NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 15: Sky Sports TV pundit Jamie Carragher during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur at City Ground on December 15, 2023 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by James Baylis - AMA/Getty Images)
There’s one thing that’s always annoyed me, and that’s when someone who has insulted you tries to be your buddy afterward, as if they’re doing you a favour by extending their hand. It’s the sort of thing that makes you wonder if you should beat them to death with the olive branch, for which they seem to think you should be expressing gratitude instead.
I’m determined not to let this article drag on, mainly because the subject doesn’t deserve much attention. The guy at the centre of it all certainly doesn’t. So, I’ll be as brief as I can while still getting the point across.
I read with some amusement the other day that Jamie Carragher has “returned to the fold” now that Steven Gerrard is no longer at Ibrox. Now that his pal isn’t holding up the crumbling regime over there, Carragher’s once again a Celtic fan.
I read that and thought, “Who the hell is he trying to impress here?”
In case it’s escaped his microscopic attention span, being a Celtic fan isn’t something you just flip on and off. You don’t stop supporting the club and switch allegiances across the city. There’s no reason for that—certainly no rational justification.
No real Celtic fan would think that’s remotely acceptable.
In Carragher’s defence, he doesn’t seem to be making a big deal out of it; indeed, Gerrard left ages ago and this is the first I’ve heard this. But I clearly remember when he did make a fuss about being an Ibrox supporter, all because his mate was over there. This latest “return” seems to have just come up on a podcast or something, and when asked, he gave his answer.
Still, it irks me. It irks me because Carragher genuinely doesn’t get it. He seems to think it’s no big deal, like we should just shrug off his earlier nonsense.
But that flip-flopping is deeply unimpressive. It reveals a character flaw, doesn’t it? If your loyalties are that flexible, then you’re not dependable or reliable. You can’t be trusted.
Celtic has its fair share of celebrity fans, and Carragher isn’t the first to pull this stunt. Sean Connery famously did it when his pal David Murray was riding high at Ibrox back when Rangers were still around. Did Connery come back to the Celtic fold afterward? I can’t remember, and frankly, I don’t care. After all, this was a guy who championed Scottish independence but wouldn’t even live here to pay his taxes. He was hard to take seriously on any front.
What I do get a kick out of is the number of prominent Celtic fans in the creative industries—acting, music, academia. Just the other week, a friend and I had lunch with a Scottish actor, and it was a great afternoon, full of interesting stories and laughs.
We joked about how few fans of the club from across town are involved in those industries. It’s a bit of an in-joke amongst us, that Celtic supporters seem to be all over the creative world, with folks like James McAvoy, who was even a guest at Celtic Park last night, just one of the ever increasing number of them. With guys like him, you know that it’s real.
So, the “loss” of Jamie Carragher doesn’t mean a thing. It never did. To be fair to him, he’s not making a big deal out of his supposed return, and maybe that’s because he realises the truth: once you cross that line, there’s no coming back. You don’t get to switch allegiances to that lot and then flip back when it suits you.
Being a Celtic fan is an identity, it’s not a fashion statement.
It’s something you are, not something you put on and take off when the mood strikes.
You can’t be one of us and then one of them and then think it’s cool to self-define as one of us again; you only get one shot at this.
Carragher may think he’s back in the fold, but that doesn’t necessarily make it so.
Well said James!
Any credibility this guy had went the day he chose to spit on a young Manchester Utd fan after a Liverpool defeat, how he’s ended up back on TV after that is beyond belief.
I can’t stand the sound of his voice and refuse point blank to listen or read anything he has to say.
He should stick with Sevco, his character is more in keeping with what goes on over there, an absolute vomit of a man
Surprised anyone gives that disgusting man the time of day.
The media seem to have forgotten what he did.
Celtic dont need fans like him
In England it’s all about football, and up here it’s something different altogether, which inmy opinion is a sorry state of affairs. The Celtic , Rangers thing has been a cancer to Scottish society for over a 100 years, and some from both sets of fans, not all are a disgrace in my opinion. Football should be just about the football on the pitch, not the Neanderthal garbage that both glasgow clubs come away with. Jamie Carragher likes football, in the nature it should be liked, and fair play to him, he is a terrific pundit. I am glad he has came back to the green side though. HH
The Celtic, ‘Rangers’ thing certainly ain’t a cancer to Scottish society no more goodguy…
And hasn’t been for over twelve years either…
Because ‘Rangers’ are dead as the good folks at rest in the cemetery at the top of the town here up the road a bit…
But yeah – They certainly were a cancer when they were alive, I couldn’t agree more !
He grew up a blue and famously blamed his conversion to the reds on his blue childhood friends and their attitude…
Just like his mate Stephen.
So not surprising really.
They’re steadfast supporters of chasing the big buck that’s for sure.
Larkin1907
It was a crazy stance to take.
With his Liverpool background I would have thought this was a non negotiable.
You wouldn’t expect a ‘pool fan to suddenly opt for being a ‘Toffees fan.
I know the fault lines between the Clubs isn’t as sheer as in Glasgow as you get
Liverpool households/ families split in their following of the Clubs.
But even then, when you make your choice, you stick with it.
You can’t be a fair weather fan switching with the tides.
Why this moronic Scouser is even on TV escapes me.He is incomprehensible and talks a load of guff and is only interested in one team or one league when it comes to CL. He couldn’t find Scotland with a Sat Nav,prick.
Brilliantly put as always James it’s in our blood ??????
Carragher Scouse bellend enough said
We have a ‘guy’ on here who considers himself a Celtic man yet seems unaware how far from Celtic history, morals and ethics he is. He comments fairly regularly and yet when I read his comments and his name I come to the conclusion that there’s nothing ‘good’ about him at all. Always sympathetic to those on the wrong side of the conversation just makes you an arse
It’s called being a fair minded guy, and not a bigot, you should try it sometime. It is just football in the grand scheme of things, it’s people like yourself that has made it what it is today, the “glasgow fishbowl”. Dinosaurs come to mind.
Dinosaurs definitely come to mind with ‘Rangers’ goodguy – Both are very very extinct !!!!
Sir Rod was never away from Ibrox getting his pic with the Rangers Top with the players now look at the guy .2 wins in Ten years at Celtic Park enjoy with Sir Rod
I wonder who Gerrard’s favourite Scottish team is these days…
He’s another one that used to hold a Celtic scarf above his head and then a Sevco one which he had to I suppose as he was employed there at Liebrox…
Aye once a turncoat always a turncoat I guess…
I think Celtic (And Celtic supporters) would give a jump the dyke type a lot more slack than Sevco (And Sevco supporters) would for sure !
He’s as relevant as that irrelevance across the city .
Spitting on a child, that’s what he’s remembered for , prrick
If you’re a football fan then I don’t care which team you support but you can’t “change” and I don’t believe in all this second and third team nonsense either. I live in England and when I tell people I support Celtic they then ask “but who is your English team?” Laughable – I support Celtic, why would I want or need a second team?
Well Said James! I am a Socialist So Celtic fits in with my Mindset…..especially our fan Base.
Can’t be taken as a surprise when he was openly an Everton fan growing up & is now die hard Liverpool.
The man has no loyalties, much like most footballers. The loyalty is for who is paying you. Players like JF, CalMac etc are rare rare breeds.
As others have said how the spitting at a kid has managed to be swept away is unreal. He shouldn’t be near any broadcast.
Jamie who ain’t that the pr**k who spat on a 14yo girl for taunting him real class
I agree with you and read an article similar not sure if same one but they said Gerard won a treble which he obviously didn’t.. I’ll need to check it again but at the time I was surprised no one pulled it up..HH?
Left a comment already and checked story again .written on 19 sept by pranev shahaney. Ibrox news they claimed same about caragher changing back to Celtic but then claimed S.Gerard won the treble with sevco.. obviously lies..check it out man
He’s not from here, and obviously doesn’t ‘get it’ , but who cares?
I was in Milan about 15 years ago. Having watched Italian football on Channel 4 30+ years ago, AC Milan were my favoured team. But if a friend had subsequently had a connection with Inter, I could easily have switched by tenuous attachment from AC.
As it was, I ended up buying the Inter top 🙂