Chapter 165 The Fourth Captain

Although Carragher agreed to let Chen Hero be the fourth captain in front of Dalglish, he still had some disagreements. It was just that the "King's" pressure was too great, and he didn't dare say these words to Dalglish directly.

He could only find Gerrard privately because there was something else that made him feel strange, which was why Gerrard had agreed so readily and had specifically pointed out that his relationship with Chen Hero was also good.

"Stevie, what are you really thinking about Kenny's request? Are you really planning to support Hero as the fourth captain? Although this captain may not be of any use..."

Gerrard smiled: "I really plan to support him, Jamie."

Carragher was even more surprised: "Why?"

"Jamie, how long do you think you can still play for Liverpool?" Gerrard asked instead.

Carragher thought for a moment and understood what Gerrard meant: "But I don't think Hero will stay at Liverpool for that long. Maybe he will have already transferred away before I retire, just like... Torres back then."

When Torres first came to Liverpool, he scored frequently and created a series of brilliant records. His influence off the field was also growing, and there were even signs that he was surpassing Gerrard, the captain of the Red Army—in Liverpool's shirt sales in December 2007, the number nine shirt with Torres's name on it was the best-selling.

In his first season after transferring to Liverpool, he scored twenty-four goals, second only to Cristiano Ronaldo, becoming the Premier League's Silver Boot winner. He was also the first Liverpool player since Fowler in the 1995-1996 season to score twenty league goals in a single season. In that season, he scored hat-tricks against Middlesbrough and West Ham United in the league respectively. He was the first Red Army player in sixty years to score hat-tricks consecutively at home. The last person to have such a great performance was Jackie Balmer in 1946.

Torres's performance at that time was so amazing that his teammates were all impressed. And the one who admired him the most was the current vice-captain, Carragher.

In his mind, Torres was the "Red Army version" of Rooney or Cristiano Ronaldo, who could take the Red Army to the next level.

"I really hope Fernando can give us a different season, just like Rooney and Ronaldo did at Manchester United. He definitely has the ability to do that. He's not just a great scorer for Liverpool, but one of the best scorers in the entire league, even the world. He can completely fill the void left by Owen. I really hope he doesn't stop. I know some teams will definitely say before the game: 'We really don't want to play against Torres!'"

He also believed that Torres had the ability to surpass the legendary figures of the Red Army.

"This is really a great deal for the club. He's so young and already playing for us, and he's signed a six-year contract. Over the years, we've had a long list of great scorers, and if he can keep up this pace, he will definitely surpass them."

These were all words that Carragher himself had said.

From this, it can be seen how much hope he had placed on Torres back then.

But as the saying goes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

Because Torres could never win a championship at Liverpool, and couldn't even participate in European competitions, he resolutely chose to leave. After making a fuss for half a season, he finally managed to sell himself to Chelsea during the winter break.

This made Carragher feel resentful—he had been so optimistic about him, but he just ran away like that...

So when Chen Hero transferred to Liverpool, it could be said that Jamie Carragher was the most calm of the team.

Of course, he was also happy about Chen Hero's joining, but he was definitely not so happy that he forgot himself, thinking that Chen Hero would become Liverpool's savior. When he first heard that Chen Hero was going to join Liverpool, he had the happiness of being hit on the head by a pie falling from the sky. But later, this feeling gradually dissipated, and the initial excitement faded, because he thought of Torres.

With Torres's example as a warning, he always observed and treated Chen Hero with caution.

He was always thinking, would Chen Hero be like Torres, performing well in his first season here, quickly becoming an idol for the fans, surpassing Gerrard in influence, and then, after a few seasons, abandon the team because the club couldn't satisfy his ambitions, and transfer to another team?

Currently, Chen Hero's initial development trajectory is really similar to Torres's—he has quickly gained everyone's hope within the team, and his performance is also very good, even better than Torres's. Torres only scored eight goals in the first half of the season after joining the team, while Chen Hero has already scored ten goals.

Relying on these excellent performances, his status among the fans is also getting higher and higher. According to the media, in the past two months, the sales of shirts with Chen Hero's number and name have surpassed Gerrard and Suarez, ranking first.

Too similar, this is just too similar...

