CARRA WEEK

Was reading at uneditmara's blog and saw her entry on the CARRA WEEK. It's pretty interesting. Enjoy..

MR JAMIE CARRAGHER

“You don’t half write some crap you,” Jamie Carragher said the first time he saw me at Melwood.

“Any chance of getting the man of the match right one day?”

Actually, he didn’t use the word crap. It was much scouser.

It was also said in that typical Carragher way. Sharp enough to sound funny, but blunt enough to make a point. You’ll have heard this tone many times since.

It’s the one that confronted Geoff Shreeves of Sky, who was asked ‘who’s bigger than Liverpool?’ after quizzing Carragher if Steven Gerrard could leave for a ’superior’ club.

And the one that cut off the poor Paxman imitator in his prime who urged Carragher to describe the ethos of Liverpool.

“What are yer goin on about mate?” was the appropriate response.

Reporters, especially the most pompous, regularly come a cropper and provoke the same humorously contemptible comeback whenever they try to trip him up.

Fortunately, those of us with more experience have learned the hard way never to ask him questions which are dumb, patronising or both. And pity the individuals who dare attempt to catch Carragher with the use of statistics. He’ll pounce as swiftly as he does when making last ditch tackles, with his encyclopaedic knowledge of Liverpool’s history ensuring even the match day programme writers need to be on their guard when compiling career details.

Carragher’s style of play echoes how he comes across to the media off the park.

Honest, dedicated, obsessive about football and always ready to go in where it hurts when he senses his club, team mates, city or family is getting a kicking.

How often do you hear him talking up players he feels are being unfairly treated? Probably because he’s been there himself. After all, it took him the best part of five years to stop those letters to the ECHO saying Liverpool would never win the big prizes with players like him in defence.

The Kop sings about a team of Carraghers now, but it wasn’t so long ago the one they’ve got wasn’t appreciated.

If Liverpool take a beating, you won’t see him quickening his step or accepting imaginary mobile phone calls to swerve reporters. If Liverpool win, he’s most likely to slip away unseen while others take the credit. Such modesty isn’t a calculated act.

Supporters regular call the ECHO with tales of Carragher’s charitable donations, a contribution recently recognised when he was given the freedom of Sefton.

In 2002 he agreed to write a World Cup column on the condition the payments were sent to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, but didn’t want that publicised (a few years later I decided it was information which deserved to be shared).

Proceeds from his forthcoming testimonial will go to charity.

Most players go mad if they’re getting battered in a newspaper. Carragher gets more annoyed if he’s made to sound like he’s a world beater.



To this day, touch wood, the only time he’s been angry with the ECHO was in 1999 when he was needed to play in the ‘unfamiliar’ role of centre-half because of an injury to Sami Hyppia.

“I’ll fill Sami’s boots,” read the headline. Carragher thought it made him sound big-headed, as if he was putting himself in the same class as Hyypia. Eight years on, it may seem astounding to supporters a world class centre-half like Carragher would take exception to anyone putting him in a bracket he so clearly is. The notion he’d have to fill anyone’s shoes is ridiculous. But it was all about the context. Creating an image of him bigging up himself, and more seriously demeaning one of his team mates, was unacceptable to him, and he made it known.

Fortunately, grudges don’t last and he’s got most reporters sussed. That’s not surprising as he and Steven Gerrard are the most requested for interview.

It’s a running gag in the reporting industry how when anyone starts on a newspaper, their first call will be to the Melwood Press Office to set up a meeting with Carragher, who has an inability to fail to be interesting and forthright in his opinions. Need a double page spread for your Saturday or Sunday supplement? Get hold of Carra and fill it with those condescending images about Bootle and scally kids made good (check the archives, it’s compulsory all ’serious journalists’ have to refer to this when writing about Carragher. If it’s Gerrard, just replace Bootle with Huyton).

And do you think the race for the title is hotting up? It’s nothing compared to the fight to write Carragher’s autobiography when he decides to do it.

All the Jimmy Hill Sunday Supplement crew are desperate for the nod, and have been known to end interviews with an appeal to write it for him. He’ll keep them all guessing, but his delay putting pen to paper is further evidence of his disinterest in the footballing cult of celebrity. He’s got a Premiership medal to win before he divides his career into chapters.

Let’s not forget, this is the fella who when asked if he’d sell his wedding photographs to Hello replied: “I’d rather sell them to The Kop Magazine for £1.”

Legendary status - and let’s not hear anyone say that’s going too far - wasn’t achieved overnight.

