Suddenly , after close to 14 years of international football and just 33 caps , Michael Carrick is the answer for England . He was very impressive against Italy in a friendly , true ; and he has been an important influence on Manchester United ’ s revival . Yet it would be unfortunate in the extreme if four consecutive England managers had all failed to spot a game-changing wizard in their midst . Here ’ s the reality . Carrick has made nine competitive starts for England , and the majority have been ordinary at best . He played in the match against Ecuador in the 2006 World Cup , in which England were saved by a David Beckham free-kick , and was then dropped and replaced by the more energetic Owen Hargreaves for the quarter-final with Portugal . Michael Carrick played against Ecuador at the 2006 World Cup but was dropped for the quarter-final . England have won just four competitive matches when Carrick started , including against Poland . Carrick ( left ) played in the 2-0 defeat by Croatia which went a long way to England missing out on Euro 2008 . Under Steve McClaren he started in the disastrous double header of a 0-0 home draw with Macedonia followed by a 2-0 defeat in Croatia — the results that effectively cost England ’ s place at the 2008 European Championship . He was also part of unconvincing performances in Poland and , particularly , Montenegro under Roy Hodgson . England have won four competitive games in which Carrick has started — against Ecuador , and then San Marino , Poland and Lithuania , all at home . Ecuador were feisty opponents and Carrick struggled to match their intensity ; the same in the second half in Montenegro , when England were overwhelmed and fortunate not to lose . The home draw with Macedonia — more than either defeat to Croatia — was the worst result of McClaren ’ s reign . Carrick was hailed after an impressive performance for England in their friendly draw with Italy last week . Carrick has also been impressive in Manchester United 's midfield under Louis van Gaal this season . So the idea that England managers are fools for consistently preferring Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard is misguided . Carrick had chances throughout his career , and little changed . Equally , in less than one year , between May 30 , 2009 , and May 9 , 2010 , Lampard scored more goals for club and country than Carrick has in his entire career . Gerrard took slightly longer — outscoring Carrick in entirety between October 24 , 2007 and December 13 , 2008 . And it wasn ’ t as if Lampard and Gerrard couldn ’ t pass or put a tackle in , too . Maybe Carrick has improved with age . Maybe he is the best around right now . He certainly deserves to be judged on his current performances , not his past . Just don ’ t think that there isn ’ t a reason why his international career underwhelms . They ’ re not all idiots , these England managers .
Michael Carrick impressed during England 's draw with Italy last week . But the midfielder has been ordinary in his nine competitive starts . The former Manchester United and Everton man is averaging just over a goal every two games for club and country, but he was also poor against Germany on Saturday as England were beaten 1-0 by their northern England bosses consistently preferred Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard .