Carrick: Will Rise or Fall?

It is sometimes surprising to see that Michael Carrick doesn’t make the headlines of newspapers as often as say, a Van Persie or a Rooney does. Carrick, for me, has been that one player, who has performed day in and day out for Manchester United. But, he has never been credited for the wins.
Now with the arrival of Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick will have more freedom than he has ever had before. And, as he did in midweek and against Crystal Palace, he can unlock the rigid City defence in the upcoming derby match and draw first blood in the race for the title. For the majority of his seven previous seasons at Old Trafford, Carrick has had to sit deep and calmly spread the play, rather than bursting into more attacking positions and unleashing a ferocious strike at goal that fans know he is capable of. With players like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs as partners in the midfield, Carrick has mostly taken the back seat in the MUFC wagon. With Scholes retiring and Fellaini now as the potential acting-cover, we can see Carrick playing in a slightly more advanced position, being the instigator of United’s attack, potentially linking up with an in-form Wayne Rooney and the talismanic Robin van Persie to devastating effect.
In United’s comfortable victory over Crystal Palace, Carrick made a staggering 11 interceptions, all further forward than he is used to, positions where his plethora of passing attributes could be utilised. When you consider that Arsenal only made eight interceptions as a team in their victory over Sunderland, Carrick’s energy in preventing attacks before they happened is all the more impressive.
In the latter stages of his career, Carrick is still in prime condition and I feel that the 32-year-old can have a new lease of life under Moyes. Atleast, that’s what I’m hoping for because he deserves it.