The importance of Carrick

In the last few weeks, perhaps months, under our new coach, we have once again been reminded about the importance of Michael Carrick. If you watch how we play with and without him, you'll be quick to realise that he's a key part in the team's performance. But you don't even have to watch our games - the stats speak for themselves: this was posted just a week ago; 12 games, 10 wins and 2 draws when he played. At this point, I don't think there's a single person on this subreddit that doubts his importance.

But Carrick is (sadly) getting on. At 35 years old, the demands of the modern game will take a bigger toll with every passing year, month and week. Whilst he's managed to play 90 minutes every week for the past few weeks, it's simply unreasonable to think that he will be able to carry on for that much longer. I personally think he's in a great shape for his age and will be able to feature frequently this season and perhaps feature in many of our games next season. But, no doubt, finding a possible replacement should be one of our top priorities in the summer.

Possible replacements

Indeed, we have seen many names thrown around: Weigl, Kroos and Fabregas are just a few I spotted yesterday. Many of us redditors are trying to identify potential players we could go after who could fill that role that Carrick plays ever so well.

All these players share many of traits with each other. Excellent technique in their first touch and ball control. Magnificent passing range, which gives them the ability to pick out an inch perfect pass, short or long, without the ball being intercepted. Both of those skill sets are essential for a player who sits deeper than the other two midfielders (Pogba and Herrera).

So what's the issue?

It would make sense that these players, the Krooses, the Fabregases should be thought of as sensible replacements. But I don't think they are - and here lies the problem.

Of course this is just my opinion, but I believe that the main attribute needed for the position and role Carrick plays is mental, not technical. One of the main reasons why he's so fantastic in the role he plays is also the reason why we're looking for his replacement - his age. His experience is one of his greatest attributes and has been for the last few years - he has been a key part in United's great performances in the last few years and was one of, if not our best player in SAF's last season.

Michael is such a great player, because in his role you need experience and awareness to understand how to position yourself (both defensively and offensively) and how to dictate the tempo. He knows when to play it short and slow the game down and when to play an incisive ball forward and increase the pressure on the opposition. He's got the vision to spot when it's best to pass it long to a runner on the wing and when it's actually better to turn around and play a one-two with the centre half. Because it's not just about the player making the run - it's about the team and what will happen if the ball is played to the runner. In this role, you need football intelligence to think two steps ahead and understand that sometimes, although a winger is making a great run forward, he's got no back up, so it's actually better to retain possession and play it short.

On top of all that, his role involves shielding the back four, which means that he needs to anticipate how an attack might unravel and how to best position yourself to avoid conceding a goal. You'll also see him give out instructions, because he understands not only how he needs to position himself, but also how the players around him need to position themselves and whether they should sit behind the ball or fight for the ball.

And of course, on top of all of this, you need to have the actual technical abilities: to control the ball, pass the ball and tackle when necessary.

Conclusion

Now, I know I'm making it sound like Carrick is the football definition of Albert Einstein - I'm not trying to do that. What I'm trying to demonstrate is that the player we are looking for is a rare breed of footballer.

The only player I can currently think of who possesses all these attributes and would be able to play this role as well (if not even better) is Sergio Busquets, but let's not kid ourselves, we're never getting him. Now of course, I'm not the manager of Manchester United. I don't have the knowledge about the game or the scouting system to tell you all that there is no player in the world that could be molded into the player Carrick is today. Of course there is - out of all the players in the world, I'm sure there's more than a few. It is definitely possible that Jose has someone in mind.

But it's also possible that he doesn't, which leaves me with my conclusion - replacing Carrick is harder than it seems. Especially if we're looking for a younger player to carry out the same instructions, because the younger the player, the less experienced they are. There are players who can read the game exceptionally well from a very young age (footballing wise) - Carrick was one of them. But even he hasn't become the player he is until later in his career. The overall skill set we are looking for is extremely hard to find, and the younger the player the harder it is to find this overall skill set.

Instead of looking for possible like-for-like replacements for Carrick, we should probably expect a change of system. Perhaps a more defensive minded player. Perhaps a change of formation. Because most central midfielders will never have the intelligence to play that role, no matter how exceptional their technique is. And that's why replacing Michael Carrick is the almost impossible job.