A FAR cry indeed. When Stephen Carr leads Birmingham City out at Wembley in the Carling Cup final, it would hardly be a surprise if he didn’t give a second thought to where he was two years ago, almost to the day.
Carr was in another part of London, the south east, resurrecting his football career.
After a self-imposed exile – it wasn’t really a retirement as such – the right-back was shaking off the cobwebs at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park.
As Blues had been in need of a right-back due to injuries (Sebastian Larsson had been deputising), Carr answered Alex McLeish’s call to train with them.
McLeish liked the look of Carr, Carr liked the look of Blues and so began a remarkable relationship that could be topped by him becoming only the second captain of the club to lift a major trophy.
“Was that two years ago, my debut for Birmingham?” asked Carr, who went an amazing 12 months between competitive football matches.
“I’ve been very lucky playing in the Premier League, playing in front of full stadiums.
“I remember just walking round thinking ‘do not get injured’ because I had been out for so long. I had a niggle in my groin as well and I just had to keep playing. It’s amazing how fortunes change. I never thought I’d be playing in another final.”
Carr had spent several months at home in Dublin, ticking over in the gym, going for walks by the sea and wondering what to do next.
Released by Newcastle United in the summer of 2008, clubs were either put off by the injury problems he had there, or the interested parties didn’t suit Carr. So effectively he hung up his boots.
“I don’t regret that time out of the game, no, because people still, to this day, think ‘oh, he had enough of football so he had a little break’.
“I had one offer from a Championship team. That’s all I had. And I didn’t fancy it because I didn’t think it would be a good place to play and I wouldn’t enjoy it. That was it.”
Carr was up against Palace’s rising star Victor Moses that dank night at Selhurst Park and saw the young pretender off. Blues drew 0-0 with Carlos Costly and Lee Bowyer both missing glorious one on one chances.
Since then, Carr has been nothing short of inspirational.
