Since the last three years,Jamie has been getting a lot of stick for his lack of defending. As a Liverpool fan, my reflex is to defend one of the greatest players to have ever played for the club. But it’s not only about the bias.
Every defender has a bad game. Footballers go through lean spells but world-class footballers put in that one performance that silences their critics. And Jamie did just that in the Merseyside derby.
Jamie Carragher undoubtedly has lost some pace but his astute reading of the game has not deteriorated one bit. On a sunny, pressure-packed afternoon, Jamie Carragher stamped his class at Goodison Park. Tim Cahill has an effective aerial prowess and scores headers with ease in the league. Carragher won almost every aerial ball against Cahill. Everton were a depleted side after the sending-off but it’s always harder playing against 10 men and Carragher effectively killed off, the unpredictable Luis Saha’s game with his incisive tackling. He did not put a single foot wrong.
Carragher’s verbose organizing skills often go unsung. You rarely see a mix-up between the goalkeeper and the defence. Carragher plays every game with his heart on his sleeve and is still one of the first names on that team sheet.
Within the England setup, Jamie Carragher is under-rated. He is no less than John Terry and as effective as Rio Ferdinand (if not better). In my opinion, he did not get enough games to prove his mettle. This fact being emphasized by Fabio Capello persuading him to come out of retirement. What has instigated me is the fact that even Liverpool fans have been questioning his abilities. His last-ditch tackles have saved countless games for Liverpool.
Lets rewind Liverpool fans , If Jamie Carragher can out-wit and out-fight Andriy Shevchenko in a European Final with a strained muscle, he deserves more than ‘Carra’s getting old’. He has been found wanting in a lot of games, he drops too deep,he doesn’t get forward too often, doesn’t score too many goals but he had Fernando Torres in his pocket at Stamford Bridge , the same Fernando Torres who walked all over Nemanja Vidic (arguably, the best defender in the league) at Old Trafford.
Do not write him off yet.
Jamie Carragher can defend, just ask Rigobert Song and the AC Milan squad of 2005/2006.
Written by Mayank Adhye, who blogs at The Musical Escapade and also a Reds supporter.
1 comments:
What a load of rubbish. Your defence of the current Carragher bollocking is by talking about a performance against a cluless 10 man Everton, a final in 2005 & doing well against a hapless Torres? Jesus! If you are going to defend him, defend him with points that are relevant to the time and valid.
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