Jamie Carragher trekked around Dublin on Thursday in advance of the Liverpool-Manchester United game tomorrow.
Straight off the plane, he was taken to a rather curious location, namely the South Studios in New Row South, Dublin 8 (a hard place to find but unlike most of the media, Jamie had people ferrying him around).
In a strange bare room upstairs, he spoke to the media on matters ranging from Liverpool's form this season, whether Manchester United or Liverpool have brighter futures ahead of them, James McCarthy at Everton and the business of punditry.
He proclaims himself a defender of Louis Van Gaal and while he stops short of actually declaring that Manchester United enjoy better prospects in the medium term than Liverpool, he implies that United's greater resources will surely count for them ultimately.
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That Liverpool aren't challenging for the League title this year, he puts down to their unfamiliarity with juggling European and domestic football.
I think at the start of the season, Liverpool came up against things that they hadn't the year before. European football, new players coming in, lot of young players, playing three times a week, they weren't used that year... I still think Liverpool would have had problems even if Suarez there because the whole squad and the manager as well hadn't experienced thing like that before.
Conscious of his surroundings, he extolled James McCarthy, but conscious that he had to go back to Liverpool, he stopped short of saying he needs to leave Everton. Carragher is a big fan of McCarthy, though he believes he needs to score more goals.
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Were the harsh words of pundits ever batted around in dressing rooms of which he was part?
Yeah, I think so. 'What's that bastard said?' To be honest, players probably do get upset when you say things, as I did when I was playing, but... they're also happy when you say something nice aren't they?
In every walk of life, people remember the criticism more than the praise... so, I just have to hide from a few people when I see them.
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He was unwilling to name the bastards in question.
