The word legend is one that is constantly overused by many in the footballing world, and never in the correct context.
But at Liverpool we have a true footballing legend in the form of Jamie Carragher a colossus, inspiring player who has served this great club with honour and dignity throughout his time at Anfield.
Carragher is everything a young hopeful would want to become, only players like Ryan Giggs and Steven Gerrard have shown the same kind of devotion to a club like Jamie Carragher has for Liverpool, which will make it even more harder to say farewell to the great one when he hangs up his boots at the end of this season.
The simply fact is we don’t have anyone who can fill his shoes now in terms of leadership or game reading. Agger and Skrtel are both great defenders, but neither have the leadership skills in terms of vocal presence and defence organisation that Carragher holds, Carra shouts orders like a lion and organises the defence like a military operation.
Jamie Carragher has been a key part of the Liverpool defence and Brendan Rodgers has the hardest job in the world to find or mould a player to fill the gap.
Over the past two years Carragher has lost a little pace and mistakes starting to creep into his game, but these are things which are down to age and loss of that extra yard.
We have to remember that Carra has been around a long time and there’s no way week in week out he will be able to keep up with players like Aguero, Bale or Walcott in a sprint for the ball.
But what role can Carragher play until the end of the season? Well one answer is to use Carragher as a sub and come on if we need a degree of calm or organisation on the field, starting Jamie every week may not be the solution, even if we would all love to see that happen, but its important to realise what Jamie Carragher has done for the club, and how hard he works to keep up a high level of fitness.
Personally, I want Carragher involved for as much as possible, when your chasing a top four spot you need big players and no one fits the bill more than Carra, he will shed blood for Liverpool and that’s what you need in the run up towards the end of a hard season.
We have young and some very experienced defenders but not ones with the leadership or organisational skills that Jamie Carragher brings, and now that he has decided to hang up his boots, it will be one of the hardest goodbyes in Liverpool history, to a true footballing legend that is Jamie Carragher.
Brian Reece
twitter @oldfattoad