Carra: My Autobiography

by Jamie Carragher

Jamie Carragher is one of the most charismatic footballers of his generation. Adored by the fans, he was recently voted the most popular player in the entire Liverpool squad. Yet the young Carra came to Liverpool as an Everton fan, from an Everton family, and with Everton friends. Packed with great anecdotes, controversial opinions and large helpings of his trademark humor, this is his story. Born in January 1978 in Bootle, Merseyside, Carragher signed professional terms with Liverpool in 1996, having served a successful apprenticeship, won the FA Youth Cup and played for England Under-21s. He scored a goal in his first full game for the senior team—pretty good for a defender and very unusual for him—and his versatility was to ensure a permanent place in the starting line up before long and he is now vice Captain. In fact he is so integral to the Liverpool squad, the Kop now chants "we all dream of a team of Carraghers" to the tune of "Yellow Submarine." Raw, funny, and down-to-earth, his book is an antidote to the anodyne sports autobiography. It takes you behind the scenes of all of Liverpool and England's greatest triumphs and disasters in the company of a player who never fails to be intelligent, controversial, or just downright hilarious.

Genres: Football, Sports, Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, Soccer

512 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2008

Reviews

[Leo . · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book Carra. Another Liverpool legend.
"If only we had a team of Jamie Carragher's,..."🐯👍

Update: Carra! What a stupid thing to do...Spitting at the passengers of another vehicle. Lame, very lame my friend. As an ex pro footballer Carra knows full well how that is a no! No! I played county league many years ago and I hate it. I know that in his heart that he knows, in the heat of the moment, it was silly. The passion with Man U and Liverpool is unrivalled and they are the best two clubs in UK, trophy cabinets prove it. 👍🐯

[Ynwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Jonathan Elwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good insight into Jamie carragher life

[Norman Revill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was published in 2008, so Carra's looking forward to continuing to play under Rafa and to his first game at the new Stanley Park stadium. Not any more. He wisely sought out a ghost-writer so it reads well and I like his honesty and openness about colleagues and situations - his comments on Sven are priceless! By the standards of football autobiographies, it's better than most, which isn't saying a lot these days.

I like Jamie Carragher. He was a great player for Liverpool and now he's retired, only Stevie G is left to carry the flag for Scousers in the current LFC line-up. As a fellow Scouser and lifelong Red, this is not something I'm happy about, but that's the Premier League now. Jamie's passion for the game shows through and everything is dominated by his love for Liverpool, the club and the city. He married a local girl and doesn't want to live anywhere else, so his managerial ambitions won't run to Barca then, unless they offer him a club helicopter. But then there are plenty of top clubs within commuting distance of his Liverpool home.

If he has any sense, and the jury is still out on that, though he has assembled some tasty players in his short time at Anfield, Brendan Rodgers will have already signed Carra to his backroom staff. Personally, I can think of no finer potential future manager for the Mighty Reds than JC. So if you're a fan and especially a Liverpool fan, you'll love this book. But it is a bit obsessive, hence my only 3 stars. If you totally share Jamie Carragher's obsessions, you'll give it 5 stars.

[Eapen Chacko · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for any supporter of Liverpool FC, but as a bio which depicts the innards of the modern game of football from the player's viewpoint, it is the best book I've read. The most compelling chapter is about that extraordinary evening on May 25, 2005 as Liverpool faced the most powerful version of AC Milan in the Champions League Final at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul. It's worth the price of the book (used on Amazon). Carragher's reminiscence of hearing "You'll Never Walk Alone" as the players line up for the second half, down 0-3, is incisive and powerful. Unlike the usual blustery version, intended to intimidate the opposition, Carragher felt that it was plaintive, as if the supporters were telling the team something like, "We're sorry for what's happened to you, but we are with you. You're not alone on this great stage." You can feel Gerrard lifting the team on his back, with Xabi Alonso taking his cue. What a night that was!

I assumed Carragher had always been the center back I remember. Instead, his position and role were constantly changing. And although his skills and utility weren't always highly regarded, he was a great servant of the club and his managers, Fagan, Dalglish, Houllier and Benitez, and he was always someone who was an asset to them in the locker room. The one chapter that clinks is the last one where he meditates out loud about wanting to manage Liverpool. He isn't very convincing. What do you really want to do Jamie? I don't know how much a ghost writer did, but it is well written and really insightful and informative.

[Amandine · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai lu ce livre en lecture commune avec ma best friend, Amandine. C'était vraiment une expérience sympathique de découvrir cette autobiographie ensemble. Il s'agit en plus de celle de Jamie Carragher, un ex-footballeur anglais cher à nos yeux.

