CLASSIC CLIPS | with Carragher & Crouchy: The BRUTAL Liverpool Mentality That Never Let Us Enjoy Winning

0:00Jamie Carragher: You talk so lovely about how you've, you sort of embraced Crouchy. I want you boys right now to discuss this, this story I heard about what happened when Crouchy joined Liverpool and he quite fancied the hotel receptionist. And you were the one, apparently Jamie, that gathered all the players together and got Crouchy to explain that you really fancied this receptionist. yeah is in the Hope Street Hotel you know Xabi Alonso's missus and I came in and I was saying I was this girl on reception she's quite nice and she just keeps looking at me all the time and then you've tapped everyone knowing that it was Xabi's missus she's just trying to learn English and trying to be nice and I've told the story in front of Raina Luis Garcia and Xabi Alonso about Xabi's missus

1:00Jamie Carragher: i've never wanted to like the whole change just to swallow me up and go like oh no god this is horrendous that wasn't the first time he shithoused me by the way well yeah because he'd done me with england as well when we were uh when we were in england and prince william came to training and uh it was just after like the robot and things like that and we're all having a discussion and Kara goes, so, you know, Prince William, do you like the robot? And he was like, yeah. And he's like, do you want to see it? Do you remember that? Scandalous. Did you do it? Yeah, I did it. So you were in a line.

1:37Jamie Carragher: Yeah, and I'm like, I don't want to, Jamie, thanks. Scandal.

1:41Peter Crouch: He's laughing, isn't your giving it?

1:43Jamie Carragher: It's a good little clip, to be fair. I always wonder how long you know how to go on for. When did you start? When did you start? I'm like, give me a turn in now. Do you regret that you never had a celebration like that, Jamie?

1:55Peter Crouch: Nothing's beaten the robot. Nothing's beaten the robot. Listen, when you've scored five goals in 737 games, you don't need a fucking celebration.

2:04Jamie Carragher: We've talked about it on this pod, and I've heard you talk about it on another pod, actually. But when I arrived at Liverpool, that was, for me, it felt like, obviously, I'd gone up a different level. I'd come from Southampton to Liverpool, and already it was a different level to what I was used to. and it was only then when I got to play for Liverpool and play for England that I saw the mentality of elite players and I class you, Stevie in that bracket and then with England, John Terry, Frank Lampard, you know, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, elite players. I felt like the mentality and I've said it before that I felt like you didn't enjoy it almost sometimes.

2:38Jamie Carragher: For me, I still had the same, you know, mentality to be where you were but I enjoyed wins whereas I felt like you didn't. Is that right to say or not?

2:49Peter Crouch: Yeah, no, I think you're right. I mean, a big win, something really significant, of course you would. But it almost just felt like you were on this treadmill of like, we've got another game, we've got another game. And a lot of my wins, not my wins, the team's wins were almost like a relief that you hadn't lost. And I was like, right, we've got to go again. Because I think when you play for a team like Liverpool or United City, like look at Man City right now. We keep talking about they could win the treble, something that's never been done before but you could also end up with nothing and no matter how well they've done all season Arsenal are the same right now unless you do it right at the end you don't end up with anything so even when you're winning in August, September, October it means it's putting you in a position to win at the end so when I think of winning a game in the middle of October and thinking oh god we've had a great win it's brilliant, amazing it's a bit like no it's what goes on in May really that's when you're going to decide whether you've had a good season or not so it was almost like this constant build up to then and that's what it felt to me like a lot with Liverpool it was you know I can remember nights out and big Champions League semi-finals that we played because you know you're nearly there you're getting really close but throughout the season it just felt like right the next one the next one the next one but I think you're right I don't think I did enjoy it enough what I was meaning by that

4:09Jamie Carragher: is like straight after the win it felt like you were already thinking about the next game where I was like I'll enjoy this one and I'll think about that

4:17Peter Crouch: I'll think about that one tomorrow yeah yeah it was it was which is a commendable you know quality to have I always think would it have been different playing for another team was it that focus because Liverpool was such a big club and also it was like it was your club it was your mate's club it was your family's club if you just played down south would you have that same thing or would you think you know what I'm going to play I'm going to give it everything we'll never know so is that more like a coaching mentality that you've got then because we always talk about Guardiola or Klopp who say next game, next game, next game.

