Profile
Michael Carrick joined United from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006 after developing at West Ham and spending loan time at Swindon Town and Birmingham City. He arrived after Roy Keane's departure, which made comparisons inevitable and mostly unhelpful. Carrick was not bought to be Keane; he was bought to give Ferguson a different kind of midfield control.
His value was positional. Carrick received the ball under pressure, screened passing lanes and moved possession into better areas before a tackle or dribble was needed. That skill was easy to miss because it often prevented drama rather than creating it. In the 2007-09 sides, his passing allowed Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez and the wide players to attack with speed from stable possession.
Carrick's best partnerships depended on balance. With Scholes, he helped United pass through teams. With Fletcher, Hargreaves or Anderson, he supplied calm around running power. Later, as the squad changed, his intelligence became even more visible because United often looked less coherent without him.
He retired at United in 2018, moved into coaching and later became a manager. His legacy has improved with time because supporters now recognise the work that did not shout for attention. Carrick made United look organised from midfield, and that is rarer than it sounds.