Andy Carroll’s whole Liverpool career has been one of mixed emotions. The 35 million pounds Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli encouraged Fenway Sports Group to spend on him had some in outrage. But others were excited at the prospect of the highly rated Geordie’s arrival. Just days before the deal went through, Carroll had been ruled out for roughly a month with a knee injury, meaning he couldn’t come in and make an impact for the club straight away. His eventual Liverpool debut came 34 days after his deadline day arrival, when he came off the bench in the small matter of a match against Manchester United, at Anfield! His first touch was a hustle bustle type header in United’s penalty area from an indirect free kick hoofed up the field towards him. A sign of things to come? After another substitute appearance in Braga 4 days later, Kenny Dalglish eventually decided Carroll was ready for first team football. Despite goalless appearances versus Braga (2nd leg), Sunderland and West Brom, Carroll’s form was encouraging. Understandably though, everyone was waiting for that crucial first goal. That, as well as another goal, came on the 11th April in an extremely impressive 3-0 win over Manchester City. Carroll’s first goal was a fantastic strike. Typical of your old fashioned centre forward, a label he’d been carrying for some time. Raul Meireles’ shot rebounded off a defender, straight in to the path of Carroll, who unleashed a deadly strike with his favoured left foot from around 25 yards which flew past Joe Hart in to the bottom right hand corner of the net. The adrenaline filled strike saw Carroll run over towards the Main Stand to show off his trademark fist pumping celebration. Shortly afterwards, Carroll found himself off in the same place in celebration again, as he flicked on a Meireles cross, this time in to the bottom left hand corner of the net. An excellent night for Liverpool Football Club in general, and the record signing’s breakthrough in front of goal. That very display was an excellent portrayal of how to accommodate Andy Carroll, Luis Suarez and 3 central midfielders into the side in a successful manor. The mixture of crisp, sometimes unplayable passing as well as some excellent delivery from the flanks into the England international, was too much for the cash filled City to handle, as the scoreline shows you. After that, Carroll picked up another injury in the dramatic 1-1 draw with Arsenal at The Emirates stadium, and was ruled out for the season. The summer transfer window saw Liverpool strengthen in many areas. Dalglish realised Carroll needed more players to help him perform at his best, and signings such as Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam were clearly bought to contribute to this. Carroll made some successful, often goal scoring appearances in pre-season. Scoring on the Asia tour against Guangdong FC, in Norway against Valerenga and at Anfield versus Valencia. He was over his injury and scoring goals. He started the first game of the season against Sunderland, partnering Luis Suarez to make up Liverpool’s front line. The team were set up to play a 4-4-2 with new signings Adam, Downing and Henderson all present in the midfield. Liverpool had also acquired the services of Carroll’s ex-Newcastle teammate Jose Enrique over the summer and he was thrown in for his debut, playing at left back. Liverpool took an early lead thanks to a Luis Suarez header, and shortly after, Carroll hit the back of the net too, only for the goal to be ruled out for a foul on defender Anton Ferdinand. The decision looked very harsh and Carroll himself was livid at the referee, who didn’t have a very good day overall. The match went on to end 1-1. That, for me was the turning point in Carroll’s fortunes. Had that goal been allowed, I strongly believe we’d all be talking about the big man in a very different way. A goal in the first game of the season would probably have given Carroll the momentum to go on and score more goals on a frequent basis. This very event is one I don’t think people remember enough. Since then, Carroll has been in and out of the side and has not been given a chance to reach top form. I know what you’re all thinking, ‘He’s been given plenty of chances, if he was good enough, he’d have lived up to his £35,000,000 price tag and when given a chance, he’d perform.’ There are several things I’d like people to remember about Carroll’s situation, though. One of them I have described already. Had his perfectly legitimate goal against Sunderland had stood; this could be a completely different situation. Being the player Carroll is, he’ll always get the odd controversial decision go against him for ‘pushing’ etc, and unfortunately this was one of those occasions. In my opinion, people slating Carroll himself for his individual performances is wrong. As far as his personal performances go, Carroll has been fine. There is a difference between not playing very well, and not fitting in to the system. This is a new team, playing in a very unique way, and out of all the players in the squad, because of the type of player he is, Carroll will take longest to adapt to this method. Dalglish has implemented, ‘pass and move’ once again, which does exactly what it says on the tin. A way of playing, where it doesn’t take an expert to work out that an ‘old fashioned centre forward’ may well struggle to adapt. For me though, Carroll is much more than this label. His ability on the floor is as good, if not better than a lot of strikers, and his link up play is good as well. So out of all the players that fall under his category, I think Carroll can adapt to pass and move the easiest. To do this, though, he needs a run of games in the side. Something he’s not getting at the moment, and another thing people should remember at this moment in time. If it were me, we’d be playing a different system. I’d play 3 central midfielders, and have a 3-pronged attack with Suarez on the right and Carroll spear heading the attack. A system very similar to the one we play against City last season