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| Liverpool fans have given Jamie Carragher their backing after the Reds star admitted he has always put club before country. |
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Carragher came in for a storm of criticism yesterday after extracts of his forthcoming autobiography were published in a national newspaper in which he revealed an England defeat "never hurt me in the same way as losing for my club".
He even went as far as saying he "would rather miss for England than LFC", when discussing his England penalty miss against Portugal in the 2006 World Cup.
Former Liverpool player Stan Collymore, who won a total of three England caps before retiring at the age of 30 having never fulfilled his potential, was among those who criticised Carragher for his stance.
But the Bootle-born defender won the backing of Reds fans with Les Lawson of the Liverpool Supporters Club saying: "I agree with Carra. My only thought when international breaks come around is that I hope the players come back uninjured.
"I couldn't care less about England, I'm a Liverpool supporter. We are Scouse, not English!"
Lawson even went as far as admitting Liverpool fans prefer to show allegiance to Spain because of the large contingent of Spaniards at Anfield.
He said: "I have watched Liverpool reserves when England are playing. In fact, if England were playing Spain, you would probably find Liverpool fans supporting Spain."
Carragher's attitude has been met with disappointment but not surprise by England supporters.
Mark Perryman, of the England Fans' Group, thinks that European Cup-winners like Carragher, who play regular Champions League football, don't reach the pinnacle of their careers on the international stage.
He said: "You do not want to hear things like that, but I do understand where someone like Carragher is coming from.
"His view is no different to many fans, particularly those who support the big clubs.
"If you asked most fans whether they would want their club to win the title or England to win the World Cup, they would back their own clubs.
"It is an attitude that has arisen as the Champions League has got bigger and bigger. I know that as an England fan these days, I am in a minority.
"The Champions League provides international quality football from September to March to players like Carragher. Success in it is crucial to the big clubs, so I understand his view." |
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1:22 PM
Categories:
England,
Jamie Carragher,
LFC.
Author: nik
Jamie Carragher has warned Liverpool cannot take anything for granted when they face Standard Liege in a must-win Champions League qualifier at Anfield on Wednesday. |
With the tie in the balance after a goalless first leg in Belgium, the vice-captain knows our Champions League qualification is far from a formality.
"They are definitely the toughest opponents we've had in a qualifier," said Carragher.
"I know people expect us to get through, but it's not as if we're playing a Mickey Mouse team.
"The Belgian league has a lot of quality and their champions are used to getting into the group stages.
"We had a tough match against Anderlecht a few years ago so I'm not surprised Liege caused us problems.
"They caught us a bit cold in the first leg. Their manager said we were sleeping but they deserve credit for the way they played.
"They were spot on tactically, hitting us on the counter-attack and trying to make us play like a home side. You have to remember they'd gone something like 30 games unbeaten in their own league – and they are a club with European pedigree.
"We didn't play well and we know we'll have to improve at Anfield. Everyone knows how important it is for our season to get into the group stage."
Carragher added: "It's always a funny time for us to have such a massive game before we've got going in the season. Some of our results have reflected that.
"We lost at home to AK Graz in the year we won the competition and had a narrow win in the last minute against Maccabi Haifa two years ago, so anyone thinking we'll win comfortably knows that's very dangerous.
"You have to bear in mind this is probably the biggest game of the season already, and in some cases it may be the most important match they've ever had in their career.
"That makes them very tough opponents so we will have to be on our guard. Any side which can keep Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane as quiet as they did in the first leg has quality. We didn't have any chances in the game.
"It would be unthinkable for us not to be in the Champions League. You just want to get this qualifier out the way, put Europe on the back-burner for a while and get focused for a couple of months on doing well in the league.
"As players we expect to be there and so do the fans. We know in this situation all the pressure is on us, but we don't want to get negative about that.
"All the hard work finishing in the top four last season was geared towards reaching the group stages, so there's no way we want to let that slip.
"If we go through it gives us a bit of momentum and confidence and gives us those six group games to look forward setting up our season."
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2:19 PM
Categories:
Champions League,
Jamie Carragher,
Standard Liege.
Author: nik
