Have we moved on from Andy Carroll?

Andy Carroll

Andy Carroll I’ve noticed a two camps forming over the potential that could see Andy Carroll make a sensational return to Newcastle United.

Of course there is a long way to go before any such return happens and I personally have severe doubts over whether it will happen at all, but all the same it does appear that we are actually in for him.

However there are two strong trains of thought forming over the potential transfer. The Andy Carroll we know isn’t the same one that has been at Liverpool for 18 months. On his day he is unplayable and Liverpool haven’t seen that often enough to justify the £35m they shelled out for him in January 2011 which has led to criticism from fans and media alike.

When Carroll left for Liverpool many people wondered what would happen with us. We lost other players like Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Jose Enrique soon after, but the upshot is that we’ve done just fine without him and, in my opinion, play better, more attractive football as a result.

Part of the problem with Carroll is that you have to supply him with the right service. Joey Barton was excellent at this and with Kevin Nolan feeding off the scraps we had a trio of players who all looked better than what they actually are. It’s no coincidence that since they’ve been split up the performances of all three of them have suffered.

Do we currently play to Carroll’s strengths and can we supply with with the service that he used to thrive off with our current contingent of players? I’m not so sure. I mean look at our wingers – Hatem Ben Arfa and Jonas Gutierrez – neither of whom are exactly renowned for their pinpoint diagonal crosses. Jonas, bless him, would fall over if he tried to cross a ball like that whilst Hatem is one to run it into the box himself. Marveaux I can’t really comment on as I’ve not seen a great deal of him.

Is Andy Carroll mobile enough to get onto the end of balls threaded through by the likes of Yohan Cabaye? Not on a consistent basis in my view and I struggle to recall a time when he could be the “last man” breaking forward in an attack.

In general I would say our play has moved on from Andy Carroll. His height and aerial prowess would promote a certain brand of football, which is generally sneered upon on Tyneside but seems perfectly acceptable as long as the player involved is a Geordie… However I still think he can play a role for us.

We do need another striker through the door and we know what Carroll can do so on that score it makes sense, and whilst I do think that in general our style of play has evolved shouldn’t it be all about having different options for different scenarios?

Wouldn’t Andy Carroll provide us with that?

Personally speaking I’m not overly against signing him again providing he is willing to wait his time. In no way, shape or form should he be a guaranteed starter although I do believe there will be plenty of game time for him here with all the games we’ll hopefully have this season.

On the other hand there seems to be an awful lot of hype about a player who, in brutal honestly, has done nothing since he left us. If we were signing an unknown striker who would cost somewhere near £15m would the clamour be exactly the same? How about signing Kevin Davies for the same fee? See my point?

There is a lot of romanticising going on and whilst it’s always a nice notion to see a local lad gone wrong returning home we have no way of actually telling if his one season with us was just a flash in the pan or whether he can hit those levels again, especially after spending 18 months pretty much stagnating at Liverpool.

Your thoughts please.

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

103 thoughts on “Have we moved on from Andy Carroll?

  1. Solano. His contract was supposed to expire this summer but then it came out that twenty had the option to extend it for another year. Sky are showing pictures of him training with twente, if thats from this preseason i’d assume the option extension was right

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  2. AMF just read your state needs another 49thou workers,richie can drive cattle-wagons,do you do over-size cabs 😀

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  3. @Dub ahh right.
    Still, one year left, 4 mill is probably about right. Seeing as half the people on here value Simmo at less than that and he is English + proven in the Prem.

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  4. Ice 🙂 🙂 there is certainly some spaces that need filling… Richie will be ideal, he takes up loads of space 🙂 🙂

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  5. Must admit that I agree with the majority of what Toonsy said. The point about Nolan, Barton and Carroll looking better than they actually are when playing together is an interesting point and one that I agree with. The problem with AC i think is that he’s just too much of a specialist player. While I don’t think that Carroll is limited to simply restricted to being good in the air, his game is too limited perhaps to become a truly great centre forward. If you don’t create opportunities to attack balls into the box then he won’t create much for himself either, whereas the likes of Ba or Cisse will. One thing I certainly wouldn’t want to see would be us making a move for Carroll at the expense of either of those two.

    It’s a tough one really. As much as I’d like to see Andy playing in the black and white again, it would be a risk and maybe the money could be better spent elsewhere. I just hope when Ashley and Co. make a decision on him, they make a business decision rather than a sentimental one. We’ve seen already that when they make a business decision regarding a player it’s usually the right one.

    Also, I’ve got a new post written by an NUFC fan up on my blog if you want to have a look. You can find it here:

    http://www.extratimeandpenalties.com

    Cheers!

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  6. It’s mostly just a romantic notion that makes me want Carroll back. However he is worth 20 million max! He would not be a guaranteed starter except thru injuries and squad rotation.
    I really don’t want him back for the same reason many others don’t, his presence would affect how the rest of our squad plays on the pitch.

    Although, now that I think about it, there were plenty of games last year when I recall us thumping the ball forward, usually Williamson being thr culprit. Hmmm, we shall see

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  7. xtratimeandpens I don’t think you need to worry about Jabba and co making any sentimental decisions about Carroll or anyother player, or even the Toon as its all just business to them as they have no sentimental attachment to the club.

    Batty young aussie seems quite taken by you, I think you’ll need to watch yoursel 😆

    Aussie you need to give poor Richie a break even he has feelings 😀

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  8. He does provide the “different option” and Pardew’s not averse to messing with formations, so he could certainly come in handy. I suppose he could also continue to improve & evolve, since he’s so young. The question is price. I don’t know… 15m is probably the extreme limit. There’s likely to be a more suitable striker from a no-name team just waiting for Carr to spot him.

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  9. BD, re: your last post..Richie started it 🙂 – Young is not a word that I can be likened to anymore & Batty is quite safe, I will chat to anyone, or argue if needs be 🙂

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  10. Interesting TC but I’m not sure that parachuting is the safest past time….

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  11. Ice, I guess I am young compared to an 80 year old like Dave 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  12. aussie

    I disagree, Crouch isnt a great header of the ball despite his height, He doesnt strike a ball as well, His hold up play isnt as good, He cant hit thirty yard passes, He cant run with the ball and ive certainly never seen him bully defenders the way mandy did for us and even at times for liverpoop certainly terry in the cup final…

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  13. CC, your description sounds exactly like Carroll mate 🙂 🙂 Jokes aside, I reckon Crouch has better foot skills and technique than Carroll but he is lacking a few too many kg’s to really boss defenders around.. My comparison was based more on the role they are destined to play in the teams they play for…

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  14. The nearest comparison to Carroll is Bas Dost and I reckon Dost is the slightly better player..
    Dost has just been sold by Heerenveen to Wolfsburg for a fee of about £6.5m.

    Carroll is not worth more than that.

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  15. Aye i know im making him sound like Pele but you just to watch that 5-1 or the villa 6-0 again, He is absolutely unplayable on form.

    I agree about the roles they play but Carroll can be so much more than just a big lump who can win flick ons Crouch cant IMHO…

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  16. @Aussie

    It’s not half as busy when Im not posting. Have you noticed? You need to be more interesting. 😛

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  17. Think him coming home would be good for newcastle despite what some say about him. bar crouch hes the best header of a football in england for me

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