4:50Do you feel like that was probably more you in a sense?

4:53Peter Crouch: One of the reasons why I haven't gone into coaching and management is because I used to put myself through too much when I didn't play well and I didn't win. And I think it must be worse for a manager. And I used to just look at some of the managers and think, how bad I'm feeling? What must they be feeling? You know, and the closer I got to the end, the more I was thinking this is not happening for me in terms of coaching or managing. and I'm not doing it because I'm putting myself through too much, you know, mentally and trying to get over defeats and things when they, you know, go well or not go so well.

5:23So, yeah,

5:24Peter Crouch: I think that probably played a part in me not wanting to get involved in management. So when Crouchy joined, I want to ask both you guys a question. What did you think of Carragher before you joined? And the other way around, what did you think of Crouchy before you joined?

5:35Jamie Carragher: So I joined straight off through Istanbul, right? So I've watched Carragher, you know, Stevie, that team, lift the Champions League and possibly the best final we've ever seen. so like my opinion couldn't be higher I arrive at Liverpool and I'm thinking you know they've just won the European Cup right they should have fucking Sigurdstein'd anyone if it's not fucking real that was me first thought fucking Urquhart as well

6:04Peter Crouch: but I got over that very quickly we think we're saying Samuel Lett oh fucking Urquhart

6:11Jamie Carragher: but I knew that right And I genuinely knew that. I genuinely thought, you know, you thought they could sign anyone in the world, right? And obviously, yeah, it's a different thing, right? I arrived, you looked after me, and even when I didn't score for that long, I can only thank you and Stevie and people around you as well for sticking by me in that tough time that I had. Thankfully, I came out of that, but I don't think if I didn't have, you know, it certainly felt like Liverpool is a city, really. It's certainly the red side of the city. Sort of like I was on the inside of that, and then everyone on the outside was ridiculing me, taking the piss out of me and it felt like I had a group of people that would do anything, like, would fight for me and I felt that, you know, and I don't think there's any other club in the world, I'm not just saying that, that stick by a player like that other than Liverpool.

6:57Jamie Carragher: Did you know that's how it was for him?

7:00Peter Crouch: Like, could you see that? Oh yeah, of course, but we all know who's a good lad. The supporters aren't daft at Liverpool. Do you know someone, you know, even when you, how you come across, maybe when you speak to the press, how you are about the place, the way you play the game. There's certain players there who've had a different type of attitude to him, who are a different personality to him, who've struggled early on. And people almost have washed their hands of them a little bit, because it's like, no, you're not buying into it. This is not about just you being scoring goals. It's about, you know, you're part of a team.

7:30Peter Crouch: Okay, he's a good lad. We all want to help him get through it, or whatever it may be. And Liverpool as a city, whether that's football-wise, politically, it's a case of us against the world at times. And then if you want to start giving our man's stick, well, we're going to fight like fuck for him. And that's basically what happened. And also, almost the flip side of that, in a different way, is probably Michael Owen. And the reason I say that is because people always say, well, why wasn't Michael Owen loved as much as maybe like a Robbie Fowler in some ways? Because what happened with Michael was he became that good.

8:03Peter Crouch: He almost became the nation's player, England's player. and Liverpool was like no he's our player he's not your player he's ours and then this thing of like he becomes everyone's player so the relationship is probably never as strong as with maybe a Robbie Fowler who was just seen as like a great Liverpool goal scorer and a little bit like him in that everyone outside of Liverpool is giving him stick well he's one of ours but let's take the penalty shootout against Portugal for example do those moments stick with you or can you put them in a box and just see it as what it was yeah that one doesn't bother me too much to be honest, I don't think about it too much.

