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Weeping for the Misfiring Andy Carroll

Andy Carroll. (AFP Photo)

Even though the big Geordie striker has been a regular subject of my articles (in a scornful way, more often than not), I consider myself a fan of Andy Carroll. Well, I was until he swapped the black-and-white stripes of Newcastle for Liverpool’s famous red and his move turned out to be a disappointment.
 
I remember watching his transfer news with a big fear of how formidable Liverpool’s forwards would be. A potential pairing of him and Luis Suarez was promising on any football pundits’ papers. Thirty-five million pounds later, Carroll is nothing but the embodiment of transfer disaster.



When Liverpool’s starting lineup against Stoke City was announced last Saturday, you couldn’t help but feel for Carroll. Manager Kenny Dalglish decided that he would rather see his team spearheaded by Dirk Kuyt — once a goal-scoring forward, now regularly a hardworking winger – than the ponytailed striker. The lengthy absence of Luis Suarez promised a long-awaited start for Carroll but Dalglish saw Carroll’s performance in the Carling Cup semifinal against Manchester City and probably said “no more.”



Carroll is isolated and forsaken on the bench. One can only wonder what he is thinking every match when he’s nothing more than just a benchwarmer, and an expensive one at that. 



We all still remember the massive hype surrounding him and the return of Newcastle to the Premier League after a season in the second-tier. Carroll was banging goals for the Toon and seen as a focal point in Newcastle’s scheme. I remember watching the Tyne-Wear derby last season where Newcastle won 5-1 with a native Geordie and he told me proudly (in a thick accent that I struggled to understand) that his team had a classic No. 9 again in the mold of Jackie Milburn and Alan Shearer.



Teams that just got promoted have always been temporary darlings for the media and fans alike, and Carroll made Newcastle look even more appealing. Carroll always took the mickey out of seasoned Premier League defenders who wanted to mark him. He had a killer instinct and his physical prowess was his greatest asset. When a ball was floated into the penalty box, you would expect to see Carroll posterize his marker.



In a world where classic goal poachers ala Ruud van Nistelrooy are no longer appreciated as much as they used to be, seeing Carroll play was a treat. He’s strong, lethal, physically hard to defend and almost unbeatable in the air. Carroll looked like a glorious blast from the past, a golden nostalgic reminder of old-fashioned football. It surely didn’t elude the attention of England’s manager, Fabio Capello, and Carroll was summoned to the national squad.
 
Early in Carroll’s career, when Newcastle played in a friendly against Juventus, the Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon predicted that the young striker would be one of the best strikers in the world. Buffon’s prediction looked like a good one until the Liverpool transfer happened.



Carroll should not be blamed for opting to move to Liverpool — he said he was forced out by the Newcastle management in exchange for money. But it’s hard to criticize Newcastle’s decision to ship the striker to Merseyside. Carroll was one of the Premiership’s leading strikers but that 35 million pounds that went to Newcastle’s coffers was some kind of a bargain for them.



The intriguing thing is why Liverpool doesn’t tweak its strategy to get the best out of the most expensive player it has ever had. In Newcastle, when Crhis Hughton was in charge, the team was built around Caroll. Feed him, and he would score. But things are extremely different in Liverpool and Dalglish has a philosophy of his own. Considering that Carroll and Suarez’s styles of play are as dissimilar as yin and yang, there was no way the two strikers could play together, and as a result Carroll dropped in the pecking order.



Unfortunately, when the wind should have blown his way, things were hardly better for Carroll because his abilities were not suited to his team. You can’t expect him to run without the ball to create space and drag the defenders with him like Suarez does. Carroll needs to get the ball hoofed at his feet or head, or else he will be as lonely as a one-dimensional striker could be in the opposing half.



It’s always a pity to see such a promising player fail to live up to expectations, even though his 23 years of age suggests that the long road still lies ahead for Andy Carroll.

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