Jamie Carragher has shared that former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier would be furious if his player’s spoke to the opposition in the Anfield tunnel.
Carragher was speaking with Roy Keane for LADbible TV’s ‘Agree To Disagree’ series. The pair were asked whether Liverpool’s current rivalry with Manchester City is the greatest the country has seen.
Keane firmly stated that he disagreed due to the lack of ‘needle’ between the two teams out on the pitch. This led to Carragher sharing the story of how Houllier reacted to niceties between rival players whilst at Liverpool.
“When Gerard Houllier was our manager, you know the tight tunnel at Anfield, before a game Sky would show you in the tunnel and you’d run out,” said Carra.
“He’d look back and if he caught anyone speaking to the opposition you’d be in trouble, you’d be in trouble.”
Houllier was widely known as one of the biggest gentleman in football prior to his death in 2020. It seems though that even he may have taken exception to Liverpool’s friendly relationship with their current biggest rivals.
Respect between rivals
It would be easy to dismiss Carragher’s example as being another illustration of just how much football has changed.
Gone are the days of blood and thunder between players out on the pitch. Instead, opposite manager’s hug each other and rival players chat warmly after an intense game.
However, there’s still plenty of Keane’s fabled needle around. Just take Manchester City’s game against Atletico Madrid last week.
Some would love to see Liverpool and City conjure up such a battle. But it just so happens that the two best managers in the Premier League aren’t inclined to instruct their players to go for each other’s throats.
There’s respect, rather than revulsion at the sight of the other team. Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have built teams in their image and that means the focus is on what they can do to hurt the opposition with the ball rather than with their studs.
The spark still remains
Liverpool’s historically biggest rivals come to Anfield this evening. If Keane and Carragher are expecting a hark back to their experiences of Liverpool v United during their playing days though, then they’re bound to be disappointed again.
Ralf Rangnick is one of Klopp’s biggest coaching influences. There’s a heck of a lot of respect between the two men.
The Liverpool boss said his relationship with the United manager is ‘on hold’ as they meet in the Premier League for the first time. But that doesn’t mean there’ll be any kind of fireworks.
That also doesn’t mean that the spark of the fixture has gone, it’s just a case of the game reflecting the personalities of those involved. Get Diego Simeone and his underhand tactics to the Premier League and there’s no doubt those blood and thunder battles will return.
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