8:38Peter Crouch: You should only regret things as a footballer if you didn't get the most out of your ability or what you've done or you think I had more talent than what I did. And I think if I was one of those players, I would regret it. I was almost completely the other way. I think I completely maxed out with what I achieved because I think for me to be sort of playing for that club for so long, to win a Champions League, to be competing with some of the best defenders in the world, I had to be at my absolute best. I wasn't as good as them, but to be even close to them, it had to be like all or nothing type of thing.

9:13Peter Crouch: So I think I definitely got the most out of my career. I think you probably say the same. Exact same. Exact same, yeah.

9:20Jamie Carragher: It's not a regret. It's the only thing is like, I would like to be sitting here, same as you, like a Champions League winner. You know, like the only thing I think about is Athens. Like in 2007, I just felt that we were a better side than them. You know, we could have won, I think, 2005 obviously was incredible but you know to sit here I just think it elevates you know if you're a European cup winner right so obviously it doesn't I don't even know where the runners up medal is you know what I mean it's like it's pointless even getting there for me it's like that's the only thing I think about you know not daily but it's something that not I regret but I was just disappointed that we didn't do that in Athens

9:56Peter Crouch: I was so much more nervous for that game than the two years before because the two years before it was almost like I couldn't believe I was there I was like how are we here you know just enjoy it whereas 2007 we were a better team than 2005 and we were one of the top teams in Europe I think in 2007 you're expected to get to the finals and you know the semi-final and I remember before the game thinking how many players have won the European Cup twice not that many players it is you know it's an iconic thing to win and I remember feeling completely different going into that game than the first game we had a top team from 2005 to 2009 we were probably in the best four or five teams in Europe.

10:36Peter Crouch: And one of those teams always won it. It was either us, Chelsea, Man United, or probably Barcelona or Melani were just like the five teams, right? You know, at that moment. So sometimes you don't get a trophy for that. So we haven't won the league. Crouchy hasn't won the Champions League. But for three or four years, he's playing for one of the best teams in Europe. That's not even up for debate. That's a fact. So going back to that final, you said you're more confident going into it. What did you do pre-game? What was the morning like of that final, Istanbul 2005? Istanbul we would have just done a normal thing of going for a a walk I would imagine it's a long day you have to sleep this nap that Crouchy's taught us about the afternoon one yeah

11:16Jamie Carragher: he can't get his head around that absolutely fucking blows my mind if you were to tell me right now like right you're playing in the Champions League but you need to go to sleep now and it's this idea of the manager coming around

11:27Peter Crouch: like tucking you in yeah I used to sleep I don't understand I mean I tried to sleep I wouldn't always sleep but psychologically going to sleep for an hour what it used to do it wasn't the hour of sleep it was psychologically thinking I've had a sleep I can't feel any better do you know what I mean? So you were trying to get to sleep because you knew it was good for the gang Psychologically it was good for you It was hard to get to sleep

11:46Jamie Carragher: generally Yeah Sometimes if I hadn't slept it would play on my mind before the game I think I haven't slept here it's going to affect me just little things like routine is so important But you surprised me because I would thought like my perception of you was more a bit of a disciplinarian but you also sound like you've done so many jokes on Crouchy and the other guys, you don't even remember half of them. So the idea that you would quite sensibly go to sleep for a game seems a bit unusual.

12:32Peter Crouch: to the podcast with Nox and Jamie. Every Wednesday, we put together an episode dedicated to delightful idiocy to give your brain a break from all the serious and important stuff. Whether we're deep diving a classic movie, dissecting the true meanings behind the newest slang, or dunking on our own listeners for their bad takes or cringy stories, we always approach our topics with humor and just a little bit of side eye. And we end every episode with recommendations on all the best new movies, books, TV shows, or music. To find out more, just search up the podcast with Nox and Jamie wherever you listen to podcasts and prepare to make Wednesday your new favorite day of the week.

13:07Peter Crouch: ACAST helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts everywhere. ACAST.com