LIVERPOOL icon Jamie Carragher went from zero to hero on his Anfield debut.
The ex-defender started his first match for the Reds against Aston Villa in January 1997.
Jamie Carragher has recalled his Liverpool debut[/caption]
Carragher is a Liverpool legend and made his debut in 1997[/caption]
But just a few seconds into the clash, he found himself skating on thin ice.
Carragher received a yellow card for a reckless challenge on Villa midfielder Andy Townsend.
And he was arguably lucky to avoid being sent off in embarrassing fashion.
Recalling the mishap in the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast by Sky Bet, Carragher said: “My first start for Liverpool was against Aston Villa.
“I’d played a couple of games beforehand – I came on in a cup game away to Middlesbrough and then we played West Ham at home, and I came on at half-time, playing centre-midfield with John Barnes when I was eighteen.
“The week after, we played Villa and they were a good team. It was Brian Little’s team with three at the back and Dwight York upfront.
“I started that game and got booked after 20 seconds. I did a two-foot tackle on Andy Townsend straight after kick-off. You’d probably get sent off for that now.”
Despite his shaky start, Carragher went on to score his first Liverpool goal in front of the Kop.
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The Reds went on to win 3-0 at Anfield.
Carragher started the match in midfield but was eventually moved to right-back after establishing himself as a regular name in the first team – even though he preferred to play centrally.
“I went right-back because if I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t have been a Liverpool player,” he added.
“Gérard Houllier always wanted me in his team. He used to say to me at the start of preseason, ‘I’m going to play you most weeks. I don’t know where, but you will play.’”
The 46-year old went on to make 737 appearances for Liverpool before retiring in 2013.
Changes to the Premier League for 2024/25
NOTHING stays the same forever.
And that includes the Premier League, which is making a number of tweaks this season.
Team news will now be released 75 MINUTES before kick-off, 15 minutes earlier than had been the case before.
Things could get crowded on the touchline, with the number of substitutes permitted to warm-up boosted from three players per team to FIVE.
There’s also a change to how added time is calculated when a team scores a goal, an update to the ‘multiball’ system and the introduction of semi-automated offsides – but not straight away.
Go here to read about all the changes to the Premier League for 2024/25.
