Michael Carrick is key to England's Euro 2016 quest

The last time Michael Carrick started a match for England was the pivotal World Cup qualifier against Poland at Wembley in October 2013, some 17 months ago. Fast-forward to last Friday night and Carrick was named as England’s midfield anchor in the 4-0 victory over Lithuania. During that period of exile from the England team he was also only named on the standby list for the 2014 World Cup, despite being one of the more experienced players that helped them qualify for the World Cup. Roy Hodgson seems to see Carrick as his go to man if he needs an experienced head or if he has a growing injury list, but why is it only in these times of trouble that he turns to the Manchester United midfielder? England seem deprived of talent in that area of the pitch in recent years, even more so since the retirement of Steven Gerrard, so why wouldn’t you turn to a man with the experience and know how of Carrick? In fact, if you go back to Euro 2012, when Hodgson had just taken over the national team, Carrick was again left out of his squad – the main criticism of England during that tournament was their inability to keep possession, especially in the quarter-final against Italy. The likes of Gerrard, Scott Parker and an under performing Jordan Henderson the best England had to offer in that tournament. It’s hard to understand why Carrick didn’t go straight back into the England fold after Euro 2012, especially as the following season was probably the best of his career for Manchester United, which resulted in a nomination for PFA Players’ Player or the Year and being named in the Team of the Year. It might well have “only been Lithuania” but Carrick showed again what he is all about, protecting the back four, expertly distributing the ball and dictating the pace of the game.

Since making his England debut in 2001, Carrick has accumulated 32 caps in 14 years, which is extremely low for a man that has been consistently playing in top level games for the biggest club in the world for the last eight to nine years. Remarkably, Carrick has only ever made one tournament appearance for his country and that came in the 2006 World Cup second round against Ecuador and also came before he had even signed for Manchester United. There is no doubt that Carrick has suffered from being around the national team at the same time as Gerrard and Frank Lampard. It’s fair to say he would have a lot more caps had he not had to compete for the same places with two of the best English players to have ever played in the Premier League. The Gerrard and Lampard combination never clicked for England though, and as Sir Alf Ramsey used to say, the best players don’t necessarily always make the best team. Carrick is a completely different player to Gerrard and Lampard, but in a 4-4-2 formation it was always going to be Carrick that makes way, given his less headline grabbing displays and lack of goals. Many will say that in his early days at United he failed to grab games by the scruff of the neck and dominate. However, winning three Premier League titles, the Champions League and a League Cup in his first three seasons whilst being a constant regular in the team, meant that he must have been doing something right.

You only have to look at Manchester United’s record with and without Carrick this season to see just how influential the former Tottenham man can be. As soon as Carrick returned from injury to make his first start of the season, Manchester United went on a six-match winning streak and an 11-match unbeaten run. Carrick brought authority and calmness to the side’s play which gave confidence to the rest of the team. He is very much an interceptor, tackler and a distributer, and gets the team on the front foot right – the type of work that goes unnoticed.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the man who signed him for Manchester United back in 2006, was recently quoted as saying Carrick was the not only the best English midfielder, but the best English player in the game. That is some statement by the former United boss, mainly as Carrick is the grand old age of 33. That statement shows the lack of English talent emerging, especially in the middle area of the pitch. Recently, Jack Wilshere has been used in that position by England but many would say it’s not his natural game, no matter how talented the Arsenal man is. Wilshere is far more of an attacking threat than Carrick ever was, but that isn’t Carrick’s game. We’ve seen the likes of Henderson and Fabian Delph emerge into the picture over the last 12 months, both players’ games have improved considerably in that time and deserve their place in the squad, but you can’t see either of them cementing their place in the team in the long haul in the same way Gerrard, Lampard and Paul Scholes did.

Carrick is an experienced midfield player that England are lucky to have, he sees the game in a way that others don’t, his control and vision are what England needs. At 33 time is not on his side, but he is still competing in top level games week in, week out for Manchester United and plays in a position where he doesn’t have to be up and down the pitch. He sits in that midfield position and orchestrates the game in the same way Scholes did in his later years; the change in his game that helped extend his career by a good few seasons. You can’t have a team full of youngsters, just like you can’t have a team full of older, experienced players. There has to be a balance, and given England’s lack of experience in midfield Carrick has to be the man to take England forward into the European Championships in France next summer.