Parry 'staggered' by honours snub for Liverpool stars

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry last night claimed it was staggering that Liverpool's Champions' League heroes were not rewarded in the New Year's honours list.

Parry claimed that the stars of the Istanbul final at least deserved recognition on a par with the honours bestowed upon England's Ashes-winning cricketers, and also pointed out that Manchester United's European Cup-winning managers had both previously been knighted but there had never been a similar honour for Bob Paisley.

Parry said: "The decision to overlook key Liverpool players from the honours list, despite our magnificent achievement in winning the most prestigious club tournament in the world, was frustrating to say the least.

"It raises a simple question - just what do you have to do in a football sense to be recognised by the powers that be? I don't want to take anything away from the England cricketers but the fact that the inspirational efforts of the likes of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher in helping us win the Champions' League were effectively dismissed is little short of staggering.

"We have been here before. The achievements of Bob Paisley, the most successful English club manager of all time and a three-times European Cup winner, were never truly recognised. Alex Ferguson was knighted in 1999 after Manchester United won the treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions' League, but that European Cup triumph remains Alex's sole success in this tournament.

"Matt Busby was knighted after United's 1968 European Cup success. Both honours were richly deserved but Liverpudlians continue to write to the club expressing bemusement about the oversight on Bob. My own bemusement now comes full circle to encompass the failure to recognise the achievements of the Anfield boys of 2005."