 Carrick made his West Ham breakthrough in the 2000 – 01 season , playing 41 games in all competitions which included 33 games in the league . His only goal of the season came in a 1 – 1 home draw against Aston Villa on 9 December 2000 . Carrick was awarded a new , improved contract for his progress that would keep him at Upton Park until 2005 . On 20 April 2001 , he was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year alongside team @-@ mate Joe Cole . The award was eventually won by Liverpool 's midfielder Steven Gerrard on 29 April . For the second successive season Carrick was voted as West Ham 's Young Player of the Year . The 2001 – 02 season saw Carrick make 32 appearances for the Hammers . Carrick scored twice during this season , his first was West Ham 's only goal in a 7 – 1 loss at Blackburn Rovers on 14 October . He scored the first goal in a 2 – 1 victory over rivals Chelsea ten days later . Towards the end of the season , Carrick suffered a recurrence of a groin injury which ruled him out of the 2002 FIFA World Cup for the England squad . 
