Players - Jamie Carragher

Jamie Carragher
Birthdate: 28 January 1978
Birthplace: Bootle, Liverpool, England
Other clubs: None
Signed from: Local
Signed for LFC: Joined 1987 - Professional 09.10.1996
International debut: 28.04.1999 vs. Hungary
International caps: 38/0 - 18.06.2010
Liverpool debut: 08.01.1997
Last appearance: 19.05.2013
Debut goal: 18.01.1997
Last goal: 23.08.2008
Contract expiry: 01.06.2013
Win ratio: 54% W:398 D:167 L:172
Honours: FA Cup 2001, 2006; League Cup 2001, 2003, 2012; UEFA Cup 2001, Champions League 2005; European Super Cup 2001, 2005
League games / goals / assists: 508 / 4 / 15
Total games / goals / assists: 737 / 5 / 19

Player Profile

"There may be more skilful players in the squad, but no one can ever say I don't give 100%." A scouser whose fighting capabilities and sense of humour has endeared him to supporters and teammates alike. Carragher became the scouse rock at the heart of the Liverpool defence. He has excelled both on domestic and European level, leading the charge to Jerzy Dudek's goal following his penalty save from Shevchenko in Istanbul even though Carragher had suffered from agonising leg cramp in extra-time. It was Roy Evans, in his penultimate full season as sole manager, who gave the soon-to-be 19-year-old his first-team debut in January 1997, as a substitute for Rob Jones in a League Cup tie at Middlesbrough. It was a debut that had been expected for a while because Carragher’s presence had been carefully monitored through his days at the Football Association’s School of Excellence at Lilleshall and as a member of Liverpool’s successful Youth Cup-winning team of 1996. His first start was marked in fine style by heading in a left-wing corner in front of the Kop to set his team on the way to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Aston Villa at Anfield. Goals for Liverpool have come rarely for Carragher and this was one of the highlights of his career: "I knew the night before, I was down to play at centre-half but Bjørn Kvarme's clearance came through before 5 pm that night but I didn't realise. I wouldn't have been playing only that Patrik Berger was sick that night, so there was a place and I was moved into midfield. I was a bit nervous, but it was more excitement really. I got booked after 20 seconds, that calmed me down."

Carragher became a more regular member of the team with 20 first-team appearances from the start and three more as substitute in the disappointing 1997/98 season. Once Gerard Houllier had taken over following the departure of Roy Evans towards the end of 1998, he put his complete faith in the Bootle boy who became a key player for the Frenchman for the rest of his reign at Anfield that reached its zenith in the historic ‘Treble’ season of 2000/01. Carragher wasn't though to everyone's taste as he himself recognised. "I don't go on the websites or anything but I believe there's murder there after a game if we have got beaten. But I'm not kidding people, if the team were to get beaten then I know I'd be one of the first to get criticised!" His number of appearances only dipped once below 50-a-season for Houllier but his absence was excusable as he broke his leg at Blackburn's Ewood Park on 13 September 2003 which kept him out for four months. Carragher's versatility as a defender proved to be absolutely vital for him as he held his ground despite many attempts by newcomers to push him out of the first eleven. He could adapt to any given situation which has proved ultimately the foundation for his long and successful career. He established himself as the team’s regular right-back before moving to the left when Markus Babbel arrived at the club. Houllier's successor, Rafa Benítez, saw Carragher as an ideal centre-half and in the Spaniard’s first two seasons in charge that ended with victories in the Champions League and the FA Cup, he made 56 and 57 first-team appearances respectively. His performances defied belief as Alan Hansen noted following Liverpool's monumental win over Chelsea in the semi-finals at Anfield in May 2005: "The way he held Chelsea at bay was unbelievable. I'm sitting there in awe of how many times he intercepted, blocked and covered."

