There really are some astonishing points of view on this thread, quite bemusing really.
I've only read the last few pages or so, so I've obviously missed a fair bit, but I've seen Carra - one of the greatest servants to the club over the last few years - accused of being too big for his boots, operating an anti-Benitez agenda, refusing to pass to certain players, a bad influence at the club, and finally lambasted for not being rested 'in case somebody took his position'.
It's all really quite baffling, but especially that last part.
Surely the reason Carra didn't get rested was because Agger and/or Skrtel were both out injured for large swathes of last season?
Or is that a bit too obvious?
And I must admit I'm somewhat nonplussed by people - Liverpool fans no less - railing against a Liverpool player whilst offering their unconditional support to the manager of Inter Milan.
I know that no player is bigger than the club and all that, but errr . . . am I missing something here?
"He refused to play right back and so Masch had to play there instead!" As I remember it, his reasons for not playing right back were that his legs were gone and if he'd done that he'd have been fucked. And then we'd have had no centre back either. Strange that he's being accused of on the one hand not having a rest, like good old Paul Scholes, but on the other hand he's a disruptive influence because he's being realistic about what he can and can't do.
So we had to play Mascherano at right back instead - good! He makes a fuck of a lot better right back than Carra, he's more mobile and he can get up and down the line a helluva lot better than him too. Great player though he is, Jamie runs the risk of a nosebleed if he goes past the halfway line.
Agger-Skrtel is obviously the partnership for the future (well, unless this Wilson kid turns out to be something really special), and each have their merits no doubt, but for me Carra is still the best out-and-out defender. His reading of the game, his tackling, his consistency and his organisation of the defence give him the slight edge over the other two, although no doubt his star is beginning to wane.
That said, just because he's getting a little bit old I cannot fathom the motivation for the denigration of a player that is *undoubtedly* a Liverpool legend, who has always said and done the right things, and who is - to use the tired cliche - Liverpool "through and through".
As for this anger in some circles about his comments RE: old boss vs the new boss is completely unfounded if you ask me - he's done the diplomatic thing and said the right kind of things to make Roy feel welcome - even if he was lying through his teeth and all of the players were still 100% behind Rafa, he's hardly gonna come out and say "Well, actually, we really miss the old boss and we wish he was still here". He's made the kind of statement you expect from one of the senior players at the club - respectful to the new boss, respectful to the old boss, like it should be.
Maybe he was lying through his teeth, in which case he's done right by the new guy. Maybe he was actually telling the truth, and the mood was that it was time for a change - in which case he's been honest, without being brutal.
I really don't see what the problem is here. Sure, he's getting on a bit, and maybe this is the season when Agger-Skrtel becomes the new partnership, but this character assassination of a long-serving, loyal and legendary servant to the club is nothing short of shocking.
I really wonder what goes on in some people's heads
