Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has named former Reds managers Rafael Benitez and Gerard Houllier as the two biggest influences on his career.
The former England international enjoyed a stellar playing career spent under some terrific managers for both club and country, but Carragher feels that these two stand head and shoulders above the rest.
“I tell you what it reminds me of, and this is why I am not going to be too critical of the players or the manager,” he told Sky Sports about the current Tottenham Hotspur team. “I was managed for Gerard Houllier for six years, and Rafa Benitez for six years. They are the two biggest influences on my career. They did great jobs for Liverpool and they won trophies.
“The thing for us year after year was to win the title. Then we got to second, and we completely fell away. It was almost as though we needed to start again. And with Tottenham, it is as if they need to start again, either with a new manager – not because he’s not good enough, because he is good enough – or with a new squad.”
OPINION
This is really interesting stuff from Carragher, and the comparison between his Liverpool team under Benitez and this Tottenham side under Mauricio Pochettino is an interesting one. The Reds did come close to winning the Premier League title under the Spaniard, finishing second in 2008/09 despite only losing twice in the league all season. Now, Spurs haven’t ever gotten that close to a title triumph under Pochettino, but they did lose in the Champions League final in June – to Liverpool, ironically. But they appear to have fallen apart since that defeat, as Liverpool did under Benitez, never once returning to the heights they scaled in that 08/09 season. The key difference between the Reds under Benitez and Houllier, and Tottenham under Pochettino is that the former two won trophies, even if not the Premier League. The Spaniard secured the Champions League, FA Cup, Community Shield and European Super Cup, whereas Houllier bagged an FA Cup, two League Cups, a Community Shield, a UEFA Cup and a European Super Cup. Pochettino, crucially, hasn’t done anything like that in north London.
