An apoplectic Jamie Carragher phoned a radio station yesterday to defend himself live on air against accusations that he was “a bottler” for considering retiring from international duty.
In an astonishing outburst, Carragher, the Liverpool defender, called talkSPORT’s Drivetime show shortly after 5pm and hit back at Adrian Durham, the programme’s co-presenter, for claiming that he no longer had the stomach to play for England.
Staff at the radio station were so taken aback that at first they thought it was a crank caller and asked Carragher to disclose personal details, including his date of birth, before putting him through to Durham.
“Don’t ever call me a bottler on radio with all those thousands of people listening,” Carragher raged. “I’ve had the stomach to fight for my place for the last eight years. All I can do is play as well as I can for Liverpool. I’ve never really played centre half for England and, to be honest, I’ve never really played that well for England because I’ve played a lot of the time at full back. But at centre half, I don’t think I’ve really played as much as maybe I deserved.”
Carragher had confirmed in an interview with a local newspaper that he was on the verge of announcing his international retirement. The 29-year-old had originally considered leaving the national set-up after the World Cup finals last summer but decided to stay on for the Euro 2008 qualifying matches. Yet, having since fallen below the likes of Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate in the pecking order, he has concluded that now may be the right time to stop.
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He was particularly dismayed that, in the absence of the injured Rio Ferdinand, Steve McClaren, the England head coach, overlooked him in favour of King for the Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia last month.
Carragher has been in constant contact McClaren in recent weeks and has been persuaded to put a decision about his future on hold until the next international friendly, against Germany on August 22, but it appears unlikely that the defender will represent his country again. Asked by Durham why he was not prepared to fight for an England place, Carragher said: “There’s that many people he [McClaren] has played ahead of me. It’s a game of opinions, but when you’re at my age they are all younger than me. They are all going to improve and maybe I won’t at my age.
“I played in the Champions League final. There’s not much more you can do at club football but win it, which we did a couple of years ago. He [McClaren] played Ledley King [against Estonia] who is a top player, but he’s been injured all season, so how would you feel in my situation, what would you do? When John Terry was out, Woodgate played.
“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? It’s not like I’ve just got in the squad and I’ve jumped out.”
When asked by Mickey Quinn, the stand-in co-presenter and former Coventry City and Newcastle United striker, if he thought that he would regret retiring, Carragher said: “Time will tell. But for me now it’s time to concentrate on my Liverpool career.”
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Nor did Carragher believe that there was much chance of him being picked for the World Cup finals in 2010 in South Africa. “If I’m not getting a game at 29, there’s no chance of me getting a game at 32,” he said. “Every centre half the manager has picked is younger than me.”
Liverpool are confident of completing the signing of Ryan Babel, the highly rated Ajax and Holland winger, in the next few days. While Liverpool have offered just under £7 million for Babel, Ajax are thought to value the 20-year-old at closer to £10 million, but, given the player’s desire to move to Anfield, a speedy resolution to the negotiations is expected.
Rafael BenÍtez, the manager, is also hoping that Yossi Benayoun will sign this week, although West Ham United’s £6 million valuation of the Israel winger could be a stumbling block. Liverpool made an improved third offer of £5 million last week.
Babel has been linked with a move to Arsenal, but after BenÍtez lost out to Chelsea for Florent Malouda, the France winger, he moved to secure the services of the versatile attacker. “I can confirm that Liverpool have made a bid for Ryan,” Winnie Haatrecht, the player’s agent, said yesterday.