Carragher scored an own goal in the 2006 FA Cup final and they have come more readily for him than actually scoring for his own team as Steven Gerrard pointed out lightheartedly: "Carra is the best defender I've played with at Liverpool and the worst finisher I've ever played with!" Carragher has managed to put the ball eight times into his own net, including twice in the same game against Manchester United in September 1999. It’s probably an inevitable part of a defender’s life that he will sometimes unwittingly make the crucial contact or deflection that can prove costly. The number of goals Carragher has prevented by his last-ditch tackling and self-sacrifice for the team far outweighs any "damage" he may have done. Rafa Benítez emphasized Carragher's importance to the team in March 2007: "For me, Jamie is one of the best defenders in Europe. He is always focused on the game, always trying to learn. That is the key for me because each season he improves a little bit. He reminds me of a hunting dog, when I want something specific done in defence he is very willing to learn. He is always shouting and talking to others. He is good for the young players, showing them what to do and how to play."

A couple of nasty injuries restricted Carragher to playing in only 38 of the team's 54 first-team matches during the 2010/11 season. He enjoyed a well-deserved testimonial at Anfield in September 2010 when a mixture of Liverpool players past and present played an Everton team with all proceeds from the game going to local charities through the Carragher 23 Foundation. Carragher appeared in 60% of the club's first-team matches in 2011/12 but only 21 Premier League appearances was his lowest total since the 2003/04 season. He became 34 years old during the campaign and it became clear that he was no longer an automatic choice. Since Brendan Rodgers arrived at the club he has emphasised Carra's importance to the squad. "Jamie has been an absolute model professional. I feel we are a quiet team, and maybe we've needed players who can organise and manage inside the game. You need a voice in your team, and you don't get a louder voice that Carra's!"

At the end of the first week of February Carragher announced that he would be retiring as a player at the end of the 2012/13 season. He only missed one match from the date of that announcement until the end of the season and made an emotional farewell as captain in Steven Gerrard's absence when Liverpool played at home to Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the season. Having scored on his home debut against Aston Villa back in January 1997, Carragher nearly bowed out in similar style when a second-half drive crashed against the QPR post. But as he only averaged one goal every one hundred and forty-seven Liverpool matches, it is more the goals he prevented that will be remembered at the end of a truly outstanding playing career. He will be badly missed, especially because at the time of his retirement there was no obvious long-term successor to his position from others still at the club.

Carragher has quite literally had a historic career at Liverpool. He made his 137th European appearance for Liverpool in March 2011, a British record at the time although he was subsequently overtaken by Ryan Giggs. On 9 May 2011, he overtook Emlyn Hughes and Ray Clemence in making his 666th competitive appearance for the club, leaving just Ian Callaghan ahead of him in the club's all-time appearance list. A remarkable feat!
Appearances per season
Please note

The Premier League's "Dubious Goals Panel" decided that the deflection of Carragher's shot in the Liverpool - Middlesbrough game on 23.08.2008 was sufficient for the goal to be shown as an own-goal by Middlesbrough defender Pogatetz. However Liverpool Football Club's stance is that Carragher's goal remains with the Liverpool player.

Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 508 40 35 150 4 737
1996-1997 2 0 1 0 0 3
1997-1998 20 0 2 1 0 23
1998-1999 34 2 2 6 0 44
1999-2000 36 2 2 0 0 40
2000-2001 34 6 6 12 0 58
2001-2002 33 2 1 16 1 53
2002-2003 35 3 5 11 0 54
2003-2004 22 3 0 4 0 29
2004-2005 38 0 3 15 0 56
2005-2006 36 6 0 13 2 57
2006-2007 35 1 1 13 1 51
2007-2008 35 4 3 13 0 55
2008-2009 38 3 1 12 0 54
2009-2010 37 2 1 13 0 53
2010-2011 28 0 0 10 0 38
2011-2012 21 5 5 0 0 31
2012-2013 24 1 2 11 0 38
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
45 4084 Chelsea
36 3084 Arsenal
33 2780 Manchester United
31 2502 Aston Villa
30 2603 Everton
29 2356 Tottenham
24 2144 West Ham United
24 2081 Newcastle United
22 1905 Blackburn Rovers
22 1886 Middlesbrough
21 1810 Manchester City
20 1693 Fulham
18 1581 Bolton Wanderers
18 1510 Sunderland
15 1350 Portsmouth
15 1328 Charlton Athletic
15 1252 Wigan Athletic
15 1219 Southampton
14 1175 Leeds United
14 1156 WBA
13 1172 Birmingham City
10 856 Stoke City
9 810 Derby
9 733 Leicester City
8 742 Reading
7 616 Crystal Palace
6 540 Watford
6 540 Barcelona
6 540 Marseille
6 467 Norwich City
6 463 Coventry City
6 458 Wolves
5 450 Hull City
5 442 PSV Eindhoven
5 377 Sheffield Wednesday
4 390 Atletico Madrid
4 360 Olympiacos
4 360 Porto
4 360 Benfica
4 360 Wimbledon
4 360 Roma
4 350 Valencia
4 344 Ipswich Town
4 340 Leverkusen
4 336 Galatasaray
4 323 Sheffield United
4 214 Bradford City
3 270 Celtic
3 270 Swansea City
3 270 Luton Town
3 178 QPR
2 210 Standard Liege
2 210 AC Milan
2 180 Braga
2 180 Zenit St. Petersburg
2 180 Besiktas
2 180 Young Boys
2 180 Real Betis
2 180 Udinese
2 180 Debrecen VSC
2 180 Lyon
2 180 Grazer AK
2 180 Hearts
2 180 Deportivo
2 180 Bordeaux
2 180 Spartak Moscow
2 180 Auxerre
2 180 Celta Vigo
2 180 Borussia Dortmund
2 180 AS Monaco
2 180 Dynamo Kiev
2 180 Boavista
2 180 Lille
2 180 Levski Sofia
2 180 Anderlecht
2 180 Inter Milan
2 180 Juventus
2 180 Burnley
2 180 Real Madrid
2 180 Kosice
2 180 Trabzonspor
2 180 Nottingham Forest
2 180 Brighton & Hove Albion
2 169 Basel
2 152 Unirea Urziceni
2 145 Slovan Liberec
2 144 TNS
2 136 Napoli
2 134 Sparta Prague
2 124 Cardiff City
2 104 Gomel
1 120 CSKA Moscow
1 120 Grimsby Town
1 117 Alaves
1 90 Haka
1 90 Vitesse Arnhem
1 90 Fiorentina
1 90 Rapid Bucharest
1 90 Deportivo Sap.
1 90 Sao Paolo
1 90 Maccabi Haifa
1 90 FBK Kaunas
1 90 Utrecht
1 90 Wycombe
1 90 Anzhi Makhachkala
1 90 Rabotnicki
1 90 Toulouse
1 90 CSKA Sofia
1 90 Barnsley
1 90 Tranmere Rovers
1 90 Port Vale
1 90 Mansfield Town
1 90 Bayern Munich
1 90 Rotherham United
1 90 Huddersfield Town
1 90 Preston North End
1 90 Oldham Athletic
1 90 Blackpool
1 17 Crewe
1 6 Havant
Total Started/substitutions
702 Started
77 On the bench
35 Substitute
36 Substituted
Total Venue
362 Away
357 Home
18 Neutral
Total Competition
508 Premier League
91 Champions League
40 FA Cup
35 League Cup
29 Europa League
28 UEFA Cup
2 World Club Championship
2 European Super Cup
1 Charity Shield
1 Community Shield
Total W D L Win % Manager
326 185 70 71 56.7% Rafa Benítez
260 137 61 62 52.7% Gérard Houllier
48 27 9 12 56.3% Kenny Dalglish
38 22 9 7 57.9% Brendan Rodgers
26 11 6 9 42.3% Roy Evans
21 9 6 6 42.9% Roy Hodgson
18 7 6 5 38.9% Evans / Houllier
Goals per season
Please note

The Premier League's "Dubious Goals Panel" decided that the deflection of Carragher's shot in the Liverpool - Middlesbrough game on 23.08.2008 was sufficient for the goal to be shown as an own-goal by Middlesbrough defender Pogatetz. However Liverpool Football Club's stance is that Carragher's goal remains with the Liverpool player.

Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 4 0 0 1 0 5
1996-1997 1 0 0 0 0 1
1997-1998 0 0 0 0 0 0
1998-1999 1 0 0 0 0 1
1999-2000 0 0 0 0 0 0
2000-2001 0 0 0 0 0 0
2001-2002 0 0 0 0 0 0
2002-2003 0 0 0 0 0 0
2003-2004 0 0 0 0 0 0
2004-2005 0 0 0 0 0 0
2005-2006 0 0 0 1 0 1
2006-2007 1 0 0 0 0 1
2007-2008 0 0 0 0 0 0
2008-2009 1 0 0 0 0 1
2009-2010 0 0 0 0 0 0
2010-2011 0 0 0 0 0 0
2011-2012 0 0 0 0 0 0
2012-2013 0 0 0 0 0 0
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Total Started/substitutions
5 Started
0 Substitute
Total Competition
4 Premier League
1 Champions League
Total Goal minute period
1 16-30 minutes
3 46-60 minutes
1 76-90 minutes
Total Goal origin
5 Open play
Assists per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 15 0 0 4 0 19
1996-1997 0 0 0 0 0 0
1997-1998 0 0 0 0 0 0
1998-1999 3 0 0 0 0 3
1999-2000 0 0 0 0 0 0
2000-2001 0 0 0 0 0 0
2001-2002 1 0 0 1 0 2
2002-2003 2 0 0 1 0 3
2003-2004 1 0 0 0 0 1
2004-2005 2 0 0 0 0 2
2005-2006 2 0 0 1 0 3
2006-2007 0 0 0 0 0 0
2007-2008 2 0 0 0 0 2
2008-2009 1 0 0 0 0 1
2009-2010 0 0 0 1 0 1
2010-2011 0 0 0 0 0 0
2011-2012 0 0 0 0 0 0
2012-2013 1 0 0 0 0 1
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 08.01.1997 Middlesbrough Riverside League Cup
50 08.12.1998 Celta Vigo Anfield Europe
100 15.03.2000 Aston Villa Anfield League
150 08.03.2001 Porto Estadio Das Antas Europe
200 05.01.2002 Birmingham City Anfield FA Cup
250 05.01.2003 Manchester City Maine Road FA Cup
300 17.04.2004 Fulham Anfield League
350 09.04.2005 Manchester City City of Manchester. League
400 14.02.2006 Arsenal Anfield League
450 20.01.2007 Chelsea Anfield League
500 15.01.2008 Luton Town Anfield FA Cup
550 21.12.2008 Arsenal Emirates Stadium League
600 19.12.2009 Portsmouth Fratton Park League
650 20.11.2010 West Ham United Anfield League
700 02.08.2012 Gomel Central Stadion Europe
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 50 18.01.1997 Aston Villa Anfield League
Related Articles
Jamie Carragher - Bootle boy done good

LFChistory.net was fortunate enough to spend a fair bit of time recently with Jamie and his dad, Philly, who is a legend in his own right!

Carra has to accept bench duty

Carra interview on 26th November 2011 in the Daily Telegraph.

If I knew Liverpool would be in the title race I wouldn't have retired

By JAMIE CARRAGHER in the Daily Mail on 27 December 2013.

Carra and Owen reminisce

From 25 April 2013 in The Daily Express.

Game number 666 and still counting...

No player in Liverpool Football Club’s short-term or long-term future is likely to get close to the total Jamie Carragher will reach at Craven Cottage on Monday evening.

Redknapp on Carragher

Jamie Redknapp spotlights his friend Jamie Carragher on 23 December 2010.

Carragher's Career Extension Symptomatic Of Deep-Rooted Problems

Post by Garstonette on RAWK on 13 October 2010.

