Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have dished out their end-of-season awards.
The two Sky Sports pundits were asked to pick their Best Player, Best Young Player, Best Manager, Best Signing, Biggest Surprise and Favourite Game on Monday Night Football.
Unsurprisingly, the pair didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye and only agreed on one award.
But what followed was an entertaining 10 minutes as Carragher and Neville handed out their accolades.
Best Player
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Jamie Carragher: Erling Haaland
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Gary Neville: Erling Haaland
Carragher: “It is like Messi and Ronaldo isn’t it in terms of that goal-a-game? I think before Haaland, City had maybe the best striker in Premier League history in Sergio Aguero in terms of his minutes per goal anyway. So how does Haaland score that many more than Aguero with a similar team, same manager? That just shows he is a freak.”
Neville: “It is the first time that the Premier League has signed a player who is going to be the best in the world or is already at that level. They go to Real Madrid, they go to Barcelona, in recent years they have gone to Paris Saint-Germain. They do not go to the Premier League. We have grown the best player in the world. For instance, Cristiano Ronaldo came as a young kid and developed. I felt this player was a phenomenon. We knew he was special and what he has done is out of this world.”
Best Young Player
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Jamie Carragher: Bukayo Saka
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Gary Neville: Martin Odegaard
Carragher: “I love him. I think he has been fantastic. Odegaard has been Arsenal’s best player, I just did not pick Odegaard because he is too old – 24 seems too old to be the young player.”
Neville: “I was surprised and shocked when I found out Odegaard is Arsenal’s captain. Where has that come from? But he has been Arsenal’s best player. Even in this difficult period, I think Odegaard has been outstanding. His quality on the ball. The best young player.”
Best Manager
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Jamie Carragher: Eddie Howe
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Gary Neville: Pep Guardiola
Carragher: “It was either Eddie Howe or Pep Guardiola and I think we all feel Pep Guardiola could go on to win the treble. How could you go against him if he does that? The only reason I went for Eddie Howe was that I just cannot believe what has happened from last season to this season with Newcastle in terms of where they were when Eddie Howe came in. I actually felt there was more chance of doing a treble than Newcastle being in the Champions League so that is why I went for Eddie Howe.”
Neville: “I was going to go for Mikel Arteta a few weeks ago. Gary O’Neil has done an unbelievable job at Bournemouth. Roy Hodgson coming in at Crystal Palace. So many managers have exceeded what we thought they would do. But there are only three teams in the history of football who have got to a Champions League final, an FA Cup final and won the title. Forget the fact that they might not win it yet. Liverpool in 1977 was stopped. But the fact that he has got to those finals is quite a unique event.”
Best Signing
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Jamie Carragher: Morgan Gibbs-White
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Gary Neville: Casemiro
Carragher: “I was debating over two players. I was going for Manuel Akanji. But I think the fact that he is playing for Man City means I have gone for Morgan Gibbs-White. I would not say he has single-handedly kept Nottingham Forest in the league but every time I watch him… it was a big price tag and he has justified that. He must be really close to the next England squad.”
Neville: “I could not think of a player who has had a bigger impact on their team. I look at United’s season, they are in the top four, they won the Carabao Cup and they are in the FA Cup final. I genuinely don’t think they would be anywhere near top four or doing what they are doing in those competitions without Casemiro. He makes them 30 per cent better.”
Biggest surprise
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Jamie Carragher: Lisandro Martinez
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Gary Neville: Brighton 1-5 Everton
Carragher: “Any centre-half coming to the Premier League who is under six foot, you are thinking they are going to have a problem but he hasn’t. Every player has weaknesses, but the best players hide their weaknesses. How can you overcome that? I wasn’t the biggest centre-half and I was worried I was going to get bullied. I thought he was smaller than me. But when you are talking about the role of Casemiro, I think there is a massive drop off when Lisandro Martinez is not in the Manchester United team. Defensively but also his ability on the ball in terms of playing out from the back. He is a warrior, he is a leader, and when you think of that spine, he and Casemiro have made a big difference. So I apologise to Lisandro Martinez. Manchester United fans please stop tweeting me!”
Neville: “Seeing them go to Brighton and rip them to shreds shocked the living daylights out of me, I did not think they were capable of a performance like that. Brighton had just beaten Manchester United. That victory is more than likely going to keep them in the Premier League.”
Favourite Game
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Jamie Carragher: Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United
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Gary Neville: World Cup Final
Carragher: “I don’t think it was the game, it was the selfie in the commentary box I took with him! It has been a poor season for Liverpool but that game will still be being talked about in 10 or 20 years, there is no doubt about it. You beat your rivals, 7-0, it is laughable, isn’t it.”
Neville: “We have had a very unique season where the World Cup final was sandwiched between two halves of the season. That World Cup final was probably the best game that I have ever seen live. It was absolutely unbelievable, that game.”