C'est aussi le troisième livre que j'ai pu lire en anglais. Je l'ai trouvé relativement facile même si par moment j'ai dû me servir de mon dictionnaire car je manque de vocabulaire.

Dans l'ensemble, j'ai beaucoup apprécié ce livre. Il m'a permis d'apprendre certaines chose sur Jamie que je ne savais pas et de découvrir davantage sa personnalité.
De plus, j'ai vraiment retrouvé mon Carra et son franc-parler légendaire dans cette lecture. J'ai bien aimé qu'il exprime son avis sur telle ou telle chose par rapport au Club, tout ça sans chichis et sans se soucier des conséquences. En réalité, c'est ce qui représente les trois quarts du livre. J'ai quand même préféré les chapitres qui parlent de sa vie, ses débuts avec le club, sa famille et évidemment Istanbul. Je les ais trouvés très intéressants.
Avoir des photos à l'intérieur est toujours agréable lorsqu'il s'agit d'une biographie. Le seul petit bémol à propos de ce livre, c'est que je l'ai trouvé assez long à lire mais cela vient sûrement du fait qu'il est en anglais, et qu'il me faut deux fois plus de temps pour bien tout comprendre.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well...the best thing about this book is easily, far & away the chapter on Istanbul... If you read nothing else in this book (& you're a Liverpool fan...) then read it. I was back in my flat watching it on tv again & cleaning my kitchen after we went 3-0 down... Just amazing!

It was also interesting to read JC's opinions on all the managers he's worked with previously. Having read Steven Gerrard's book (although I do believe that he was a bit premature writing that...) & Robbie Fowler's is really interesting to see that differences in opinion out there about the managers! The chapter on the takeover was interesting as well...shame there's not been much progress on that front.

But yeah - worth the price alone just to relive Istanbul!

[Alison Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book - he completely speaks his mind and holds nothing back. Great player too!

[Kurt Lewin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good read for any football fan and I'd say a must read for Liverpool fans. Despite this book being written when Carragher was arguably in his prime, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind about teammates he had played with and any issues that had come up in his career like his early retirement from international football. He also wasn't afraid to talk about where he feels Liverpool have gone wrong in his time there which have prevented them from winning a title. It would've perhaps been even better had he updated this book since retirement so he could talk about the Rodgers and Hodgson periods and what he thinks of Liverpool now. I'm surprised he hasn't become a manager the way he speaks about what he wanted to do when he retired. This is a well written autobiography with very little family and growing up talk which I often find the least interesting parts of footballer autobiographies.

[Stuart McIntosh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read many sporting autobiographies and most are from footballers. Not all of them require the reader to be a follower of that player's club. I felt this one did. I want to give the author some latitude, the book was published in 2008, some 5 years before his career ended. I'd like to think that the pundit we now see on TV nearly 15yrs on has matured, become more humble and is as forthright in putting across his generalisations as a form of indoctrination to convince the reader he's the only authority the reader needs. I didn't enjoy this book. Shame, as I wanted to and quite like the man in his forties rather than the younger version who was still a player with a ready-made audience of followers of just one club.

[Jamie Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very surprised when I realised this was published whilst he was still playing. A good read which falls in to the same fault that I always find with footballers autobiographies. They are full of their self importance. I know they need this for what they do for a living but as a reader it puts me off the person.
Overall a good read in which he sheds a light on quite a eventful and turbulent time at Liverpool.
I wonder if he will one day update this book with a few chapters on his post playing career and the re-emerging fortunes of the club under Klopp.

[Alex Meecham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would like to give this a 3.5 start or so rating if the scoring system allowed.
I liked the book and it was a good read if you’re a LFC fan as I am, particularly as I grew up through the period he played for the club. Great honesty from Carragher although the book was a little longer than I would have liked. A good sports book on recounting a period of LFC’s history if that’s what you’re looking for.

[Jack Youd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obvious bias here being a Liverpool fan but this was one of the better football autobiographies. Yes there’s a lot on Liverpool. Yes it wouldn’t be great if you’re not a Liverpool fan to read about the great times. But Carragher is honest in all he says and comes across the same way as he does on tv, and that is genuine. From his days as an Everton fan to the end of the 08/09 season, each page had me invested. Great read.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read this book twice now. He brought so much to Liverpool and another legend who thankfully is still around even if it’s on tv. He is so proud of his roots and he is such a nice family man. He has done some lovely things to help others which you don’t hear about. Forget the negative (spitting at someone), this guy was an amazing player for Liverpool and he put his heart and soul into his football and it comes across in this book.