And the more he is like this, the deeper the harm he will do to the fans if he leaves Liverpool in the end. This is also the same as Torres. When Torres left Liverpool with what could even be considered an "escape," the angry Liverpool fans burned their Torres jerseys to express their dissatisfaction.

And Carragher suddenly felt how ridiculous those previous praises of Torres, such as "he will become Liverpool's Rooney, Ronaldo" and "he will surpass Liverpool's legendary figures," were.

Hearing Carragher mention Torres's name, Gerrard smiled.

"You think Hero is the same as Torres?" he asked.

"Isn't it the same?" Carragher spread his hands.

"Of course not the same," Gerrard laughed.

"They are both very good at scoring goals, they are both very famous, and their influence has already surpassed you, Stephen, in less than a season after transferring." Carragher listed the similarities between the two.

Every time he listed a similarity, Gerrard nodded once.

After Carragher finished speaking, he asked: "Is that all?"

Carragher nodded: "Isn't that enough? Do you have to wait until Hero transfers away after three and a half seasons like Torres before saying: 'Oh, they look the same...'"

Gerrard shook his head: "What you said is all correct, they are both very powerful scorers, and their influence is very great, and has surpassed me. But these are just the surface, Jamie."

"Is there something internal?"

"Of course. What kind of person do you think Torres is? I mean his personality."

"Kind? Friendly?" Carragher didn't understand what Gerrard meant.

Gerrard glanced at Carragher: "Don't you think his personality is a bit...soft?"

Carragher was even more confused when Gerrard said this: "I do think Carragher's personality is very soft, and sometimes it feels like a little girl. But what does this have to do with our topic? You can't just treat him like a girl just because he has a soft personality, like a little girl, right?"

Gerrard shook his head: "Didn't you ask what the difference between Hero and Torres is? The biggest difference between them lies in their personality. Torres is soft in personality, and if he encounters difficulties, he is easily trapped in a quagmire and unable to extricate himself—his current problem at Chelsea stems from his cowardice in personality, and he loses confidence too easily when he encounters problems. Hero is different, the more frustrated he is, the braver he becomes. Although he is overly confident and a bit arrogant. Many people hate his arrogance, but I think his excessive confidence is what we Liverpool lack the most. Without a championship in five years, Liverpool really has no confidence, Jamie. Look at the last few games, what expressions are on everyone's faces when we are behind, when we lose, or even just draw?"

Carragher was stunned. As the vice-captain of the team, he certainly paid attention to the players' performance. He had also noticed the problem Gerrard said. Everyone had a panicked expression on their faces. It was as if they had already lost...

"Take the last game, for example. What were everyone's expressions after Daniel scored an own goal? You must remember, but I remember it very clearly. The TV broadcast gave a lot of close-up shots to many people in that game. Everyone was afraid, worried, and even felt desperate. But there was one exception, and that was Hero. He was shouting something at everyone at the time. I wasn't on the field, so I couldn't hear him. Do you know what he was shouting at the time, Jamie?"

Carragher tried hard to recall: "He seemed to be shouting... 'It's no big deal? It's just one goal, just score one back'..."

As he spoke, he looked up and found Gerrard smiling at him.

"He's not the captain, but isn't this kind of thing supposed to be done by the captain?"

Carragher's face turned red. This was his dereliction of duty, because when he saw Agger kick the football into his own goal, he immediately thought of the last game, his own own goal at the last moment, which turned the team's draw into a loss. This brought him a certain degree of shadow, so when he saw Agger also score an own goal, the panic in his heart quickly spread.

He completely failed to appease the crumbling morale.

Unexpectedly, at this time, it was Chen Hero who stood up to prevent everyone from continuing to think badly...

"Do you still have any questions about him serving as the fourth captain?" Gerrard asked.

Carragher frowned and thought for a while, then shook his head: "But I still don't think he can lead Liverpool to revival... His future is not very certain. He is not someone we have cultivated, and he will not swear allegiance to this team..."

"'King' wasn't cultivated by us either." Gerrard shrugged, looking indifferent. "Whether Hero can succeed or not is not up to us, it's up to him. But I want to give him a push... It's that simple. Do you want to help me, Jamie?"

Carragher was stunned for a while, then shook his head with a wry smile: "Can I say I won't help, Stephen?"