Carragher swoops for United legend Keane in "Greatest XI

Published 16 August 2008. The article was published on FourFourTwo.

Carragher: I love playing football but I'm ready to be an ordinary dad

By DOMINIC KING for The Daily Mail on 17 May 2013.

Alex Ferguson didn’t knock us off our perch... Graeme Souness did.

By John Edwards at the Daily Mail on 4th September 2010.

The fear that drives Mr Liverpool

Jamie Carragher explains how he is driven by feelings of insecurity about his place in the Liverpool team. By Paul Hayward from The Guardian, Saturday 24 January 2009.

Jamie Carragher's club passion

An interview from Sunday Times on 12th of October 2008.

Carra uncovered: Teammates talk

An article by Jimmy Rice on liverpoolfc.tv

A team of Carraghers

What do the statistics say about a player supporters have dubbed 23 Carra gold? An article from liverpoolfc.tv.

Jamie Carragher's special walk down memory lane

By Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo on 21st January 2008.

Brian Reade on Jamie Carragher

In an exclusive column for Liverpoolfc.tv the Daily Mirror's Brian Reade pays tribute to Jamie Carragher as the Liverpool defender looks forward to his 500th appearance in a red shirt this evening.

Benítez plays it straight after Gerrard hat-trick

The Guardian match report on Liverpool - Luton on January 15, 2008.

Carragher equals Callaghan's European record!

Jamie Carragher equals Ian Callaghan's appearance record in European competition when he features vs. Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Is Jamie Carragher England's best defender?

An article by Rob Smyth on 7th of March 2007.

Tony Barrett on Jamie Carragher

An article from liverpolfc.tv on 25th of January 2007, celebrating Carra's ten years with Liverpool.

CHRIS BASCOMBE ON JAMIE CARRAGHER

Chris Bascombe 23 January 2007 "You don't half write some crap you," Jamie Carragher said the first time he saw me at Melwood.

Carragher awards of 2006

An article from liverpoolfc.tv in December 2006.

Owen and Liverpool catching up rapidly

The Telegraph report on Blackburn - Liverpool on 13.09.2003.

ONE DAY maintained Gerard Houllier with a rueful shake of his head

Liverpool Daily Post report on Liverpool - Manchester United on 11.09.1999.

Carragher cruises as Reds get into gear

Match report from The Observer on Liverpool - Fulham on 09.12.2006.

Jamie Carragher - My perfect XI

A 442 article. Liverpool fans might dream about a team of Jamie Carraghers but if the Kop idol was making the choices, he'd only get a place on the bench.

Evans slams sloppy Liverpool

Match report from Middlesbrough - Liverpool on 08.01.1997 by Rob King of Press Association.

Carragher the perfectionist cast in the same mould as Benitez

An article from the Independent By Andy Hunter - Published: 13 May 2006.

Carra - The greatest on and off the field, always a joker!

Carragher made his 400th appearance for Liverpool against Arsenal on 14th of February.

Carragher awards of 2005

An article from liverpoolfc.tv in December 2005.

Premier League title would be Gerrard’s reward for staying loyal

By JAMIE CARRAGHER in the Daily Mail on 14 March 2014.

Baltic breeze

BBC report on Kaunas 1-3 Liverpool on 26 July 2005.

The Times Interview: Jamie Carragher

The Times interviewed Carra in April 2005.

CARRA AWARDS 2008

This year, after handing over duties to Peter Crouch last time round, Jamie Carragher returns with a no-holds-barred assessment of 2008. From LFC.tv.

Two bad breaks

Fortunately it's not too common for footballers to break their legs. One game this season saw two leg breaks. Back in the 1986/87 season, two Liverpool players broke their legs destroying their Liverpool careers.

Related Quotes

"Jamie Carragher is my player of the season. He has been absolutely superb and wherever he plays he is always consistently good. For Houllier to make him first choice left back, even though he is not naturally left footed, when there is a lot of competition there says it all. Competitive and a born winner, he deserves to be first choice for England."

