There was real cause for concern last night as England attempted to get to grips with a fluid and malevolent Mexican side. In the first half, the Mexican’s strode through England without consequence, interchanged with incredible efficiency and at times used space so effectively they almost gave the impression that an extra North American had taken to the Wembley pitch. It was unnerving at times. If Mexico had been blessed with slightly more technically gifted players it could have been a resounding embarrassment.
Well, as is commonplace in the aftermath of a worrisome England performance, a scapegoat is required to be found and marched to the stockade. Today, it’s Michael Carrick. Granted, the Manchester United midfielder didn’t have a good game, in fact, he hasn’t had a good season by any stretch of the imagination, but there was a bigger fault at work that undermined his own performance. The fact is, Fabio Capello got it pretty wrong in the first half.
The Italian positioned James Milner in the centre and Steven Gerrard. Gerrard, unsurprisingly, instinctively cut in-field, forcing Wayne Rooney to cover the left wing. Mexico, in response, were then able push a central defender into midfield to tip the balance their way. By flooding the midfield and maintaining a high defensive line Mexico were able to dominate England in terms of possession.
When England did manage to launch an attack, the defender that had stepped up simply slotted back into the back four. England were comparatively naïve and frustratingly inflexible. Had the Mexican’s fitness not deteriorated the quality and frequency of their interchanges in the second half; had they not been so futilely useless at marking from set-pieces; and had Capello not righted his error before notable damage was done, England could have had real problems.
Carrick’s performance then shouldn’t be seen in isolation. Actually, it’s best not to contemplate what he can offer the England team by focusing on this single game.
What Carrick does well is often what goes unnoticed. He will never slide in with a rough tackle or pick out a 30 yard ball to Rooney in behind the defence. He’ll never sell millions of copies of Heat magazine with his mug and he’ll never invent a cure for cancer. It’s almost cliché: he does the mundane and he does it well. He’s well disciplined. He’s positionally spot-on. He plays simple passes. He allows other midfielders the freedom to get forward without worrying about defensive duties.
Defensive midfielders are an elusive and ever dwindling group in the England camp too. Take Gareth Barry, for example (assuming he will recover from injury). Barry is a more assured passer than Carrick. But Barry lacks a real defensive mindset; he often likes to get forward. His last season at Aston Villa demonstrated how terrific he is in a central creative role. It is that that attracted Rafael Benitez’s interest as rumours circulated around Xabi Alonso’s future at Liverpool. Since his arrival at City, he has certainly played a deeper role but not necessarily a more defensive one. At City, he stimulates the play and links the defence with the attack.
England, a team with a vast amount of creativity on the field, will need a defensive anchor. In order for the best to be yielded from Rooney, Walcott, Lennon, Gerrard, Lampard, Milner and the like, they need to be confident that their absence further back isn’t going to cause problems. And currently, there are only three real options to secure against these insecurities to cause havoc. One of them is injured. Another one of them has relatively little experience at this level.
Not taking Carrick on the plane to South Africa is like a boxer discarding his gum-shield.
Not taking Carrick on the plane to South Africa is like a boxer discarding his gum-shield
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At his best, Michael Carrick is a competent but not outstanding footballer. At Manchester United, he’s probably the third best player at his position (Darren Fletcher and Owen Hargreaves are both superior) and that’s not a good sign.
Worse, in the last half of the season he has been absolutely dire and has regularly made the sort of schoolboy errors that any decent team would punish in a heartbeat.
Against sides like Burnley and Hull(no disrespect intended to those teams) you can get away with that. But against stronger opposition you can’t.
Forgive me for pointing out the obvious but few of the 31 teams that England will hope to rise above in South Africa will look in the mouth of one of his gift horses.
Pray that Gareth Barry is fit because on his current form Carrick will be a certain liability.
Look, Carrick had a real horrendous season if we jucdge from his first 3 seasons when he was very good. at his best i think he can be a very good player who has a good football brain, great positional sense and is a very good passer as well. But he was responsible for some really bad games lately, against Bayern at home when he gifted them their first goal. he’s not been assertive enough, too laid back at times and quite weak for a one-on-one job. the was he lost out to that bayern stricker (he couldn’t stay on his feet after a simple shoulder nudge from the bayern man) was baffling, and i’m not sure he is in a good state of mind to be an asset to England in SA.
In fact, he has not been good since he was badly outplayed in the 2009 UCL final by Xavi, Iniesta and Busqets.
I noticed that Scotty Parker was there on Monday night, would have been nice to see him come on to see what he could offer in midfield. Only got the Japan friendly left to experiment.