstandingly good players..
You forgot ( Lucas ) not having the pressure of playing for a top 6 team.. I get it. Makes sense!!!
ReplyDeleteSo was Dunga.. Makelele ( sp )....
ReplyDeleteWhat you talking about? Lucas joined Liverpool in 2007 in which the team was always in top 4 position. 2008/09 season Liverpool came seccond in the season in which he was in the first team squad. Matter of the fact he had Gerrard, Alonso & Mascherano also playing in the CM position. So he had even more pressure which has made him the player he is for Liverpool.
ReplyDeleteI'll get back to you on that later.
ReplyDeletemite have something to do with the refs(not saying there biased)
ReplyDeleteI dont give a monkeys about carrick :)
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteyou get the feeling carrick is one of them players you dont notice but when he doesn't play you do...as for collymore not sure why this guy is getting airtime jaimie when he beats up women ...or is that not as bad as diving in a football match
i bet carrick turns up for training every day and doesnt fuck off home to be with his mummy every nite and i bet he doesn t beat his bird up and go doggin. colleymore u were a disgrace and have the cheek to have apop at other pros
ReplyDeletemy last post jk ???
ReplyDeleteGerrard?
ReplyDeleteoh but hes obviously a saint compared to suarez !!!
ReplyDeletelucas and carick are nothing alike !!
ReplyDeletenot being biased but lucas is a better player, as an all round midfielder.
carick may get the odd goal but lucas has always had the reins on at Liverpool.
I totally agree with stan, carick is just a bore carried by good players, never rated him at united, was a better player at spurs.
that don't stop united fans blowing smoke out of his arse. they would laugh at him if he were at lfc
Carrick has been under rated but I think now United fans are realising his importance us . In fact only one player has better stats than Carrick in the premier league and thats Gerrard who I still wouldnt swap him. Carrick is and will be for years the first if not joint first name on Uniteds team sheet. And as my fellow red said earlier he gets picked by the most successful glory hungry winning manager of all time who sees his worth. So who cares what anyone else thinks .
ReplyDeletelol Lucas ahahahahhahahahahah
A lot of it is down to the position played, and people not giving it credit for what it does for the team. It`s not a goal scoring position, nor a position where you will be clearing the ball off the line, so players in that place rarely get much press, but boy o boy are they vital.
ReplyDeleteClassic example is Allen, he played Lucas`s role until Lucas came back, he played it well, had the most amount of tackles of any player in the prem, yet a lot of fans where coming down hard on him, cause he didn`t score enough, or wasn`t fancy enough.
The DM role very rarely brings any credit until the player has left the club, then people see how good they were.
Carrick does his role well
Collymore is a bloody idiot honestly it seems on talksport the idiots rule the airwaves,him and Durham are the two biggest fools on there.With Durham he does it to wind people up but Collymore thinks he's some kind of deep thinking sage,just a obnoxious thick twat
ReplyDeletehey theres a fella named djimi traore running around with a champions league winners medal and he's hardly a footballer let alone a good one
ReplyDeleteThey aren't even similar players. Play in the same position but execute it differently, very differently. Kinda like Masch and Xabi. Lucas is overrated, his absence in recent seasons has made the heart grow fonder for some, especially since Masch-Xabi have left. Probably has had one or two good seasons max. Partially due to injuries, he hasn't been anywhere near top form for over a season. Being energetic and throwng yourself into tackles isn't the be all and end all in that position in modern day football, as clearly illustrated by Busquets, Senna, Xabi, etc. Carrick is underrated. Being a regular in a side that has reached 3 CL finals and quite a few league titles, he must be pretty good, even in the face of the cheap hollow 'he is carried by better players' jibes (funny thing is some LFC fans think all/most Man United players are average, yet they are so successful. Ah I know, the game is fixed(!) ;) ). If I had to pick one, Carrick all day long by a mile. Although I'd much prefer Xabi.
ReplyDeleteAnderson did well as an attacking midfielder at Gremio and look at him now, so too many other attacking midfielders from Brazil in Brazil but most amount to nothing to write home about in Europe, because its a easier ride over there for attacking. So hardly a great and reliable testament to his so-called attacking midfield qualities, using his time at Gremio. To date, there is nothing truly reliable to illustrate his so-called prowess as a attacking midfielder.
