Stephen Carr – The Forgotten Man
It has been a season which ended with several high profile retirements. Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, United player Paul Scholes, Liverpool stalwart Jamie Carragher, the unfortunate Stiliyan Petrov and of course, the icon that is David Beckham all decided that the time was right to end their careers for various reasons.
They have all rightly had tributes and praise from all levels of the game which is fully deserved. Another retiree has been former Republic of Ireland right-back Stephen Carr, who announced his decision at the beginning of May. But Carr has been somewhat forgotten due to the other high profile retirements.
Carr initially retired in 2009 as he could not find a club to sign him but was tempted back by Birmingham two months later. During his time at St Andrew’s he captained them to promotion and a Carling Cup victory.
It was at Tottenham that Carr really made a name for himself, making his debut in 1996 and spending eight years at White Hart Lane where he played 290 games and won the League Cup in 1999. A £2million transfer to Newcastle followed where he stayed for four years before being released.
Carr also won 43 caps for his country, the Republic of Ireland, and was unfortunate to not be called up to the 2002 World Cup.
He had signed a new one-year deal last summer but has failed to feature for the Blues this season due to an on-going knee injury which forced him into retirement. It brought to an end a 17-year playing career for the Irishman and he will be remembered fondly both at club and international level.
I felt a tribute to a man who had been extremely loyal to each of his three clubs and never asking for anything was fully deserved even if his retirement had gone under the radar. His loyalty and consistency was often under-appreciated. Farewell, Stephen Carr.
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