by anfieldadorer » Tue Feb 08, 2005 6:18 pm
Recognition and reward have not come easily for Jamie Carragher. Undervalued by his own supporters at Liverpool, the 27-year-old has found his versatility a hindrance, rather than a help, on the international stage, with Sven-Goran Eriksson rarely keen to promote the Liverpudlian ahead of the specialist operators in his England squad. Overlooked in favour of the unproven Ledley King when Eriksson was without John Terry for England's Euro 2004 opener against France last summer, Carragher is in danger of becoming the nearly man among England's defensive riches.
But for the injuries that have led to the absences of Terry, King, Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell and Matthew Upson from the England party for tomorrow's friendly against Holland at Villa Park, Carragher may well have been forced to spend another international contemplating the log-jam of defensive rivals ahead of him in the pecking order.
England's wealth of defensive options, with the quartet of Terry, King, Ferdinand and Campbell as formidable as any in the world, has virtually suffocated Carragher's ambitions of becoming anything more than a bench warmer for Eriksson, and he acknowledges that he faces a stern challenge if he is to ever climb the defensive ladder in the England set-up.
Last edited by
anfieldadorer on Tue Feb 08, 2005 6:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.