Jamie Carragher has revealed how former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier was left stunned by his players’ antics during a pre-season tour.
Arne Slot will of course be planning for his second season in charge at Anfield this summer, with the Dutchman looking to defend the Premier League title after a superb first campaign. The Reds will be heading to Asia as part of their preparations for the 2025/26 season, with games against AC Milan and Japanese side Yokohama F Marinos confirmed so far.
And, unlike last summer’s tour of the US, there are likely to be some new faces among the squad. Jeremie Frimpong will be involved after completing his transfer from Bayer Leverkusen, and he looks likely to be joined by former teammate Florian Wirtz, while Milos Kerkez is being heavily linked with a move to Merseyside.
They likely won’t experience the sort of pre-season that Carragher and his former teammates experienced during their time at Anfield.
Much has changed since the former defender was a regular in the Liverpool side, with Houllier’s stunned reaction upon his arrival as joint-manager back in 1998 telling its own tale.
“The story I think that probably sums up the change in football was we had a situation where we had two managers,” Carragher told The Overlap’s Fan Debate.
Gerard Houllier arrived at Liverpool as joint-manager alongside Roy Evans
Gerard Houllier arrived at Liverpool as joint-manager alongside Roy Evans
“We had Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier. The club probably didn’t have the bottle to sack Roy Evans really, so they bring Gerard Houllier in as a little bit of a coach, joint-manager thing, it was bizarre.
“But we all know when you go on a pre-season tour, there’s a night out at wherever it is.
“It was almost like you’ve put all your work in, you can go out and have a night out.
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“I always remember Houllier couldn’t get his head around it. I think we were in Norway, and we played a game, and the big night is that night out in Norway.
“We come out, and the lift opens and you’ve all got your gear on, and Houllier’s just there and he’s the new guy, everyone’s trying to impress.
“He’s just stood there in his Liverpool trackie with his glasses just looking at us, and we’re all just stood there, don’t know what to say, and next thing, Roy Evans has got his gear on behind us!
“Roy Evans wanted a night out, and that probably just summed it up, it was a night out for the staff as well, and Houllier just couldn’t believe what he was seeing.”