Roy Hodgson has recounted the parting message from Jamie Carragher that he will never forget after he was sacked as Liverpool manager in 2011, with the defender calling it his “big mistake.”
The Hodgson era at Anfield lasted only 31 matches, but it left a lasting mark on Liverpool supporters after a series of blunders and unforgivable results.
His six-month spell came after Rafa Benitez was shown the exit door, and any hopes of reinvigorating the club and the squad fell flat under Hodgson’s reign of 13 wins from 31 games.
Liverpool were in the relegation zone for a number of weeks and amid the backdrop of an ownership struggle, the club’s outlook was bleak.
And Carragher had quite an honest message for Hodgson after he was given his marching orders, telling him that his “big mistake” was “trying to coach us.”
Jamie Carragher’s message to Roy Hodgson after Liverpool sacking
Speaking on The Managers podcast alongside Mick McCarthy and Tony Pulis, Hodgson said: “I always remember what Carragher said to me when I was leaving.
“He came in, he and Steven (Gerrard) had come in to say goodbye and wish me luck and wish me well. And Carragher said, ‘I’ve got to say, the big mistake you made was trying to coach us’.
“He said, ‘You know we’ve had four years of coaching, we had a good coach and four good years of coaching. Probably the mistake you made, you’ve come in and you’ve prolonged that. You’ve also wanted to put us right on the field’.”
On reflection, Hodgson admitted he could have approached his early days at Liverpool differently, focusing instead on taking on the role of bringing the group back together.
“When I think back on it, I should have really adopted much more of a managerial approach,” the 78-year-old reflected.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Wednesday, September 15, 2010: Liverpool's manager Roy Hodgson with Jamie Carragher during a training session at Melwood Training Ground ahead of the opening UEFA Europa League Group K match against FC Steaua Bucuresti. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
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“How can I get Fernando Torres and all these people back wanting to live in Liverpool?
“I mean, the first was (Javier) Mascherano. I mean, Mascherano was brilliant in the first game with Steven Gerrard, then he came to me the day after and said, ‘You know, we’re playing Man City on Wednesday, I’m not going to play’.
“He said, ‘I’m leaving’. I said, ‘Well, they won’t let you leave. They’re telling me you can’t go’. He said, ‘Well, they’ll have to let me go. I’m going to Barcelona‘.”
On the penultimate day of the summer transfer window in 2010, Mascherano did get his move, signing a four-year deal with Barcelona in a £17.25 million transfer.
Roy Hodgson sums up brief Liverpool spell
“Well, it went badly. There’s no doubt about that. It wasn’t a good time,” Hodgson added on his Anfield tenure.
“The club was changing hands. I mean, the owners, were still nominally in charge when I went there, although Martin Broughton had been given the job of selling the club and getting them out and getting new owners.
NAPELS, ITALY - Thursday, October 21, 2010: Liverpool's manager Roy Hodgson and Jamie Carragher walk off the pitch at half-time during the UEFA Europa League Group K match against SSC Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo. (Pic by: David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“And I knew that was happening. Martin warned me about it. He said, ‘We’ve got to tell you that new owners are coming in, we’re deciding, Christian Purslow and I, that we want you.
“But he said, ‘I’ve got to tell you, I’m getting loads and loads of letters and emails saying it’s a mistake, and we want Kenny Dalglish and we don’t want this guy’.
“But I suppose again, that arrogance that bit of success gives you, but I should have laid aside, if you like, the sort of confidence that the results had given me at Fulham, in particular.
“I should lay that aside and [think] how on earth am I gonna in some way ingratiate myself here?
“And of course, to be fair, it wasn’t that happy of a club either at the time, because a lot of the players they spent a lot of time with Benitez, and they were still quite close to Benitez.”