Following Michael Carrick's appointment as interim head coach of Manchester United, football writer Sam Cunningham looks at his journey from his playing days all the way through to becoming a manager.
A common theme of Michael Carrick’s playing career is that he was often in the shadows, quietly excelling while others stole the attention.
After he signed for Manchester United from Tottenham Hotspur in 2006, though he went on to win five Premier League trophies, the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup and so much more in a glittering 12 years at Old Trafford, initially there was always Paul Scholes, the legendary midfielder.
Sir Alex Ferguson, the Man Utd manager at the time, later described Carrick as "a shy boy who needed to be shaken at times".
Ferguson found it fascinating how overlooked Carrick, who played more than 300 games for Man Utd, was for England.
He ended his playing career with 34 England caps, but was rarely able to break into a central midfield partnership of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
"Michael’s handicap was, I feel, that he lacked the bravado of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard," Ferguson wrote in his autobiography. "Lampard, for me, was a marvellous servant for Chelsea, but I didn't think of him as an elite international footballer. And I am one of the few who felt Gerrard was not a top, top player.
"When Scholes and [Roy] Keane were in our team, Gerrard seldom had a kick against us. With England, Michael Carrick suffered in the shadow of those two big personalities."
At West Ham United everyone talked about Carrick and Joe Cole coming through the academy – but it was his team-mate who got most of the spotlight and was the first to earn a big move, to Chelsea.
Out of the shadows Carrick now steps, announced as the head coach of Man Utd until the end of the season, trusted with the challenge of steering this giant that has struggled since the Ferguson era ended into the Champions League places.
A permanent appointment will be made in the summer – and Carrick can surely not be ruled out if all goes well.
A growth spurt at West Ham
Though Carrick is known for his quiet, reserved personality, beneath it is a steely resilience and determination.
Throughout his childhood years, Carrick played for North Tyneside's famous youth team, Wallsend Boys Club, which includes Alan Shearer and Peter Beardsley in its alumni.
Born in Wallsend, four miles from Newcastle, Carrick had hoped to join Newcastle United but when the club closed its reserve team, he made the brave decision to try his luck in London, joining West Ham's youth team in 1997.
"It takes a lot to settle and progress, it's not easy," says Jimmy Hampson, the West Ham youth director at the time.
One of Hampson's scouts spotted Carrick playing for Wallsend in a game against West Ham and told Hampson to take a look. Aged only 15, Carrick left home and moved into digs in east London with some Australian team-mates.
"They have to grow up very quick," Hampson adds. "And he grew up very quick. He had great family support. It’s so important to young kids."
Carrick arrived as a striker but in a game against Leyton Orient a central midfielder was unavailable and Hampson asked him to try it. Carrick was initially reluctant, but agreed.
"He was really skinny when he came in at first," recalls Bertie Brayley, a team-mate in the youth team.
Then he had a growth spurt and was even skinnier. "Michael was like a skeleton, he outgrew his strength," Harry Redknapp, the first-team manager at the time, told The Guardian. "He suddenly shot up by eight inches and couldn't get around the pitch any more. He could pass the ball but couldn't run."
Hampson believes Carrick's youth team and the group before them, that included Rio Ferdinand and Lampard, were the two best the club have ever had.
Two years after joining, they won the FA Youth Cup, and it was not long before Carrick was pushing for a place in the first team.
"He filled out at 17," recalls Brayley, who now runs TEK LAB 121 football coaching. "His body grew and that was when he moved into the first team. He had good ability, could see a lovely pass."
Brilliant brain and technical ability
Carrick went on loans to Swindon Town and Birmingham City in the 1999/2000 season and broke into the West Ham first team the following season, aged only 19.
He experienced relegation from the Premier League in 2003 and stayed for a season in the second tier – making the PFA Team of the Year – before moving to Spurs.
Within two seasons, Ferguson identified him as a player who could play at the heart of his midfield and Man Utd signed him.
Ferguson considered Carrick one of the "cleverest" players and "best passers" in his team and felt that he was, at times, misunderstood, even though the 2016 FA Cup completed his collection of every domestic title.
"There is a casualness about him that causes people to misunderstand his value and his constitution," Ferguson wrote.
Ferguson found the same attributes that convinced Hampson to sign him for West Ham’s academy. "He’s had that passing range and technique since he was a baby," Hampson says.
"He had a football brain that you don’t see many times in young players. He could work everything out on a football pitch."
Watch: The best of Michael Carrick as a player
It was a brain that Hampson thought, even then, made Carrick ideal for management.
Forward-thinking football – and long balls
Carrick, 44, went straight into coaching after he retired, joining Jose Mourinho’s staff in 2016. He was retained by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when the former Man Utd striker took over after Mourinho departed.
When Solskjaer subsequently left, in November 2021, Carrick had his first spell as interim manager, impressing with a draw against Chelsea and wins against Arsenal and Villareal (Champions League). But the club opted to appoint Ralf Rangnick and Carrick left.
At Middlesbrough, he was handed his first shot as permanent head coach a year later – guiding them from 21st in the Championship to fourth in his first season, winning 16 of his first 23 games. They lost in the play-off semi-finals to Coventry City.
Carrick shone again in his second season, reaching the EFL Cup semi-finals, where they lost to Chelsea, but was dismissed last summer after a 10th-placed finish, leaving him available for the Man Utd interim role.
If his playing style at his former club is any indication of his approach to how Man Utd will play, fans can expect dynamic, forward-thinking attacking football.
"What impressed me about Carrick was that he was always looking to play that forward pass," Ferguson wrote. "His range was expansive and he could switch the play."
And despite all his fame and achievements, his intelligence and ability, Carrick has never forgotten his roots.
Hampson recalls one day receiving a phone call from Carrick's mum. She told him Carrick was on a train from London King's Cross station to Newcastle that was stuck at Stevenage. Carrick hopped on a train back to London and Hampson picked him up, then drove him all the way home.
They chatted about football and golf and shared packets of biscuits and cakes.
"He mentioned that at his wedding," Hampson says, recalling the incident fondly. "He’s down-to-earth and honest. And you can't buy that."