Michael Carrick has had many titles and cup wins in his football career but fans are finally starting to realise just how good he is.
Carrick is back in the starting XI for Manchester United and has proved somewhat of a cup specialist for them this season.
While United have struggled to turn pressure into Premier League points, they are doing nicely in the EFL Cup and Europa League. Carrick has been at the fulcrum of some of United’s most convincing wins this season.
United have score three or more goals in seven games this season. Carrick has started in six of those.
He was an under-appreciated and underrated player for many years at United but, ever since the retirements of Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and so, his will to win and calming, probing presence has finally got some credit.
The topic of the Premier League’s most underrated players was discussed in this week’s edition of Football Friday Live [watch below]. Fans were asked to cast their vote on the player who gets the least acknowledgement and praise for his side’s success.
Tony Barrett went for Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla while Dion Fanning selected Liverpool’s multi-positional James Milner. Fanning commented:
“Milner is the kind of player every team ends up needing, the player who can do any job needed of him.”
Former Tottenham and England defender Ledley King was not having any of it. He declared:
“Whenever he is in the team, that team is better, whether that is Manchester United, England or Tottenham, where he played with me, [Carrick] is definitely my choice.”
When the final votes were collected, Carrick finally got is dues. He finished well clear of a chasing pack that included Milner, Cazorla and Everton’s Gareth Barry.
Now that Carrick has finally been given credit it begs the question – who, now, is the league’s most underrated player?
Catch up with this week’s episode of Football Friday Live