in the 3-0 win at Anfield. I think this system will get the best out of our whole team, but in particular Carroll and Suarez. I think it’s clear that Suarez’s best position is as a right forward, a role he has represented very succesfully many times for Ajax and for Uruguay. People have argued that when Carroll is in the side, Liverpool’s other players continuously launch high balls up the pitch towards Carroll’s head, faltering our pass and move way of playing. I think this formation would balance the team out nicely and send us back to playing some of the unstoppable football we played against Manchester City, at Anfield, last season. So if you want to judge my tactical mind-set, you can have that as another reason that Carroll may not be so successful at the moment. It’s not just Carroll who’s not at 100%. As well as the team is performing; I still feel we’re well off our full potential. There is work to be done. Carroll has been unlucky. The disallowed goal as well as several other denials from the woodwork or from another keeper who ironically grinds out his performance of the season against The Reds, have all contributed to such misfortune. The header Carroll diverted towards goal from Glen Johnson’s cross in this years Manchester City encounter was a perfect one. A beautiful header, but an even more beautiful save. I honestly feel that in time, Carroll can live up to his £35,000,000 price tag. As Kenny Dalglish keeps correctly reiterating, the sale of £50,000,000 Fernando Torres left us with money to spend, and we spent £35,000,000 on Carroll leaving us with £15,000,000 more. So really, we spent £-15,000,000 on the big man! To summarise, for Carroll’s fortunes to change, he needs games, a run of games. There is improvement every single time he plays. This team is nowhere near the finished article, and neither is Carroll. If Carroll gets his break, and things start going well for him, I don’t think England will miss Rooney much at all during those first two games at EURO 2012. It took Ian Rush almost a year to score his first Liverpool goal and really find his feet. At 22, Andy Carroll still has plenty of time to work things out and adapt to The Liverpool Way. Carroll needs support, and understanding. The best is yet to come. Back Andy Carroll. By Jack Sear Follow me on Twitter: @Jack_Sear_LFC 3 Comments It was to be a frustrating night in the end for Liverpool at Craven Cottage. A win would have seen them equal their record away run of 7 wins, but instead they came away from the game feeling hard done by. Both teams had their chances in the first half, Carroll stretching to connect with a cross which he could only direct straight at Schwarzer, and then Henderson with a sublime effort only to see it denied by the frame of the goal. The two goalkeepers made good saves as well, Reina thwarting Dembele after he broke through on goal; yet another example of how good he is when he comes off his line. He made three more good saves in the opening 45 minutes, denying the likes of Dempsey and Dembele from outside the area. At the start of the second, Liverpool enjoyed a period of 5-10 minutes where they had the home side on the back foot, and were unlucky not to convert any of their chances. Things got a bit spiky when Clint Dempsey was fouled by Bellamy, the Texan reacting angrily to the Welshman’s tackle. He was arguably lucky not to be shown a red card, as he first aired his thoughts to Bellamy and then got all up close and personal, as the players went face to face in what looked to be a similar incident to Sagna v Zabaleta last season. Liverpool in the end were punished for their inability to finish or perhaps lack of luck in front of the opposition goal after Dempsey netted for the home side in the 85th minute. The chance came about after Johnson let Murphy slip on the edge of the box, and he quickly got a shot away which Reina could only spill into the path of Dempsey. One thing I would question last night was the referee’s consistency. After sending off Jay Spearing for a debatable tackle – he won the ball but took the Belgian after – he failed to dismiss Philippe Senderos. The Fulham centre-half was on a yellow card when he dragged back Any Carroll and brought down Suarez on the edge of the area towards the end, but there was to be no early shower for him. Yet again controversy surrounds star man Luis Suarez. With an FA charge for racism hanging over his head, the striker was caught on camera sticking his finger up to the Fulham fans as he left the pitch. Whilst this may not have been the wisest thing to do, I think it would be very unfair to punish him for his actions, when Frimpong did the same to Lucas during their home defeat to Liverpool earlier in the season and remains unpunished. After a frustrating defeat for the Reds, it is important to get behind the team again ahead of QPR’s visit to Anfield on Saturday. With Jay spearing set to miss at least one match through suspension unless an appeal is successful, here is the team I would like to see face the London side at the weekend, playing in a 4-3-3 formation: Reina(C), Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Enrique, Adam, Henderson, Shelvey, Maxi, Suarez, Bellamy After the disappointment of indifferent form over the last two seasons and that of last season when we were eliminated from both domestic cup competitions in the third round, it is hard to imagine anything that us Liverpool fans would love more than to get to Wembley. Now, with Kenny Dalglish back at the club for his second spell in charge, Liverpool will be looking to get a return on the significant investment during both January and the summer months. And, so far this season, as with the second half of the last campaign, Liverpool are looking a much improved side. Whilst watching Liverpool playing City at Anfield last week, something struck me, and became immediately apparent. I paused for a second to think. No, I couldn’t remember seeing Liverpool playing so well for a long time. Nearly every pass was crisp, movement was intelligent, city attacks were dealt with in a calm