THE NEW CARRAGHER

Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard has said that the youngster John Flanagan, who made one of the few starts of the season against Everton on Saturday, reminds him of former defender Jamie Carragher.

Carragher is regarded as one of the finest players to come from the Liverpool youth academy in the last decade. There has been no progress in the youth team players into the first team since then. Gerrard is also one of the last of the breed. Flanagan, though, has shown tremendous promise in the match as he has played so far.

His best performance till date came in the 3-3 draw with Everton on Saturday. He was playing against Kevin Miralles and Gerrard has recalled that the Belgian international is never easy to play against. Even with the handicap and no experience, Flanagan managed to keep the striker quiet for most of the match.

Gerrard said after the encounter that he felt Flanagan was the best player on the pitch by a country mile. He expects the player to continue improving as the season progresses. The youngster was included into the team due to the injury for defender José Enrique, which resulted in the Spaniard undergoing surgery, and someone else wearing his liverpool tshirts.

"Our star man for me was Jon Flanagan by a country mile. He's been fighting hard in training just to get in the 18, never mind the starting 11, but the manager threw him in at the deep end against a top class player like Mirallas and I thought he was sensational. It was one of the best derby performances I have seen for many years. He reminds me of Carragher in a lot of ways," said Gerrard Liverpool Echo.

Liverpool have fallen four points behind Arsenal in the table. The upcoming tight fixture schedule could mean more appearances on the way for the 20-year-old.