Jamie Carragher's Testimonial Game & Gala Dinner

[Fivex]

The match is on again now on LFC TV for anyone who's missed it

[pondus]

Anyone know of Didi is going to be involved at all? I assume Sami can't be as he'll be involved with Finland?

Speaking of Didi:

Former Manchester City and Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann is now a player-coach at MK Dons, but has revealed that he dreams of one day managing the Anfield club.

37-year-old Hamann is still patrolling the midfield for League One side MK Dons while inputting his experience alongside rookie manager Karl Robinson and fellow coaches John Gorman and Alex Rae.

However, German international Hamann revealed that he wants to work his way up the coaching ladder until he can one day take the helm at Liverpool.

Hamann told the Daily Mail, "I can gain invaluable experience and learn things from Karl, Alex and John every day while I am doing my coaching badges. I want to play this year and then see.

"For the last few years, I have thought about what I would say to the players at half-time if I was the manager. Here, Karl, myself and the other coaches go into the office for a minute or two at half-time to talk about things before we go into the dressing room.

"When I have my Pro licence, I will see where I am wanted. I would like to stay in this country but you never know. And it would be nice to go back to Liverpool one day and to work in some capacity, play some part. Obviously to manage them would be a dream come true."

Hamann played almost 200 games for Liverpool and played a major part in the 2005 Champions League final victory.

[Reece]

A dream team of Didi, Carragher and Hyypia

[pondus]

A dream team of Didi, Carragher and Hyypia

Great players and persons, hope they go on to be successful after their player careers are over.

[The Glove]

It was great to see some of the younger lads who we don't get to see on a regular basis, Shelvey, Amoo, Eccleston, Sterling and Suso's brief appearances.

Do you think? £20 to watch a reserve side in a non-copetitive match?

[The Glove]

A dream team of Didi, Carragher and Hyypia

Ha, imagine that!

[Kloppster]

Do you think? £20 to watch a reserve side in a non-copetitive match?

yeah, 60 quid well spent , for myself and two kids.

Great to see older players and few of the newbies. Very enjoyable day and all for charity remember.

Have to say had brilliant time in town from Thurs night to Sunday . Had been a few years since last visit and was impressed with the way the city centre has grown and the atmosphere around the place. Thought Liverpool One was excellent both in its layout and the way it links the Albert Dock area up to Queens Square and Cavern quarter etc.

Some nice pubs, restaurants and we even did the corny Yellow Duckmarine tour and the wife and kids loved it all.

Says something really when the missus says she would love to go back to Liverpool soon.

[Scratch]

Carragher was just as candid about the challenges of the past 14 years and the way Liverpool’s public image took a battering towards the end of the Benitez regime, as the former Anfield boss found himself at odds with rival managers.

‘I care about the club and it concerned me that, last year, people just didn’t like Liverpool,’ he said.

‘Other managers hated us and stuff in the media was all negative. We weren’t doing well on the pitch, to be fair, but it was just negative Liverpool all the time.

‘We had situations where Martin O’Neill and Steve Bruce were criticising Liverpool and they were right. We shouldn’t be getting involved with stuff like that.

'Everyone else should look at Liverpool and say they have dignity, class. It should be like the way people look at Arsenal. They do things right, conduct themselves properly.

‘I’m not getting involved in what the causes were, but we need to get back to behaving in a way that wins respect.

Interesting...i wonder if other players let the newspaper talk affect them, or if it was just a local lad thing?

Is that a slight at Rafa, the club heirarchy, the papers or just a mixture of all of the above?

[Neil Young]

Interesting...i wonder if other players let the newspaper talk affect them, or if it was just a local lad thing?

Is that a slight at Rafa, the club heirarchy, the papers or just a mixture of all of the above?

Given he invited Houllier to take part, I'd say Benitez is one of the targets he's aiming at, possibly even the only one.

[Vermilion]

I know it's Carra, but to use Arsenal as an example is a bit rich, Wenger has had as many run in's with managers as anyone, and is always as is Fergie saying things in the media about other teams their managers or players, thing is...when Rafa did it....he got slaughtered..like HE was'nt allowed but others were.

And tbf, may of the stuff he got slated for was'nt even his fault, like the Allardyce **** with the hand gesture...EVERYONE knows he did'nt mean game over...but the media just ran with Fergie and Allardyce....pair of ******s that they are.

[Reece]

I disagree with Jamie on that one then if it is aimed at Benitez.

What exactly is Rafa to do when for example after that hand signal against Blackburn, both Allardyce and Ferguson gang up on him and start accusing him of being disrespectful, and "beyond the pale". In fact IIRC, Rafa was dignified in his response to this, and didn't actually say much at all in return. It was left to Sammy Lee.


And as for this:

"It should be like the way people look at Arsenal. They do things right, conduct themselves properly."

That's pretty laughable. Wenger comes out with his fair share of ****, be it when caught up in the post game emotions such as stating that so and so player should be banned for x number of games because he deliberately broke one of his players legs or whatever. Aye, really dignified.

If we want to look at what has caused the club to get negative press and become undignified, then look no further than the owners in my opinion.

[Neil Young]

I disagree with Jamie on that one then if it is aimed at Benitez.

What exactly is Rafa to do when for example after that hand signal against Blackburn, both Allardyce and Ferguson gang up on him and start accusing him of being disrespectful, and "beyond the pale". In fact IIRC, Rafa was dignified in his response to this, and didn't actually say much at all in return. It was left to Sammy Lee.


And as for this:

"It should be like the way people look at Arsenal. They do things right, conduct themselves properly."

That's pretty laughable. Wenger comes out with his fair share of ****, be it when caught up in the post game emotions such as stating that so and so player should be banned for x number of games because he deliberately broke one of his players legs or whatever. Aye, really dignified.

If we want to look at what has caused the club to get negative press and become undignified, then look no further than the owners in my opinion.

That does stand in sharp contrast to Arsenal - maybe he was alluding to that in his remarks too.

It's a bit of a waste of time to pore over the remarks of footballers too closely. They're not wordsmiths, they're not politicians - the words they use don't have to add up to a consistent point of view on anything. It's interesting if Carragher had a problem with Benitez - and really wouldn't surprise me given the less than enthused way he used to talk in post-match interviews and his silence on the managerial change in the summer - but it doesn't make a lot of difference really. He always gave his all in a red shirt so it doesn't really matter what he thought.

He's allowed to be wrong and people are allowed, despite his deserved status as a minor deity, to disagree with him.

[Vermilion]

That does stand in sharp contrast to Arsenal - maybe he was alluding to that in his remarks too.

It's a bit of a waste of time to pore over the remarks of footballers too closely. They're not wordsmiths, they're not politicians - the words they use don't have to add up to a consistent point of view on anything. It's interesting if Carragher had a problem with Benitez - and really wouldn't surprise me given the less than enthused way he used to talk in post-match interviews and his silence on the managerial change in the summer - but it doesn't make a lot of difference really. He always gave his all in a red shirt so it doesn't really matter what he thought.

He's allowed to be wrong and people are allowed, despite his deserved status as a minor deity, to disagree with him.

So what's your point ?

[Reece]

Yeah I don't really know why I even bothered writing what I did

It would just annoy me somewhat if Carragher had a problem with Benitez though.

Someone feel free to correct me if I'm rewriting history, but before Benitez came along Jamie had been switching between left and right back, whilst Benitez moved him to Centre back and he then became one of the best in that position in Europe. Obviously that's not all down to Benitez - Carragher clearly had the ability and mental strength to succeed to a high level, but I think players all too quickly forget how managers can help them get to that level.

[Reece]

Please come back Rafa