ReplyDeleteI can only think of 3 Premier League teams with better central midfields than ours, and the only United in the 3 begins with "N".
ReplyDeleteIn case you had been missing out on the past few months, we signed Sturridge who has been outstanding for us!
But he still won player of the year playing an attacking role now ask yourself could Carrick go there and do that me thinks not.
ReplyDeleteHow is he over rated and by who his work speaks for its self he is efficient and a very good tackler statistically and skill wise.
ReplyDeleteI do believe you may have hated Lucas from the start and are afraid to admit you were wrong!!!!!!!
I don't know, its ifs and buts. Probably not but Carrick isn't that type of player, neither is Xabi, neither is Busquets, etc, yet I'd take them all over Lucas. Just because Lucas may do better one part of the game, doesn't make him a better player.
ReplyDeleteSo what if Carrick may or may not be able to do that, that doesn't make Lucas a better player. Just because a player is better at one part of the game, doesn't make him the better player.
ReplyDeleteHe is barely rated outside of LFC, by non-LFC fans, which is hardly surprising but certainly he is overrated by some of our fans, such as you, with your boasting of what he did in a South American league, when there a ton of South Americans who did well over there but most amount to nothing special in Europe.
ReplyDeleteThat is some belief you have, especially you have nothing to back up that belief but hey that is your opinion, just like I have my opinion that you overrate Lucas. But my opinion back then and is now on young player is that they need time, especially when they are in foreign shores and at a team that has fierce competition in their position. So no, I didn't hate Lucas from the start. I don't hate him, I simply do not rate him highly, certainly nowhere near your rating of him that is for sure.
But Chan on the flipside for a player to come to a foreign style of football and change his game to adapt is a great endorsement is it not.
ReplyDeleteNot only to change his positional game but also up his physical attributes and skills that may have been otherwise lacking.
Well explain why our defence looks like and plays like crap when Lucas is not there or finding his feet from injury.
ReplyDeleteHe has done well to change his game and I recall saying at the time it was what he needed to do if he wanted to survive being in the same team as Stevie, as Lucas' game back in Brazil was probably like Stevie's box to box method but that doesn't make him a quality player for doing that. He has changed his role/style. Beyond his defensive ability, I think he is quite ordinary, so I'm not on the same wavelength as you in regards to his so-called skill, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteMany different plausible reasons/factors (separately or together) that don't involve Lucas. For example, we play a very high line, which is not what our defence has been used to in their best form prior to Rodgers coming here. For example, we play a pressing game but our midfield has been poor at doing so, this has put more pressure on the defence. For example, in a system like this, keeping possession is key, especially in central midfield, otherwise turnovers (losing the ball) can prove costly more immediately (see Hendo losing the ball against Zenit) because of how high and open we play. Our midfield has been sloppy at this. For example, the centre backs are overrated. For example, the centre backs do not suit the system as they aren't comfortable being exposed. For example, there is no more Kuyt to protect the right back. For example, we don't have genuine competition for Agger and Skrtel. Not saying all these factors are correct, all that important or share the same weight in blame for our problems but they are plausible ones. With all due respect, our defensive problems do not all revolve around Lucas' getting back to his best, not even close. He plays a part but not a majority. I do question though his ability to play in such a different system as Rodgers' but we will have to wait and see, as to date he hasn't impressed this season but before you jump on my back, I wasn't expecting him to impress so soon as he could be taking his time to recover and adapt.
ReplyDeleteCarrick is for Man U what Hamann was for us. Just gets on with his job, you don't notice him around half the time but the team functions because of what he does. Pretty much what Rodgers likes to pretend Lucas brings to the team.
ReplyDeleteYeah I see carrick more like the alonso role
ReplyDeleteThe physical side is called getting older
ReplyDeleteYou cannot compare Carrick with Lucas as one team is always at the top and the other a midtable team,Fergie cannot be wrong.Remember the brain dead Collyflower once had Gerrard in his team of the best premiership team ever,nuff said.
ReplyDeleteCarrick is an awful midfielder. He doesn't tackle, doesn't protect back four, dissapears in games, doesn't want the ball, never scores, is weak and he would get taken apart in Sunday league football. Stab Collymore is absolutely bang on and I completely agree with him. Carrick is POOR.
ReplyDeleteLucas is in a different league to Carrick. Lucas is strong, tackles, defends, protects back four and works hard. He wants the ball and is miles better.