deja vu

Jamie Carragher gets flashbacks of Thierry Henry’s hand on his leg as ex-Liverpool star learns of Aston Villa’s sacking of Dean Smith

The reaction to Dean Smith’s sacking as Aston Villa has been mixed – some shocked, others thinking it’s been coming.

But Jamie Carragher’s reaction was a unique one as it left him with flashbacks from an awkward encounter with Thierry Henry that ended up going viral.

Cast your minds back to October 2015 – shortly after a draw at Everton, Liverpool announced they’d parted company with Brendan Rodgers.

The decision was not a total shock but the timing took many by surprise, especially Henry.

The Arsenal legend looked straight at fellow Sky Sports pundit Carragher, who was sat next to him, before placing the tips of his fingers on the ex-Liverpool star’s leg.

Carragher’s reaction was priceless as his shocked and puzzled expression looked pierced the souls of the viewers.

Countless memes were created after the bizarre incident and Carragher has laughed about it many times since.

He was on duty for Sky when news of Smith’s departure broke and Carragher couldn’t resist slightly re-enacting that moment with Henry as he put his hand next to Jamie Redknapp’s leg.

“I thought that was going to be another Thierry Henry moment there!” Carragher yelled.

Villa’s search for a new manager is now under way, with Smith’s former assistant John Terry the early favourite for the post.

Terry left Villa in July to focus on becoming a manager and Andy Townsend believes the Chelsea legend would be an ideal fit for the top job at Villa Park.

“I think John has all the credentials to be a proper manager,” Townsend told talkSPORT. “So if he did want to take the job, I for one would have no complaints about that whatsoever.”

“I’d love to see John do it. However, I don’t think John needed to leave Aston Villa in order to become no.1. I think that might’ve been a natural progression at some time anyway.”