Across 10 years, Carragher has developed as the ultimate player of the people. The Kop loves him because they know he’s one of them. He thinks like them, gives his all as if it was is only appearance for the club, and shows the twin ecstasies of joy and grief as and when appropriate.

If he wasn’t playing, he’d be watching and travelling with the family entourage which never misses a game. How do we know? Because he did it in 2003 when he was recovering from a broken leg, joining his dad and cousin on the Happy Al’s coach to Middlesbrough and shouting at the incompetence of El-Hadji Diouf with everyone else in the away end.
Steven Gerrard has been the heart of the Liverpool at the start of this Millennium. Jamie Carragher is its soul.

Oh, and I nearly forgot. He’s also one of the greatest defenders Liverpool has ever had, and has many more years in red still to serve.
But you knew that bit already.



I leave you with brilliant Carra moments:

“When i used top play Sunday league footy, Cara’s younger brother used to play for Bootle i think. Anyways once when we played them me Dad shouted to me “If ya score a hatrick il give ya a fiver”, then straight after someone shouted “if ya score a hatrick then il give ya a grand” turned round and Cara was standing there on the line shouting to his bro. Was funny as fuck!!”

*****

“Dressing up as the hunchback of Notre Dame [for the Liverpool Christmas party, 1998] and cavorting with strippers on stage with his pants down.” [Whipped cream was involved.]

*****

“duff had just made an incredible and was then fouled, he gets up but as soon as he does jaimie sprinting from the other side of the pitch shoulder barges him to the floor. he gets a yellow but it was well worth it.”

*****

” JC: Hello my name is Jamie Carragher, mobile no *************, there’s a problem with my phone”

YL: “OK Mr Carragher what is the problem?”

JC: “Well it’s just not working, nothing, I can’t phone anyone”

YL: “Let me just check your details……. OK I see the problem, Mr Carragher, your bills haven’t been paid for a few months and the company has disconnected the line”

JC: “Oh, right, fucking agent, he’s supposed to look after that, I’ll get that sorted”

*****

I heard he was having a drink with Teddy Sheringham and a few others. JC was going on about how much he admired Klinsman so teddy rang him and passed the phone across to Carra.

JC “Jurgen is that you?
JK “yes”
JC “get your haircut!” and hangs up.

*****

before chelsea game when he was asked about the move to other club and he said like:”Liverpool is the graetest team” and then “Does Gerrard know it?” Carra: “yeah, i’ve told him”… lol

*****

The best moment for me is when carra and gerrard were getting interviewed before the european cup final and when gerro was asked about his future carra said the stevie,
” just go. “

*****

I remember a story from when we were doing pre-season somewhere like Thailand just after that England friendly when Carra had worn the captain’s armband for last 5 minutes. Owen and Carragher were warming up for training and jogging around the pitch when a huge group of fans started running alongside Owen. Carra in response shouted “Never mind short-ar$e, I’m Jamie Carragher - captain of England!”

*****

In Auxerre after the Uefa cup game couple of years ago. Bunked in to ground after to watch warm down. Gabbing to players getting autographs and some cockney lad shouted “Where’s Michael Owen?” just as Carra was signing my ticket. Didn’t miss a beat, looked at me and then at lad and said, “What do you want him for he’s f***ing boring!”

*****

A couple of years back when Fulham visited Anfield it was about to be announced Steve Finnan would soon be joining the reds.

During a break in play Carra (then playing RB) was by the touchline waiting for the game to restart when he turns to the linesman and asks “So who the fuck is this Steve Finnan then?”

What his teammates got to say..

"He's the joker of the squad alright. Carra is always the life and soul of the party. If we win a game and go out to celebrate, he's the first one of the microphone. He's straight on stage and trying to get everyone else to get up and have a go. We reckon he fancies himself as a bit of a singer on the quiet. He's not bad either, although I'm not sure if I should say that! Every club needs someone like Carra. You can't buy team spirit and with him around the atmosphere in the dressing room is always brilliant." - Chris Kirkland.

"My room-mate on away trips is one of the genuine Scousers. He’s full of funny digs and gives the foreigners some light-hearted stick. As a local lad he has hundreds of mates who are Liverpool fans and is always looking for tickets for them. Suddenly he becomes really friendly with the foreign stars because their need for tickets is not as great as his." -Owen in 2001 on Carra.

We just need a team of CARRAGHERS.

you'll never walk alone..

cheers.