Rob Smyth (who seems to be really bored now that he can’t complain about Manchester United playing poorly) talks about Jamie Carragher being hugely under-rated at the international level.
I think Rob’s right – Carragher should be given a run in the centre-back slot in the England lineup – but he’s missed an important counterpoint. You see, much of Carragher’s “back to the wall” heroism has come about because of a simple reason:
Rafa Benitez (and Houiller before him) making Liverpool anally defensive.
When you’re on the backfoot at all times, and when you have two holding midfielders sitting in front of you and letting the opposition climb all over you, it’s hard to play anything other than ‘back to the walls’ stuff.
Jamie Carragher is a quality defender, there’s no doubt about it. But at 29, he’s had plenty of time to break into the England squad and establish himself. Blaming ‘partisanship’ is not the answer. Liverpool will have to look at Carragher and realise that while he’s their best defender, the man is not good enough to start for England.
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