and assured manner, and pressure was being piled onto Manchester City, particularly later on in the second half. At the end of the game I was left feeling disappointed with the result; I felt we could’ve sneaked a win, and if it wasn’t for an outstanding save by Joe Hart to deny Carroll right at the last, we would have taken all three points. The very fact that I, and I imagine a lot of fellow Liverpool supporters were left slightly disappointed by the result, shows how many steps forwards the club has taken over the last 12 months. Arguably one of the most improved players in the side, Lucas Leiva, had a fantastic game against City, which followed on from consistently impressive displays in previous matches this season and last. The combative midfielder made numerous interceptions, tackles and more notably some very good passes; a part of his game that he has clearly worked on since he joined the club in 2007 from Brazillian side Gremio. Another player who has gone from zero to hero at the club is Maxi Rodriguez, who netted 10 times in 28 league appearances for the club last term, including 2 hat tricks in 3 games in a fine spell of form for him towards the end of the 2010-11 campaign. Whilst he has not been able to force himself into the starting 11 much this season, when he has been called upon he has contributed to the team with crucial goals such as those against Chelsea, both in the league and in the Carling Cup earlier this week. Fans at the club have started to admire his hard work, in the same way that they have taken to Dirk Kuyt over recent years. Of course, it would be wrong to rule out other players who have also been in good form lately; players like Reina, Adam, Enrique, and in particular Luis Suarez have been hugely influential, with the latter three looking like bargains, costing £7m, £6m and £24m respectively. Enrique and Adam have been very impressive. Adam picks out the most outrageous passes with his left foot, and Enrique charges up and down the left flank, providing excellent delivery for our forwards, and defending solidly against some of the world’s best wingers. Suarez has done more than enough to justify the price we paid for him, regularly stunning fans across the world with his exquisite skill, flair and determination, and I think not getting the goals that he deserves this season to properly show the rest of world football how he good he really is. Still, at the age of just 24, the thought of how good he could become is quite frankly frightening, and Liverpool fans will be hoping to see him doing the famous number 7 shirt justice for many years to come. Reina has been an excellent player since he signed for us, and is renowned for his excellent ability to set up attacks with his distribution, and for his reading of the game, which is second to none as he showed against Manchester City last weekend, twice venturing far off his line outside his area to tackle Sergio Aguero and David Silva. Reina has been a fantastic 3rd captain whilst legends Gerrard and Carragher have been sidelined, improving the organisation of the defence and setting an example to his younger team mates. As much as I hate to think about it, inevitably age catches up with all athletes, and it will be the same for Carra and Gerrard when they have to hang up their boots. When this happens, I would love to see Reina leading the team out every week, as he has been a fantastic servant to the club, racking up over 300 appearances for the club, and has remained loyal through thick and thin, despite winning only one trophy since he arrived at the club in 2005. I certainly think that this is our best chance at winning the cup, certainly in the last 2 years, as we have a strong squad with good depth and quality, versatile players to pick from. Before the change of owners and management last season, I was frequently mocked by Arsenal fans amongst others, who repeatedly told me how we were a ‘two man team’, and that if Gerrard and Torres weren’t on the team sheet, we weren’t going to win; they can’t say the same this time around. Now when you look at the bench, it features the likes of Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez and Andy Carroll - a stark contrast to the beginning of last season and the year before, where youngsters such as Jonjo Shelvey were put, perhaps under unfair pressure at a young age, to perform at the highest level. Whilst the injury to Lucas Leiva which will rule him out for the rest of the season comes as a massive blow, I certainly feel that the squad we have this year is much more capable of filling the gaping hole that has been left by him. After an unbeaten run that stretches back for 13 games in all competitions, we are looking in very good form. Admittedly, there have been some disappointing results this season – some fans will feel that we’ve dropped too many points at home this season, drawing to Sunderland, as well as newly promoted sides Norwich City and Swansea. There are still inconsistencies to iron out, after a 4-0 drubbing at White Hart lane and a slip up away to Stoke. That said, I think it would be unfair to argue that we are not massively improved since the departure of Roy Hodgson, having earned fantastic results away against Arsenal in the league and Chelsea twice in the Carling Cup and the league. After a solid campaign in the League Cup this year, a tough two-legged semi-final tie awaits us in January against City, who currently lead the reigning Premier League champions Manchester United by 5 points at the top of the table. However, City are known for the occasional slip up, and can and have been rightly criticised for a lack of discipline at times. We showed on Sunday afternoon that we are more than able to compete with them, and I think and hope that the tie will be a fantastic advert for English football, and a statement to the rest of the top 6 teams that we are back. It’s time to show the teams around us that we’re ready to earn ourselves a place back in the Champions Leagueand chance to lift some silverware for the first time since 2006 at the new Wembley. |
