JAMIE CARRAGHER was left dumbfounded live on air....CONTINUE READING
Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher was left with his head in his hands after former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry slammed Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly for his idea of a Premier League All-Star game.
The Blues’ acting sporting director suggested that the league could host a North versus South one-off game similar to the events held in US sporting leagues, but he has been met with disagreements from the footballing world.
At a conference in New York, American businessman Boehly suggested the idea of an All-Star game within the Premier League. “Why don’t we do a tournament with the bottom four sports teams,” Boehly asked. “Why isn’t there an All-Star game?
“People are talking about more money for the pyramid, in the MLB All-Star game this year we made $200m (£173m) from a Monday and a Tuesday.
So we’re thinking we could do a North versus South All-Star game for the Premier League, for whatever the pyramid needed, quite easily.”
Jurgen Klopp, Gary Lineker and Gary Neville have been among the names opposing a potential All-Star game, despite Boehly claiming the money raised could help fund the football pyramid, while Carragher and Henry were firmly against the idea.
Jamie Carragher was shocked at Todd Boehly’s idea of an All-Star game. (Image: CBS Sports)
“I don’t like them [Boehly’s ideas],” Henry told CBS Sports as Carragher had his head in his hands. “Because this is Europe and it doesn’t work like that. The team goes up and down, All-Star game for what?”
Carragher shared Henry’s sentiments. “I’ll be honest with you when I look at that statement I think it’s incredibly arrogant,” Carragher added. “To speak about a league that you don’t know, I am not as strong as Thierry, I don’t think we should ever discount ideas, the Premier League is an international league with owners, managers and players and that’s what makes it the best.
Thierry Henry was not impressed with Todd Boehly’s suggestion. (Image: CBS Sports)
“No [I wouldn’t have liked an All-Star game], I don’t particularly like those ideas but I think to come and speak like that when he hasn’t even proved he can run a Premier League club well yet, I mean he has sacked a manager after three games having spent £250million.
“So straight away you think ‘That’s not right’, so he hasn’t made a great start, to speak about somewhere you have been for about six weeks and say ‘We are going to bring in what we do in other American sports’, I just think how the American public would feel if an English Premier League footballer went to the NFL and said ‘We do this in the Premier League’.
“It would be incredibly arrogant to speak like that, and maybe if he is coming up with ideas to improve the league there’s nothing wrong with ideas, but I don’t think many people agree with him, some people might but to speak like that after being in the country for such a short amount of time, and he hasn’t even proved himself as a good owner of Chelsea yet.”
