 Carrick had been regularly overlooked by various England managers when it came to the central roles , with Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard generally being preferred . He started nine games under Sven @-@ Göran Eriksson and his successor Steve McClaren . His last appearance under McClaren was in a 2 – 1 defeat at home to Germany in August 2007 . Newly appointed manager Fabio Capello left Carrick out of his first England squad on 2 February 2008 . During Capello 's first year in charge of England Carrick was largely overlooked . However , he was named in Capello 's squad for the game against the Czech Republic , but was forced to withdraw after sustaining an injury during Manchester United 's game with Newcastle United . In November 2008 he returned to the squad for a friendly against Germany in Berlin . Starting alongside Gareth Barry in central midfield in England 's 2 – 1 victory and was named by at least two sources as Man of the Match . 
