A tale of two James's

I am a big admirer of Liverpool and its players, there was a time when I did not believe that Liverpool and Charlton would ever be in the same division, not unless Liverpool dramatically declined, so it saddens me to hear a Liverpool player bleating on about how he is giving up his international career because he has not been picked by the manager. Jamie Carragher is a good player, but never has he been a divine right player. "At 29 if I have other players picked in front of me that are younger than me then what chance have I got. I have done it all, won the European Champions League, lost last years final" - roughly his quote from a rant on Talk radio. Well maybe he should look at David Beckham, a player who most pundits wrote off as McClaren took the reigns. Beckham fought his way back in the team and McClaren and the majority of the press had to eat humble pie. It was more embarrassing for McClaren to put Beckham into the team, it would be for him to acknowledge Carraghers form for Liverpool and give him a starting place. What about Darren Bent of Spurs, overlooked for Arsenal reserve, Theo Walcott, maybe he should withdraw from International Football, Both our Ambrose and Thomas have been overlooked, again and again, they should be getting their PR agents onto an announcement immediately.

What is it with these Scousers, Jamie Carragher for England, Danny Murphy for Charlton .. it seems if you are a scouser then you must play regardless of who else is around.

Then you have David James, a player who has been blasted, but still is probably the best goalkeeper able to qualify for England, for 90% of the time. But despite being dropped from the number one spot, despite having to compete against Paul Robinson, Ben Foster and Scott Carson, despite the nickname Calamity James says he is still available, it would be an honour to play for England, would never withdraw his availability.

Both players have worn the Liverpool jersey and both have represented their country with honour but Carragher has shown a distinct lack of bottle for fighting for his place, who could imagine Terry Butcher lying down and taking it if he had failed to establish a place in the team. there are hundreds of players in the Prem and Coca Cola who would die to play for England, but for Carragher it is such a worthless honour that he is willing to skulk over at Anfield, whereas David continues to promote the cause and fight for his place, I know who I would rather have in my team.