Carragher: Should I stay or should I go?
Should Carragher really hang up his England boots?
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Wednesday, 11, Jul 2007 01:01
Opinion on Liverpool centre-back Jamie Carragher's decision to quit from international duty at the ripe old age of 29 can be drawn into two separate camps.
On the one hand, there is the belief that Carragher is a prima donna, whose decision is motivated by a misplaced sense of vanity due to his pride taking a battering at not being an England regular.
The other camp plays host to those of the opinion that the Reds' centre-half has a genuine reason to feel aggrieved, that his talents have long been neglected by England managers who insist on playing him out of position as cover rather than in his favoured spot in the heart of the back-line.
At first glance, it may seem easy to subscribe to the theory that Carragher should bite his tongue and continue being content as an England squad player.
However by bringing the scouser's personality into the mix, it is clear that reaching this conclusion must have dogged Carragher and it can hardly be considered an off-the-cuff decision by any stretch of the imagination.
Carragher has gained a reputation as one of the best centre-backs in Europe in recent years but he has successfully married this with the impression he is a salt of the earth kind of player - a man who plays for the love of the game and not the big money that goes with it.
Unfortunately, his rise to prominence as a superb leader with a tireless work ethic comes at a time when England's starting XI is probably the easiest to predict, when all are fit, in the entirety of world football.
We know it by heart and have done since the latter years of Eriksson's reign.
Robinson in goal, a defence comprising Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Ashley Cole. Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard fill the centre-midfield spots, while Joe Cole sits on the left. Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen start up front. That leaves just right midfield, which David Beckham looks to have regained ahead of Aaron Lennon.
This rigid 4-4-2 and selection policy has meant that even when one of the so-called 'golden generation' has a bad game, their place remains intact. Steve McLaren has continued this trend, except for the face-saving exercise in sacking Beckham, which plainly back-fired.
Which brings us back to Carragher.
Finding himself behind Terry indefinitely, the player himself admitted yesterday on TalkSport that he thought Sol Campbell's departure from the international fray would lead to a potential starting berth in the England side ahead of Ferdinand due to his consistently superb performances for his club.
The reason for his impromptu appearance on TalkSport is one of the reasons why Carragher cannot be accused of petulance in his decision to quit internationals.
Carragher was furious at being called a "bottler" by presenter Adrian Durham and challenged him to launch a similar tirade to his face. He then remarked: "Don't ever call me a bottler on radio with thousands of people listening. I've had the stomach to fight for my place for the last eight years."
Played at full back, if at all, for most of that time, Carragher has never been given a chance to challenge Ferdinand for an England starting berth and for such an honest comment as "at centre-half, I don't think I've played as much as maybe I deserved" to pass the man's lips, it is clear that he has felt enough is enough.
So to the outcome.
England will undoubtedly suffer from losing a defender of Carragher's calibre. He, on the other hand, will continue to be revered at Liverpool and can focus on his club football instead of knowing that every time he gets called up by McLaren, he won't get a game at centre-back unless Ferdinand, Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate are all on the injury list.
"I'm 29, I've been doing it for eight years and obviously I haven't proved it enough, so it's not going to change now, is it?" stated Carragher.
Sadly, it appears not.
Adam Bushby