“It was a little joke between Roy and I,” said the Frenchman. “I asked him if I could sit next to him on the bench and he said yes. I wanted to have that feeling again.
“It was important for me to be there to pay tribute to Jamie because I worked with him for six years and I enjoyed every minute of it.”
The fun all started in the second minute when Luis Garcia, one of five starters to have appeared in the Champions League final in Istanbul in 2005, accepted a pass from Emile Heskey and curled a brilliant left-footed shot in from the edge of the area.
Steven Gerrard, fresh from skippering England to a 4-0 Euro 2010 qualifying win over Bulgaria the previous night, made an 11-minute cameo before making way for Danny Murphy, one of several former Liverpool players to be given a warm reception.
Lee Carsley was back in central midfield for Everton and, as ever, epitomised the spirit of the afternoon when his wildly ambitious claims for a penalty for a foul by Carragher were followed by a comedy exchange with referee Halsey ending in a booking and a clip round the ear for the former Goodison favourite.
The second half saw a plethora of substitutions as both Hodgson and Everton manager David Moyes gave youth its chance in front of a big crowd, while Paul Konchesky made his Anfield debut following his deadline-day signing from Fulham.
There was a personal landmark for Joe Cole who scored his first goal for Liverpool since his summer arrival, turning home Ryan Babel's low cross with a neat sidefoot from 12 yards before celebrating in front of the Kop.
Nathan Eccleston, having moments earlier seen an effort cleared off the line by Everton youngster Zak Thompson, scored Liverpool's fourth in the 69th minute despite looking more than a shade offside.
Goalkeeper Jones, also making his first Liverpool appearance, made decent saves late on from Jermaine Beckford and promising Everton starlet Ross Barkley, while Jason McAteer and Gary McAllister relived old times for the Anfield outfit, even if their shirts seemed to fit a bit more snugly when they were last turning out at the stadium.
Remarkably, this was the first time Liverpool had beaten Everton in a testimonial match. But the day was about one man.
And having waited patiently after the final whistle, the supporters gave one final salute to Jamie Carragher – 636 appearances and still going strong.
