Michael Carrick Quotes

Problem solving is hunting. It is savage pleasure and we are born to it.

I have always tended to over-think things and that had come into my game. That's good in certain moments but not when you have to make a quick decision.

In every country, you play a different style of football. Sometimes if it's really tactical, like it is in Spain, it seems like it slows down the tempo, but it's not really the case.

Football's always been cerebral. The most important thing is thinking fast.

You can be a great skater, you can have really good puck skills, but the ability to problem-solve is, to me, key.

You just constantly are evaluating and learning and drawing players and coverages and talking through it. It's part of making you the player, how you want to approach the game.

How many situations can be resolved with less thinking?

I learned to play chess at a young age, and I think that's where learning to plan things out and put things in position, that was the best thing for me.

With my intellect, I'm somebody who can think fast, think on my feet and can think under pressure.

My best asset to my game is my IQ. I play the game thinking the game first.

Some of the best quarterback play is when you're able to move in the pocket and still make throws down the field because it's not going to be clean every time.

I'm going to play the quarterback position the way coaches install the plays; I'm going to go through the reads just like they install it.

I'm good at extending plays and finding throwing lanes.

I've seen those mistakes where I could have just given an easy layup or quick dump pass just to get my teammates going, so I watched a lot of stuff on that. Now I see it, now I can make those plays and make sure I feed my teammates.

When it comes to making decisions, I'm not what you'd call a numbers guy.

While it's great for a quarterback to have athletic ability, his goal is to get the ball out of his hand, orchestrate the offense and not allow his ability to stand in the way of the offense running efficiently.

When you play eleven a side, you might go through a game with very few touches, but with street football, you're always involved in the game, so it is a great way to improve your skill and to learn how to create and use space, as the pitch is very small.

This is football, so you need to be clever to understand the moment and win games.

A guy like Drew Brees is a guy that knows how to undress a defense. Most of the time he knows where he's gonna go before he even gets the ball. So he's ready to deliver that ball almost as soon as it comes to his hands.

I think, personally, I learn really quick.

The instincts and reaction and having to move - that's what football is. You have to learn how to deal with different adjustments, and know how to react to different types of plays. And do it on the fly.

The game is about making the right decisions.

I try to be this kind of player: the type who does something whenever he gets the ball. Sometimes in the past, I've gone through games where I've not touched the ball for 20 or 30 minutes.

Football players are creative when they're in the moment.

As a player, you are more concerned with the moments when you have possession of the ball or are about to receive the ball. You are watching your team-mates and trying to decide what the possibilities are.