IN the coming weeks and months, articles on Jamie Carragher’s career and the significance of his years as a Red will be as frequent as Alex Ferguson’s complaints to the fourth official have been (how will they cope without his influence?)
My passion for Liverpool FC came fairly recently (as a Canadian, my exposure to EPL (Premier League) football was restricted by its lack of availability on national television) and has always included Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher as defining players.
We first had regular EPL games when Jamie, Stevie, and Sami Hyypia strode the pitch in the journey to Istanbul and Riise struck terror into defensive walls on free-kicks. And Jamie was always ‘the man’, from where I sat – the shrill-voiced general of the redoubtable Liverpool FC juggernaut.
Under Carragher we were Fortress Anfield, where opponents resigned themselves to coming away empty handed, licking their wounds and breathing a sigh of relief when the list of fixtures in their foreseeable future did not include the Reds. We wore a cloak of invincibility that hung like a steel curtain from our goal and our worries were limited to finding a striker to complement Stevie because the defence was solid, game in and game out.
As Jamie lost a half step in the last few years, cries for his relegation to the bench (from the usual suspects) eventually found the ears of managers and assistants. Of course there are other factors that led to Liverpool’s poor performance in recent years, but the absence of Carragher’s leadership was obvious in the inability of the team to get organized at the back.
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Neither Skrtel nor Agger have the ear of their teammates as Carra does. Sure they are world class internationals, but they seem to see their own roles far more clearly than they do the defensive positioning of the back four as a unit. Jamie is like a defensive manager on the pitch and his anticipation of defensive shortcomings is second to none.
Without him, for example, Enrique is too often caught in possession, and Glen Johnson left indecisive on the right. With Carragher in place, the back four are constantly made aware of the threats and directed into the most effective passing lanes to bring their excellent skills to bear on an opponent.
So how will we fare without our legendary 23?
Much depends on who can step up and fill those old-school black boots. We now have the talent and depth required to be competitive in the top 4. It was always too much to expect that Coates could step into the right central defender position given his youth and relative inexperience. With time he could develop into quite the player but what do we do in the interim?
Skrtel’s confidence must be in shambles after the last few months, and even if he manages to regain his form, he seems too intent on doing his own job well and leaving the rest of the complement to fend for themselves.
A back four can never be four individuals, as we have seen, and, unless someone steps forward to lead the defence, we could be sitting here this time next year and ruing the day that Jamie Carragher hung up those sparkling boots.
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I am disappointed that LFC didn’t roll him directly in to an assistant coaching position where he could direct from the sideline. Carra’s a true student of the game and his leadership will truly be missed.
Unless the ownership and front office are totally delusional, they will already be in the process of shoe-horning him into the network. I truly believe that Carra is such a student of the game (as you mentioned) that he could become an iconic Liverpool manager.
We don’t owe him nothing, just another servant, so please stop with the sentimental crap It’s ruining our great club. Move on please!
At least you didn’t add YNWA.
Just one question…why wasn’t he an England regular. Doesn’t matter who you play for – Cream rises to the top. Even in his pomp he lacked a yard of pace & a foot in the air. Good player, never a great player. But if he really cared about LFC he should stay as a coach & not be a SKY rent boy.
England’s national team is as much about politics as merit (ask Darren Bent); Terry and Ferdinand were always going to be first choice for the centerback positions. And yes, at first glance, Carra lacked the pace and height that the first-choice duo had. On the other hand, I would argue that his tactical awareness exceeded any English defender in his time (especially Rio bloody Ferdinand). And I’m sorry, but Carra’s love for and loyalty to the club is undeniable. He’s given so much of himself to the club that if he wants to do punditry for a while, I say more power to him. He’ll be back at the club at some point.
Matty. To my way of thinking, he was under-appreciated. Although he fit the bill in Liverpool perfectly, it was probably felt that a large part of his effectiveness lay in his understanding the Liverpool game rather than having the attributes of quickness, jumping ability, agility and other physical features for which they were selecting. I think this subtle discrimination is what led Carra to remove himself from the national squad when he was still at the top of his game.