This is why he is dropped even after scoring important goals. Grabbing a goal in the Merseyside derby was a big step in getting the fans on side but in the following games against Manchester United and Norwich he was back on the bench and prevented from building his confidence.
The reason for this has been the superb form of Liverpool’s other signings. Fellow January signing Luis Suarez has been a revelation at Anfield since joining from Ajax, scoring freely and fitting in seamlessly so when Carroll was given the opportunity to play he has been expected to do the same. And this season, Craig Bellamy has marked his return with his own passionate displays which have put unwarranted pressure on the £35 million man.
It is easily forgotten that last season was his first campaign as a first-choice Premier League striker and he was instantly thrown into the limelight with 11 goals in 19 appearances for Newcastle. His performance against Arsenal in the Magpies’ 1-0 win showed his immense potential but at just 22 he is yet to develop as a rounded football and reach his peak, and having been signed whilst injured, manager Kenny Dalglish clearly has the “six years not six months” mindset with this buy.
Andy Carroll is a superb talent going through a rough patch. He has scored 17 goals in 56 Premier League games during his career, hardly a poor record for someone so young. Every footballer has a spell like this and the best players always come through it. His injury problems have made the spell last longer and the fact that Liverpool are off the pace has left everyone wanting answers.
If the club were really becoming impatient with him it would be clear to see but with the form of Suarez and Bellamy it is simply a matter of Dalglish playing his best team on the day. Dalglish is confident that Carroll will repay his price tag and so should everyone else. The fans and the media need to lay off him and let him get to what he knows best. The best years of his career are ahead of him. He will be Liverpool’s next great number nine.
What do you think? Is Carroll a good player or another for the scrapheap? Have your say. Comment below or follow me on Twitter @jrobbins1991
Written by Joshua Robbins for FootballfanCast.com
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Looks like a lumbering bear, err..mini bear…doesn’t play to his strengths nor his position! Only time will tell if hez gud enuf for LFC, at the moment, my verdict is thumbs down.
You can wonder what ever you want but he is 11 mil. worth player, and even if you pay enormous “English premium” he still can not be worth more than 22 mil., Liverpool just overpaid.
If he was paid his real value of 11-15 mil. you would never question his ability because he is delivering like 11 mil. worth player would.
Well i would say he is doing better than people think or give credit, get off his back, he played well against stoke a lot better than most. have we forgot he scored against efc lol already.
Id say give him a run and lets see what he can do.dont bring him on with 10 mins to go and then moan about him, get a life
He is a Championship quality, overpaid by 3-4 times. I think we should loan him ASAP to Championship, where due to his size, he can dominate sky-hoof English lower division game. And, if somehow, he can manage a good season, our first target should be to sell him ASAP, salvaging part of our loss.
I hope I am wrong, but he has absolutely nothing, which encourages to believe that he can be even a back-up forward. He is snail like slow, horrible first touch, absolutely no nimbleness, takes as much time as possible to turn. & now I am not sure about his heading ability; due to lack of pace, he hardly can reach at the end of a cross & not sure if he has any precision on his heading, making him ineffective in set pieces. I hardly have seen him keeping the head on target.
We paid 23-29 mn higher for him.
Don’t talk rubbish mate-championship???? How many strikers come up from the championship an score 11 in 19, get called up by England and score two against city? Worlds gone mad. As for the price, who cares? As long as Liverpool aren’t saddled with debt when wasting money then what does it matter? It all depends on if John Henry an FSG can, an they can. Relativity really. Some people a tenner beer would be a waste, some it’s not, depends on your budget.