'Wasn't me at my best': Carragher picks his favourite time as a Liverpool player and names his six best mates

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Jamie Carragher loved his Liverpool career and became a staple of the club from the 2000s to the early 2010s.The former defender won multiple accolades during his time as a Red, including a Champions League, UEFA Cup, and FA Cup, some of his biggest during the run.Carragher decided to retire from professional football at the age of 35 and has now found himself in a comfortable role as a pundit.The Scouser loved the club so much that it was the only one he ever played at during his career, and was recently awarded the One Club Man award by Athletic Club.He had the experience under many different managers, with some being more successful than others, but according to the player, his favourite time to play for Liverpool was under none other than Gerard Houllier.3 Mar 2001: Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier with assistant manager Phil Thompson during the FA Carling Premiership match against Leicester City at Filbert Street in Leicester, England. Mandatory Credit: Clive Brunskill /AllsportJamie Carragher loved playing under Gerard HoullierHe recently spoke to the Lifejacket channel for their Boot Room series, where he was taken through each pair that he wore during his playing career and spoke about his memories of that time.When he got around to some of the pairs used in his early days as a professional for the club, he revealed that when Houllier was manager, it was an era with his six best mates that he looked back on fondly.READ MORE: Liverpool star Cody Gakpo achieves rare Netherlands feat and sends clear message to Arne SlotWhile he admits it was not his best time as a footballer in terms of on-pitch performance, he could not help but enjoy the feeling around the club.Carragher said: “And it was Houllier.

I’m going to want to start with these young players. I’m going to start again and build a really young team.

And he was really strict, but we all loved him.“He was just, I think this era is my favourite time of being a Liverpool player because I felt like the whole club was together. But in terms of who I would class as my mates at Liverpool, I would think Michael (Owen), Danny (Murphy), Robbie (Fowler), Didi Hamann, Sami Hyypia, John Arne Riise, that era of sort of the early 2000s.”It was a team which had some talented players in and you could tell by the way that people like Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen played how much they enjoyed football around that time.Jamie Carragher says Rafa Benitez was the biggest influence on his playing careerWhile he may have loved his time with Houllier because of the enjoyment it evoked, when Rafa Benitez came in, he admitted that it was the biggest influence on his professional development.Benitez led the Reds to that infamous Champions League night in Istanbul in 2005 and he will always be in the rich tapestry of the club’s history for that.But in general he was an influential manager on the style of play and how Carragher performed as a defender, which he praised in the video.He explained: “I’d say him and Gerard Houllier really the two biggest influences.