It’s no secret that Liverpool’s one-club man Jamie Carragher once supported the blue half of Merseyside - before switching allegiances to Anfield when breaking into Liverpool’s first team.
Despite growing up in an Everton-supporting household, Carragher played for bitter rivals Liverpool in their academy during his formative years. However, it wasn’t until he was in Liverpool’s first team that he properly stopped supporting Everton, when visiting a pub he frequented as a youngster.
Speaking in the latest issue of FourFourTwo - available in shops from and to order online now - Carragher recalls the moment he knew he'd stopped being a fan of Everton, instead realising he hoped they'd get beat.
“It was in 1999, when I was a Liverpool player and we’d been beaten by Manchester United in an FA Cup tie. It was a lunchtime kick-off, and later that afternoon I met some of my friends for a few drinks down the pub – the same one I’d watched Arsenal beat Liverpool in 10 years earlier. It was full of Evertonians who were absolutely delighted Liverpool had lost, and it really annoyed me. Before then I’d become indifferent to Everton’s results, but from that day on I wanted them to get beat!
Growing up an Everton fan in the 80s, the most successful period in the club’s history, young Jamie enjoyed trophies galore supporting the team from Goodison. Two first division titles, an FA Cup, a League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup highlights the club’s success.
Carragher watched players such as Graeme Sharp, Gary Lineker and Peter Reid week after week, with Wembley visits for a cup final expected rather than hoped for, such was Everton’s success.
“I was very fortunate that Everton won loads of trophies when I was a kid. I was at Anfield when Graeme Sharp scored a great winner in 1984. We got to the FA Cup final three years in a row between 1984 and 1986, so we came to expect a day out at Wembley every spring.
“I remember being seven years old at Villa Park when Everton beat Luton in the 1985 FA Cup semi-finals. After the game, I managed to get on the pitch, have a quick runabout and celebrate.”
While still an Everton supporter, the scouser also revelled in one of Liverpool’s heartbreaks. A title deciding game between Arsenal and Liverpool saw the former emerge victorious, shocking Anfield, but leaving Evertonians ecstatic.
Although present for an iconic moment, Carragher claims that it wasn’t him that sprayed ‘Thank you Arsenal’ on a wall that night in 1989.
“No, that wasn’t me personally! I saw a group of lads doing it on a wall in Bootle – we were so happy Arsenal had won. Loads of Everton supporters watched the game in a pub, then spilled out onto the streets after to celebrate the result. Somebody sprayed that message on a brick wall nearby.”
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