Welcome back to Books With Cause. Let’s dive straight into my latest review.
“It’s Carrick, you know. It’s hard to believe it’s not Scholes.”
I’ve read a few books based around Manchester United, and I thought it was time for another. Under the current circumstances, this felt like the book to read.
There are certain things we only realise in hindsight. Now, I always knew that Michael Carrick was a good player, but I think it’s in his retirement from playing that I realise how underrated he was. An example of this is that I’ll say I only got Carrick printed on the back of a United shirt when I got the feeling his career was coming to an end. In an era where the majority of fans would’ve gotten the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo, Scholes, and Giggs on the back of their shirt, I think Carrick was a little bit forgotten. But I think it’s important to remember how important Carrick was to a team that won multiple Premier Leagues and the Champions League in that era.
There’s an expression I heard once about Christmas Dinner, and someone compared the parsnips to Sergio Busquets. Nobody really says that parsnips are their favourite part of a Christmas dinner, but you notice when they’re not there. I’d make the exact same argument for Michael Carrick.
A player who is calm and confident on the ball. He received only one red card in his entire playing career. Okay, he still got into arguments with referees; that is the nature of the game, but he was never involved in a scandal on a newspaper front page. In an era where a lot of players seem more focused on making money, collecting tattoos and sports cars, Carrick was always about the football.
This book was a learning experience for me. Carrick is a man who kept a lot of his life private. While I couldn’t consider this book to be a “tell-all”, he does reveal a lot. From his early life growing up in the north-east, to signing his first professional contract with West Ham. Carrick talks about his journey through Tottenham and the England side, as well as, of course, going in depth into his time at United and playing under Sir Alex Ferguson.
It is also clear how important family is to Carrick. He expresses endless gratitude to his parents and the sacrifices that they made for him. The same is true of Lisa, Carrick’s now-wife. He talks about how they knew each other since they were teenagers. I must say that the romantic in me found that to be super sweet. They were in a long-distance relationship while Carrick was in the West Ham academy, and Lisa was still doing her A-Levels. They wrote each other letters and poems during this time. She then moved to London with him and then to Manchester. They’ve been married since 2017 and have two children together.
This book also struck a chord with me as someone who has had my own issues with mental health. It’s easy to look at footballers as indestructible superheroes, but Carrick reminds us that he is human. He reveals that he had a major struggle with depression in the aftermath of losing the 2009 Champions League final. He also struggled with being in and out of the England team. I have to say that I appreciated Carrick being this honest and open. Things might be changing, but for a long time there has been a stigma where men are told to “man-up and get on with it”. For Carrick to go on the record with his own struggles is a massive step in the right direction, in my opinion.
Published in 2018, this book finishes when Jose Mourinho was Manchester United manager, and Carrick was part of his coaching staff. Of course, a lot has happened since then, leading to Carrick now being the number one at United. There have been highs and lows as a United fan over the last decade or so, but I will say that Carrick has my full backing and confidence to turn the team around and lead us back to the top where we belong. And whatever happens, I imagine that at some point in the future, Carrick will release an expanded version or a second book that covers 2018 onwards. At 45, Carrick could still have a long career ahead of him and a lot of stories to tell.
I also think this book should be a must-read for any youngster who has the goal of being a professional footballer. I think they could learn a lot of lessons from Carrick about staying grounded while chasing your dreams. And even to those who don’t like football, I think there’s still a lot that can be taken away from this book.
My Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 stars)
