“I’m no football snob” - Jamie Carragher provides clarity on him being misinterpreted by Gary Neville after Liverpool loss at Brentford

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has hit out at Manchester United counterpart Gary Neville for misinterpreting his opinion on long throws. The former defender clarified that he was not against set pieces and long throws, but did not like all Premier League teams using them and wasting time.

Speaking on The Overlap, Neville said that he did not agree with Carragher's comments about long throws. The Manchester United legend said that he was in favor of all teams using the long throws, stating:

"Carra said the other night on Monday Night Football... I thought it was really interesting because to be fair I disagree with the point, but he's not here - I wish he was here... he said he hates long throws and somebody else said it yesterday. They hate long throws. I'm like I love long throws."

Carragher has now taken to X (formerly Twitter) to clarify his stance. The former Liverpool defender wrote:

"For the 100th time I didn’t say I hate set pieces or long throws!!!! What I don’t like is every team taking long throws, & the time it’s taking out of the game. I totally get teams doing it who struggle & lack quality of getting the ball in the box, I also like seeing how teams. cope with them.

"But teams who have great technical players & have spent 100 millions on them should be getting the ball in play as quick as they can to get these players on the ball. I’m no football snob but this is taking the game backwards!"

Manchester United legend Roy Keane and Arsenal icon Ian Wright were also in favor of the long throws, saying teams used it to enter the box quickly.

What did Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher say about long throws?

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher was on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football earlier this month, when he gave his opinion on the increase in use of long throws in the Premier League. He said:

"I used to like that dynamic of the game. I am frustrated with the fact that I feel like every team this season has taken a long throw at some stage. You see the numbers and it's off the scale."

According to OPTA stats (via ESPN), 43 of Arsenal's goals since the start of the 2023/24 season have come from set pieces. Liverpool and Nottingham Forest are joint-fifth with 26 goals, while Everton and Chelsea are right behind the Gunners with 33 and 32 goals respectively.