Player Watch: Andy Carroll

Alright peeps, lets take a look at our record signing Andy Carroll and see what’s in store for us in the future.

“So ignore, if possible, the inflated fee. English players are invariably overpriced. But Carroll has a swagger that should make him thrive the higher he climbs. Unlike the £24 million Bent, Carroll contributes even when not scoring. He closes down, he links, he creates, he clears when back for corners. “

–         Henry Winter Football Correspondent of The Telegraph

The most controversial factor regarding Carroll’s transfer is his fee, a whooping 35 million. Many LFC fans across the web has been asking, “ 35 million for Carroll? Ya frigging joking?!? ”

Simply put, Carroll isn’t worth 35 million whatever way you look at it. Xabi Alonso cost Real Madrid 30-35 million, David Villa cost Barca 34 million, and even Edin Dzeko costs less, 27 million.

So why did LFC buy Carroll of all strikers? Could it be because he needs no time to adapt, he is strong, aggressive, fast, good in the air, is raw and has more potential to improve? Possibly. And if not for Carroll, our only recognized striker in the Europa League would have been Ngog. Phew!

Carroll is the type of player we need, a big target man, who can fight with the big defensive players. Suarez, who has great technique and speed will be floating around defenders waiting to pounce on knockdowns from his strike partner. They could make a great duo up front! The only thing lacking at this stage are good wingers who can whip cross after cross onto Carroll’s head. Out of the 11 goals he scored this season, 5 of them were headers, making the need for wingers in the summer even greater.

All in all, I don’t think we’ve got a 35 million player for our 35 million quid, what I do think though is that we have got a 58 million strike duo that is worth every penny.

As  I have previously done for ‘ A closer look at what we’ve really lost.. ‘  I have compiled statistics of Carroll’s shooting, passing and possession play.

Andy Carroll’s Shooting

As you can see, I took the statistics of Carroll playing against the top 4 in the EPL, to see how he fares against the big boys. You can say that he has been quite prolific against the top 4, but aside from his goals, he rarely hits the target. Don’t fret, his finishing will undoubtedly be honed by King Kenny.

Andy Carroll’s Passing

These chalkboards says it all. Carroll is an all action player. Not only does he lead the front line for Newcastle, he also drops deep to help the midfield out. He has height to challenge for goal kicks in the centre of the park to help keep and gain possession. His passing can be improved, coming in at 55.1% pass completion in these 4 games. Not too shabby for a young player in his 1st seaon in the EPL against top oppositions. You can also see him chalking up an assist for Nolan against us, as many of you would recall.

Andy Carroll’s Possession Play

What is that? Yeah I know right? Very impressive indeed. Further enforces the point that this lad is an all action player.  Btw, blue dots for succesful tackles and aerial challenges, red dots for loss of possession on the ground and in the air. Very impressive stats against us, considering the towering Kyrgiakos was playing alongside Skrtel, who himself is decent in the air. Very veryimpressive stats, considering these are against the best defences in the league. He wins possession more than he loses it, and is a real handful for defences with the final 3rd of the pitch littered with successful aerial challenges.

Well, these stats certainly proves that Henry Winter is a very clever man with his thoughts on Carroll. His contribution to the team aside from goals is absolutely immense. The 35 million may not neccessarily guarantee us bucketloads of goals, but it definitely brings us additional attacking impetus and bite up front, and a totally new dimension to Liverpool’s attack that has been very predictable in recent years. If El Pistolero Suarez can’t maze his way through the defence to score a cracker, knock it up to good ‘ol Andy Carroll to head in the winner.

Beware, Suaroll and Carrez are gonna take the EPL by storm!!

Comments appreciated. :)

YNWA

Joseph