Former England defender Stephen Warnock was left seething after he was denied a transfer to Liverpool due to his manager who put the brakes on a move back to Anfield
Stephen Warnock came through Liverpool’s academy but left the club in 2007(Image: Getty Images)
Ex-Liverpool star Stephen Warnock has previously shared how a dream move back to Anfield from Aston Villa was scuppered by former Reds manager Gerard Houllier. Warnock, who joined Liverpool’s academy at just 10 and made his first-team debut in 2004 under Rafael Benitez, later transferred to Blackburn in 2007 before moving to Villa in 2009.
However, a significant dispute with then-Villa boss Houllier, who passed away in December 2020 aged 73, led to Warnock seeking an exit from the Midlands club.
The disagreement centred around Warnock, now 43, being permitted to return home immediately after matches in the north-west, where he still resided. After being given the green light to head home following a match against Manchester City, Warnock was taken aback when Houllier reprimanded him and demanded an apology.
Warnock, however, refused to apologise and was subsequently relegated to the reserves, never playing under Houllier again. Liverpool, then managed by Kenny Dalglish, put forward a loan offer for Warnock with an option to purchase.
Speaking on the Undr The Cosh podcast, Warnock said: “My agent rings me and says, ‘You’re never going to believe what’s happened’.
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“So the manager [Houllier] was away when it [Liverpool’s approach] happened and got wind of it and basically turned round and said, ‘Tell them we want a £1million loan fee’. Liverpool went, ‘We’re not paying that’ and he went, ‘Well, it doesn’t happen then’.”
Warnock even offered to slash his wages by 50 per cent, but the agreement couldn’t be salvaged. He said: “I remember thinking, ‘You horrible man’. I was furious, I’ve never been so angry. How can you stop someone playing football? It was like, because it was Liverpool, he wanted to p**s me off even more.”
Gerard Houllier was a much loved figure amongst Liverpool fans(Image: Nick Potts/PA Wire )
Warnock also launched an attack on Houllier’s assistant, and former Liverpool legend, Gary McAllister, who had previously managed him at Coventry, reports the Liverpool Echo.
“I had a good relationship with him but when he went in at Villa, he just sided with Gerard all the time,” Warnock continued. “I remember thinking, ‘You’ve not helped me at all’.”
Despite featuring in the Liverpool squad that secured the UEFA Super Cup in 2005, Warnock was left out of the Reds’ team that triumphed in the Champions League final against AC Milan that same year. He later claimed that Houllier’s arrival at Liverpool marked a difficult period for him at the club.
Speaking to World Football Index, Warnock said: “Gerard Houllier was manager, which was a change from when (former Liverpool manager) Roy Evans was in charge as it was him who initially wanted to call me into the first team.
Stephen Warnock spoke fondly of his time at Aston Villa (Image: Getty)
“So, when Gerard Houllier took sole charge of the team, things changed and there was just a huge influx of French players, whether it was youth or first-team players.”
However, he expressed that his stint at Villa was even more enjoyable than his time at Liverpool. He stated: “Whereas, as much as I enjoyed my time at Liverpool, I always felt like I was treated as an academy graduate and treated as someone who you can almost scapegoat and leave out at times because you haven’t been brought into the club.
“Villa is a massive club steeped in history, so it was an honour to play for them. I loved my time at Villa even if it didn’t come as easy as I’d have liked it to because there were some tough times as well, but I really enjoyed it when I look back on it now.”
The passing of Houllier was deeply felt by Liverpool fans. The Frenchman is hailed for ushering Liverpool into the modern era, bagging a treble of the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup in 2001 and leading Liverpool into the Champions League for the first time. Warnock hung up his boots in 2018 and has since been working in the media for the BBC and Sky Sports.
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