I had dream Liverpool transfer blocked by Aston Villa manager – I’ve never been so angry

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The former England defender was furious after he was denied a transfer to Liverpool due to his boss who stopped the moveFormer Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock once opened up on how a dream return to Liverpool from Aston Villa was prevented by ex-Reds' boss Gerard Houllier. He said: "I remember thinking, 'You horrible man'.

It was like, because it was Liverpool, he wanted to p**s me off even more."Warnock also hit out at Houllier's assistant, and former Liverpool icon, Gary McAllister, who had previously managed him at Coventry."I had a good relationship with him but when he went in at Villa, he just sided with Gerard all the time," Warnock continued. He later claimed that Houllier's arrival at Liverpool heralded a tough moment for him at the club.In an interview with World Football Index, Warnock said: "Gerard Houllier was manager, which was a change from when (former Liverpool manager) Roy Evans was in charge as it was him who initially wanted to call me into the first team."So, when Gerard Houllier took sole charge of the team, things changed and there was just a huge influx of French players, whether it was youth or first-team players."However, he asserted that he enjoyed his time at Villa, even more so than at Liverpool.

He said: "Whereas, as much as I enjoyed my time at Liverpool, I always felt like I was treated as an academy graduate and treated as someone who you can almost scapegoat and leave out at times because you haven't been brought into the club."Villa is a massive club steeped in history, so it was an honour to play for them. I loved my time at Villa even if it didn't come as easy as I'd have liked it to because there were some tough times as well, but I really enjoyed it when I look back on it now."Houllier's passing was monumentally felt by Liverpool fans.