[Scott Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best football books out there

Speaks truthfully throughout , his take on the English team is amazing , coming from an Englishman who played at tournaments for them , to admit they are a last 16 , last 8 if the draw is good team was so honest to hear , the constant media we are going to win it is shown up in this book as a farce , the records between England and the major players in the world don't add up.

Well worth the read

[Kusma Adika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

I love this man &

I love this book. Simply irresistible.

[Anthony O'Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fan, this was awesome, a real biography. Cheers for sharing.
Hope you do a follow up.

[Paul McCormack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average enough

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. It is honest and informative

[Phil McGregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

+ No boring match reports, just the key info
+ Some decent revelations, he doesn't pull punches

[Michael Foley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this autobiography by Jamie Carragher one of the best I have read. 4/5

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rare biography from a sports figure that speaks his mind, and tells it as he sees it. Most football (soccer) books that I have read, the players say what good mates fellow players are, and rarely give more than a sanitized water downed opinion on anything. Carragher is very honest about his Everton supporting past (devoting an entire chapter to it), when other Liverpool players won't acknowledge or just downplay that part of their past.

Carragher talks about why he quit the England National Team, and his poor treatment of young players competing for his spot on the Liverpool squad. The highlight of the book is the Istanbul Victory against Milan.

[Tim Byron · Rating 4 out of 5]

very powerful beginning to this book which may be of interest to the neutral. Carragher's mother was put under a lot of pressure to have him aborted due to a misdiagnosis by the doctors. She refused and he was born with the easily remediable defect of his stomach outside his body. And now he has been voted one of the strongest defenders in Europe!

The rest of the book will be of most interest to football fans, particularly Liverpool fans. The chapter about Istanbul is memmerising. And his style is honest and direct (like his play on the pitch). With Carra what you see is what you get - I would be very interested to know if he used a ghost writer.... anybody know?

[Myke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with great insight from one of the worlds greatests footballers. He's not afraid to tell you his view on anything or anybody, and this book definatly shows that aspect of his personality.
The book did get a little long-winded at the end, and it probably could have done without the last chapter. It's the only reason it got 4 stars instead of 5. There was better content in this book, but unfortunatly, Jamie may once again be in the shadow of captain fantatic as Steven Gerrard's autobiography was a better read.

[Nisá · Rating 5 out of 5]

To complete this book in 7 days says a lot how much I enjoy it. The chapter on Istanbul is obviously my favorite. I still get goose bumps recalling back the most emotional match I ever watch as a fan. This biography not only gave me insights of who he is as a footballer but also dedicated husband and father. An easy read for someone like me especially when he explains in details every technical and tactical aspects of the game. I have a new found respect for him and of course a very proud fan! This is one of my best buy that I will read over and over again.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has to be the best autobiography I have ever read. Brutally honest about every aspect of life and isn't afraid to say what he feels. When he wrote this, the American's Hicks and Gillette were still technically his bosses and he doesn't hold back on how he felts about them. What I loved more is that it focused mainly on football and not family life which is what I wanted. I grew up down the road from Carra and can related personally to a lot of things in this book. He will undoubtably be a future Liverpool boss and hopefully will get his hands on the Premier League then!

[Bongofury19 · Rating 5 out of 5]

In terms of sporting memoirs, this one might be close to standing in its own in a different class. While it's obviously not up to date, the wit, intelligence and brutal honesty of Jamie Carragher makes this a thrilling read. He voiced his, usually well reasoned and informed, opinions on everything and anything, from you development to former teammates and coaches in a way few sportsmen dare to. Couple that with a large dose of scouse humor and funny stories and you've got yourself one hell of a book. We all dream of a team of Carraghers.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's written in a really engaging, personable way, doing far more than simply recounting Jamie's life up to that point.

I loved reliving all my favourite memories as a Liverpool fan and learning about what happened before I started following them (I was too young to remember the treble-winning season, for example).

I also enjoyed the insights Jamie gives into the history of not just Liverpool FC but English football in general - including why Sir Alex was so revolutionary. Would recommend for any fans of English football out there, not just Liverpool fans.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a Liverpool fan so I really enjoyed this book. Carra does give an honest account of his life at Liverpool and in the England team. He is equally honest about his talents and rivals talents.

The writing was not top-notch, but it is a very straight-forward, fast read..

I would definitely recommend this book if you want a behind the scenes look at Liverpool from the perspective of one of their loyalist servants..

[David Bowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed hearing about Liverpool from an insider's point of view. Jamie is brutally honest and his point of view of so many of Liverpool's recent players has coincided with my own! It is a pity it is a bit dated, being written in 2008. It would be interesting to hear what he thinks of what has happened since the book was written. All in all a really good read, well written and entertaining, especially if you are a Liverpool fan!