Ian Rush 2001-2002

"I don't go on the websites or anything but I believe there's murder there after a game if we have got beaten. But I'm not kidding people, if the team were to get beaten then I know I'd be one of the first to get criticised!"

Carra in 2003

"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

"Although you've got a mix of German, Swiss and Finnish in the back four, we all speak to each other in English. The only problem, though, is that none of us can understand Jamie Carragher!"

Stephane Henchoz

"There's no point sulking about it. There's not a lot you can do, except impress the manager in training and in games. Or find out his (Finnan's) address and send the boys round!"

Carra was asked by Sky Sports about the arrival of Steve Finnan

"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

"There may be more skilful players in the squad, but no one can ever say I don't give 100%".

Jamie Carragher

"If you understand Carra, you'll understand everyone"

Benítez to Morientes when he arrived at the club

"When I say life, I mean it. I want to stay here. When I say that, it's not talk, I really mean it. I mean I'm not kidding myself, I don't think I'm going to go any higher than Liverpool. If your club's in the Champions League that's the ultimate and obviously you want to win trophies.

I've been lucky enough to do that here in the past and I want to win bigger trophies now, the Champions League and the Premiership. We're not at that level yet but the new manager, if he can bring in a few more players, can get us to that level. I've never even thought about leaving."

Carra in March 2005

"Carragher is 10 times a better defender than I could ever be. He is a completely different player. He is a great defender whereas I was not. My strengths were on the ball, positional sense and recovery pace. The way he held Chelsea at bay was unbelievable. I'm sitting there in awe of how many times he intercepted, blocked and covered. I think if we look at Liverpool greats over the years - and there have been a lot of them - Carragher is up there with the best of them."

Alan Hansen in May 2005

"We have big names in our defence which is probably the best in Europe. Liverpool don't have that but they have players to be respected, especially Carragher who is now the third-best defender in the Premiership and has proved very impressive."

Paolo Maldini in May 2005

"I'm very close to Jamie, we're good friends. Jamie is more into football that anyone I know. He thinks Sky+ is the best invention ever. He tapes every single sports show and watches them continuously! He's obsessed!"

Steven Gerrard on Jamie Carragher in October 2005

"When the news came through on the TV, I nearly choked on my cornflakes."

Jamie Carragher, overjoyed at the news of Steven Gerrard's transfer U-turn

"For me, it was probably Eidur Gudjohnsen missing the chance in the final minute when we played Chelsea. For a second, my heart was in my mouth. I thought we had thrown everything away that we had worked so hard all season to achieve. When his shot whistled past the post, it was a signal that we were going to the final and, for me, it was the sign that we were going to do it."

Carragher asked to pick out one moment from the Champions League campaign

"I'll be on a bender for a week."

Carragher will still be celebrating the win in Istanbul as you read this

"Before the penalties, Carra came up to me like he was crazy - as always! He said: "Jerzy, Jerzy - remember Bruce (Grobbelaar). He did crazy things to put them off and you have to do the same".

Liverpool hero Jerzy Dudek reveals the 'wobbly legs' in Istanbul

"The best defender I've played with at Liverpool and the worst finisher I've ever played with!"

Steven Gerrard on Carra

"For me Jamie is one of the best defenders in Europe. He is always focused on the game, always trying to learn. That is the key for me because each season he improves a little bit. He is always listening and that is one of the reasons he can keep improving. It is the same every training session, always working hard, always trying to improve. He reminds me of a hunting dog, when I want something specific done in defence he is very willing to learn. As a defender he is someone you do not want to play against, to have marking you.

He has a strong character. He is always shouting and talking to the others, such a key player for us. He is good for the young players, showing them what to do and how to play. Carra lets them know what is expected. It is so important, he puts people under pressure and that is really good for team spirit. Jamie is playing really well, for the last two seasons he has been a really key player for us."

Rafa on Jamie Carragher in March 2007

"I love playing games. I want to play as many games as I can. I’m not going to break any goalscoring records, so I’ll just have to try to break a few appearance records."

