“The England managers showed him no respect over the years.”
Rio Ferdinand has said that Michael Carrick is still good enough to play for England. The Manchester United midfielder will retire at the end of this season and was listed as a coach on the bench for the team’s 2-0 win over Swansea City on Saturday afternoon. However, Rio reckons that his old teammate could still do a job for the national team, and he’s probably right.
Gareth Southgate’s side is taking shape ahead of the World Cup, and they certainly won’t disgrace themselves at the tournament in Russia this summer. However, they are lacking an intelligent deep-lying midfielder who can pass the ball forward through the lines and provide a balance to the more attacking or industrious players. Carrick, even aged 36 and at the end of his career, could probably still provide this.
The former Tottenham midfielder will be retired by the time the competition comes around and he hasn’t played for England since 2015. He’ll be watching the World Cup at home, as he has for several other tournaments when he was overlooked by the national side. Ferdinand claimed on BT Sports show Premier League Tonight that Carrick wasn’t shown respect by England managers throughout his career.
He made his international debut in 2001, and started for England in their last knockout-stage victory at a tournament – over Ecuador at the 2006 World Cup – yet Carrick only has 34 caps for his country. Ferdinand has said that Carrick was exactly the type of player England needed over the last decade, that his quick forward passing would have been a godsend and that he was “undervalued.”
He also said that if Carrick was Italian, he’d still be playing for the national team. The former United and England defender seemed visibly annoyed that a player of such class was overlooked for so long, and he has a point.
You can watch Rio here:
