Jamie Carragher has rallied behind his former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard to be inducted into the newly formed Premier League hall of fame for which the Anfield icon merits a spot, according to the player-turned-pundit Carragher.
According to reports from The Sunday World, Carragher says that Gerrard’s well-documented status of an all-round player in English top-flight football and his record number of PFA Team of the Year nominations warranted a place in the Hall of Fame for the ex-Liverpool skipper and midfield maestro.
“I’ve always said (Thierry Henry) is the best player to play in the Premier League , but what I would say is Steven Gerrard is possibly the best all-round player,” Carragher said.
“I know we’ve had that debate before – Scholes, Gerrard, Lampard. I know people will look at that list, and say all the other players have won the Premier League, Stevie didn’t win the league.
“My two arguments are – there’s no player in the history of the league, even you (Henry) or Alan Shearer who were in the PFA Team of the Year more than Steven Gerrard. That shows what the players he played against thought of him.
“Eight times, no-one has ever got to that many – it just shows how dominant he was in the Premier League.
“Stevie I think if he’d have played right back, he’d have played for England at right back. He did play holding midfield and attacking midfield.
“He had two or three seasons as a number 10 off Torres, and how he performed in those two years – I’d put him up alongside any number 10 in the Premier League. The goals he scored, and the assists.
“Right midfield he got PFA Player of the Year in 2006, I think he played there and scored 20 goals from right midfield. In terms of all-round quality and someone who could have played all over the pitch, to a similar standard, those are the two reasons he’s gone in for me.”
Gerrard, now the Rangers boss, was nominated for the Premier League Hall of Fame entry alongside former Reds Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler for their contributions in Premier League action over the years.
From a 23-man shortlist that includes the likes of David Beckham and Frank Lampard only six would be inducted into the coveted Hall of Fame which has Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry as its initial members.
