Tony Barrett on Jamie Carragher

Liverpoolfc.tv continues Jamie Carragher Week with a new piece written exclusively for the official club website by Tony Barrett, Feature Writer for the Liverpool Echo.

Anyone who regularly travels to away games will know Philly Carragher.

Jamie's dad is one of those larger than life characters who never fails to make trips to even the most remote corners of Europe an unforgettable experience.

Though clearly and justifiably proud of his son's achievements Philly has never been one to boast - he's usually far too busy enjoying the local brew with the rest of us for that.

But there was one occasion when he allowed himself to indulge in his own pride just a little.

It was on a Ryanair flight from Milan to Liverpool the day after the Reds had secured a goal less draw with Juventus to go through to the Champions League semi-final.

Philly flipped open his mobile phone to reveal a picture of Jamie in his Liverpool kit. "See that," barked Philly, "that's my lad that is".

His pride certainly wasn't misplaced for the night previous Jamie had given one of his finest performances in a red shirt as his inspired captaincy in the absence of injured skipper Steven Gerrard was one of the main reasons Rafa Benitez's side managed to overcome a Juventus side tipped by many to go on and win the competition.

Everyone in earshot of Philly nodded in agreement. We knew that the Bootle man's son was proving himself to be one of the finest defenders ever to play for the club and we were all just grateful to have him.

Carragher's boys own journey from the Brunny Youth Club on Marsh Lane to playing a pivotal role in Liverpool's latest European Cup success is the stuff dreams are made of. If we're honest, it's the type most Reds fans had when we were growing up.

And herein lies one of the core reasons why Carragher is so popular with so many of us - he isn't just living the dream, he's living our dream.

He speaks like us (albeit a bit higher pitched), he dresses like us (no sarrongs or overly flash clobber) and he thinks like us (how dare anyone ever suggest there might be a bigger club than Liverpool FC!).

But, sadly for us, that's where the comparisons end. For, even in an era in which forward play is the be all and end all in the eyes of many "experts", Carragher's defensive talents mark him out as a player of rare ability.

By all means glorify the likes of Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho and our own Dirk Kuyt. They score the goals and create the excitement which makes football such a thrilling spectacle.

But stopping them is an art form and anyone who can do so must be held up as a master of his art. And that is exactly what Carragher is.

If chairman David Moores had a Pound for every time Liverpool's number 23 made a last ditch tackle or a dramatic intervention he wouldn't need a Dubai Sheikh to bankroll the club.

There was a time when Carragher did not get the credit he deserved. Apparently he didn't get forward enough, didn't burst past players like some sort of Scouse Roberto Carlos and wasn't enough of a threat in the opposition penalty box.

Had he wanted to Carragher could have pointed out to his critics that his job was to stop goals, not create them. It's a bit like asking Kevin Pietersen why he doesn't take more wickets or criticising Ronaldinho for not working hard enough in front of his full back.
Carragher was suffering from that well known Anfield complaint - Ronnie Whelan syndrome.

Every now and again a player comes along who does the dirty work which allows more gifted individuals to weave their magic. Sometimes, as was the case with Didi Hamann, the crowd really appreciates him. But, on other occasions, as with Ronnie Whelan, the fans are not instantly convinced of their worth to the team.

This is what happened with Carra and in his early years there were those who questioned whether he was good enough to be a Liverpool player.

The fact that he has managed to reverse this situation and he is now one of Anfield's all time crowd favourites speaks volumes of both his ability as a footballer and his determination not to give in when the odds were against him.

It is this very same determination which made him try to carry on after suffering a broken leg at Blackburn and which propelled him to even greater defensive excellence when struck down with cramp in extra time of the Champions League final against Milan.

There have been players with far more natural ability than Carragher but there are precious few who have made the absolute most of their ability and in an era in which far too many footballers do just enough we should be forever grateful to have one who bucks the trend.

And his old fella can be justifiably proud as well.

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