Former Reds midfielder David Thompson feels his long time friend and former team-mate Jamie Carragher is calling a premature end to his Anfield career and has urged the defender to reconsider his decision.
Thompson knows Carragher better than most having first played alongside him when the pair were just 9 years old, and he says Carragher could and should extend his time at the club into an 18th season. Speaking exclusively to TLW he said: "Jamie's performance levels this season have been fantastic. His reading of the game is second to none. I know he's probably got opportunities to do media work and maybe an opportunity to stay on at Liverpool in some staff capacity but if he can still run and he can still play and affect the team and his team-mates around him then I would encourage him to play on for as long as he can."
Thompson drew comparisons with Manchester United veteran Ryan Giggs who recently agreed another deal to stay at United beyond his 40th birthday, and believes there is no reason why Carragher couldn't also have stayed on another year at least. "Knowing Jamie, he's a very proud man and he will have looked at how he's been used this season and thought "I want to play every game". After games he probably can't get up the stairs, he probably feels very stiff, very sore. But I'm sure Ryan Giggs at 40 years of age also feels stiff and sore after games. You just manage it".
The midfielder, who also played for Blackburn Rovers, Coventry City and Portsmouth amongst other clubs, knows better than most the regrets of a premature retirement, having chosen to hang up his boots in 2007 at the age of 30 due to persistent knee trouble, a decision he know regrets; "I probably could have played another two years and I do regret that I didn't. I'd always encourage people to keep playing. If you can run and have no physical disability, just keep going as long as you can. Even though Jamie probably feels he's had a long career, you're a long time retired and you do miss it. Nothing will ever compare to that."
* These quotes were taken from a not to be missed interview with Thompson on our latest podcast in which he discusses his time at Anfield, including the breakdown of his relationship with Gerard Houllier and infamously scrapping with David Hopkin in a reserve game.
Recommended Comments
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.