He was loved by many in his first couple of years or so. He was great during those times, and, for a young kid, his attitude towards fans was first class - he'd never complain but spend ages writing to fans and sending them shirts etc. He put to shame many older pros.
Then he got big for England, and I never bought into the resentment about that. He got asked lots of times about England by London-based hacks who couldn't care less about LFC but wanted copy for their endless Engerlund guff. So no wonder he was quoted so much about England. It was hardly a scandalous offence. Carra was off getting pissed in his newly built home bar at the time - what a guy!
He was very badly advised to let his contract run down, and how he acted afterwards was PR-savvy but - to me anyway - almost inexplicable, knowing how he'd been before.
These days I don't really give him a thought, but I don't think he deserves all the crap he gets. He won us a cup, at least, and some great memories. To me, he either deserves indifference or a bit of warmth. And there's no need for him to do stuff now for LFC, but he does it, quietly and responsibly, so some of the flak is really a bit sad.