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…
It’s hard not be overly reliant on players that score 30 goals a year, but when Luis Suarez wasn’t firing, Liverpool weren’t scoring and things would quickly go South. Expectations were high when Daniel Sturridge came in from Chelsea in January to relieve some of weight from the Uruguayan’s shoulders and he’s yet to disappoint….
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.
Tom kinda likes Carra
Carragher, who’ll wear the captain’s armband on Sunday in place of the absent Steven Gerrard, is set to call time on a 16 year career of which he spent entirely at Liverpool; this kind of loyalty is rare in modern football and Werner was quick to acknowledge that. “It’s extremely rare in any sport for someone to dedicate their whole career to one club, especially in an age where loyalty tends to be secondary to other considerations.” said the American. When the Reds run out for the final time this season, it will be Carragher’s 737th appearance for the club and Werner hopes it won’t be last time we see him at Anfield.
Liverpool, who has been feverishly looking at potential replacements for the Scouse defender, has assured Jamie that there’ll always be a place for him at the club. “We wish Jamie well in his new career and the door will always be open for him at Liverpool. I really hope we see him back at the club one day because with all that experience and knowledge we know he has so much to offer” said the FSG co-founder.
Lucas keeps it tidy
Before you say that the Reds are in seventh place and have failed to qualify for the Europa League – or dare we dream, the Champions League — through any of the traditional means, this particular facsimile was all about the UEFA Fair Play League and the extra European berths that are granted to the countries that finish in the top three spots overall. Back in December, England was fourth overall, but with the season all but over, they’ve let their naughty side show and have slipped to ninth in the standings. Had the rest of the league played things a little cleaner, Brendan Rodgers men could have slipped onto the continent through this backdoor with the Reds being the highest club in the Premier League Fair Play table who haven’t secured a European spot for next season.
The gaffer had expressed some quiet concerns regarding the clubs pre-season tour of Asia and the possibility of entering the Europa League in the first qualifying round, but the club won’t have to worry about re-arranging anything as Sweden, Norway and Finland topped the table and have been granted the additional European slots. Now that you have confirmation that Liverpool won’t be playing in Europe next year – something you probably already knew – you go on and enjoy the rest of your day. You’ve earned it.
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