I might not be the first to admit it, but I’ll man up right here and now: it’s far easier to write about the so called “exciting stuff” then it is about the down and dirty — though just as important — defensive side of the game. It might be all highlight reels and tricks…
A mere piece of wood denied Jamie Carragher a fairytale ending to his Liverpool career as the Merseyside born and bred defender ran out in the that famous red shirt at Anfield for the very last time. Philippe Coutinho would seal the points with a audacious strike in what would fittingly be the twenty-third minute…
As the season comes to a crashing halt with the visit of Queens Park Rangers in the penultimate match of the season, emotions will be high on another Anfield afternoon. Liverpool close out a campaign blighted by inconsistency, finishing in seventh place, behind cross-town rivals Everton for the second season running, and nine points adrift…
Andy could keep on blowing bubbles
Earlier today, the 24-year-old pulled out of the England squad due to a heel injury; now instead of participating in this summer’s friendlies, it looks like he’ll be making a full-time switch from Merseyside to London. With a new style of play coming in with the appointment of Brendan Rodgers, Carroll was loaned out to West Ham on a season long deal. Despite having his season pockmarked by injuries, the former Newcastle man found the net seven times for Sam Allardyce’s side, encouraging the Hammers boss to move for a permanent deal.
Allardyce has made no secret of his desire to sign the Gateshead born striker having tried to snap him up on a permanent deal last summer before the loan deal was agreed, but a question hangs over the head of Carroll and whether or he’ll be ready to make the switch to London on a full time basis. With the World Cup looming next summer, the striker may want to fight for an arguably more high profile place on Merseyside and stay within Roy Hodgson’s plans for the England squad’s jaunt to Brazil. More on this when Andy comes to his senses…
A clean sheet and three points is all that matters
It might be all highlight reels and tricks to you, but there’s more to football then that. Goals, assists and flashy skills are what get the words flowing which gives a certain panache to a pundit that can look beyond that. Despite being hailed as Mr. Liverpool, with only 4 goals in sixteen seasons, Jamie Carragher is hardly the kind of offensive muse a semi-lazy writer thrives on; which is why it was so surprising that a thunder bolt of a shot from the defender came within finding the back of the net and closing out Jamie’s Anfield career the way it started — with a goal that few would ever forget.
Click on Carragher for the highlights
Philippe Coutinho would seal the points with a audacious strike in what would fittingly be the twenty-third minute of play, but Carragher — already the man of the hour — would come within inches of stealing the show with a forty-yard bomber in the second half that would ping off the upright with QPR ‘keeper Rob Green well beaten. It looked to be a fine way to cap off a glorious career spanning sixteen illustrious years; but Carragher was never about that anyways, was he?
As Jamie Carragher calls time on his Liverpool career, there were a number of festivities planned for the retiring defender before the match with Queen’s Park Rangers, including a guard of honour. Steven Gerrard lead out Luis Suarez and Daniel Agger — all three being unavailable for selection today — to join in with both teams, managers, match officials and staff to pay tribute to the local lad.
For those of you that may have missed it, we’ve got a small portion of it above. The atmosphere in the stands was like the Anfield of old as the Kop paid tribute to a true idol with a mosaic and songs, but when Carragher walked through the corridor created by his teammates, friends and peers, the crowd erupted in approval. The defender, who spent the entirety of his career at Anfield, said he wasn’t going to cry, but few would blame him if he had a tear or two in his eyes after that.
Video courtesy of LFC TikiTaka. Give them a follow on YouTube.
One more chat with the Gaffer
Whether you sum up the season as a colossal failure or just another speed-bump on the road to glory, we can put our feelings aside tomorrow as we say farewell to a true Liverpool legend. Jamie Carragher, after seventeen seasons playing for the Reds, will captain his side in what will be the last match of his footballing career.
Liverpool FC News
24/7