Jamie Carragher in September 2007. Carra will certainly break in to the Top 10 list of most appearances for Liverpool

"Jamie Carragher is the true boss in the dressing room. He is very bad-tempered, he orders everybody around and yells a lot. Jamie sees and hears everything and keeps us informed."

Arbeloa on boss Carragher

"He thinks he's a bit of a star doesn't he? But he has one of the worst strike rates of any forward in Liverpool history. He's the only no. 9 ever to go through a whole season without scoring , in fact he's probably the only no. 9 of any club to do that. He was always the last one to get picked in training."

Carragher is not a big fan of El Hadji Diouf

"I think everyone just thinks he is a bit stupid now, I think he embarrasses himself, he's just like a big baby isn't he? He's a great manager in what he's done, but I dont think you can say he is a great man. There's nothing wrong with defending your players, or playing mind games, but Mourinho just takes it too far. He always seems to be talking about other teams and other players."

Carra in April 2006 on big baby Jose Mourinho

When I came on I didn't notice it too much. I think you notice it more when you are watching on TV. But my kids have been on the phone and asked for two so I'll have to take two home for them. I've got two in my bag already. Anyone who watches me play at Anfield will know that I am louder than the vuvuzelas!

World Cup organisers said they would not ban vuvuzelas from stadiums in South Africa, despite numerous complaints. Jamie Carragher said the noise did not bother him.

"Now, I want to make it clear I’ve no axe to grind with Andy. I found him to be a good lad and his spell at the club wasn’t without highlights. He did what every Liverpool No 9 should do and scored two winning goals against Everton, including one at Wembley in the 2012 FA Cup semi-final. I wanted Liverpool to sign him, especially after he tormented our defence one day at St James’ Park. If we could have got him for between £12-15m, it would have been good business. The feeling around the club when we were in for him was that maybe he could mature into our Didier Drogba. Unfortunately, though, Liverpool’s decision to pay £35million was a big mistake and it never did Andy any favours. He started well, with two goals against Manchester City on his first start, but it quickly became apparent he wasn’t the right fit for the club. In training, he’d complain if the ball was not flung into the box — and I don’t mean from out wide. He wanted the ball to come in to him from close to the halfway line, but at Liverpool that was never going to happen. "

There were other things. He found the intensity of playing three games every week difficult. Before he might have been used to getting himself right for a match on a Saturday, then spending time socially with his mates — as we all did when we were young — but at Liverpool the training and professional demands are relentless. He would very rarely complete a full week on the training field at Melwood and, eventually, that takes a toll. If you aren’t fully conditioned, you are susceptible to injuries and Andy suffered his fair share. Another major issue was the fact he lacked pace. He suits the way Sam Allardyce operates and is West Ham’s focal point but at Liverpool that would never have been the case. Andy may feel Brendan made the decision about him too quickly but it was the right call."

Carra on Andy Carroll in April 2014

"It is a profession that breeds feelings of anger, paranoia and insecurity in some of the most powerful personalities in the game. My press conferences would be entertaining too, although whether this would sit comfortably with those who’d prefer a quiet manager I’m not so sure. Of all the managers I’ve worked with, I suspect I’d have more in common with Houllier, in that he lost his temper much more than Benitez and Evans."

Carragher on management in "Carra: My Autobiography"

Scrapbook
Echo special
Echo special
LFC Official Matchday Magazine interview 2000/01
LFC Official Matchday Magazine interview 2000/01
Michael Owen's debut dream
Michael Owen's debut dream
Official Liverpool Poster Magazine 1997/98
Official Liverpool Poster Magazine 1997/98
Poster in LFC Official Matchday Magazine
Poster in LFC Official Matchday Magazine
Reds in the wings - Carragher scores a great goal for the youth team
Reds in the wings - Carragher scores a great goal for the youth team
Signed pic of Carra 2007/08
Signed pic of Carra 2007/08
The two Jamies - 1995
The two Jamies - 1995
Unsung hero
Unsung hero