Football News: The Andy Carroll Conundrum

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What do you do with a player like Andy Carroll? On his day he can be completely unplayable, he is powerful, fantastic in the air and good on the ground too. With the ability to hit piledrivers from 35 yards or a diving header from 5 yards out, he is an extremely capable striker on his day.

The problem you have is that Carroll on the pitch tends to change the way his team mates play, not necessarily through his choice, but the height and aerial prowess he displays is tempting to a player on the ball to just take an easy option and lump it in his direction. No matter how much you try and coach players to play a particular way, when on the pitch they sometimes just forget about it and do the lazy thing.

His goalscoring record could be better, despite the ability, he has not scored as many goals as he should. Carroll lacks pace as well, particularly acceleration, and his movement is poor, so he is very reliant on outmuscling opponents to get to the ball. That means he is always receiving the ball under pressure, which makes it harder to keep possession.

Then there is the difficulty of actually getting him on the pitch in the first place, most of his season is spent on the treatment table, rather than out there where he can make a difference. Even now, he is out for a lengthy period at a time when his team could do with him to strengthen their attack. Instead more money will need to be expended by West Ham United to bring in a forward, which leaves him looking even more surplus to requirements.

Off the pitch, his attitude is not professional at all, long term injuries have occurred due to his drinking habits and recovery from injuries is hampered by his consumption of alcohol. Who can forget that the long term injury that he picked up at Newcastle United, and which was still afflicting him when he signed for Liverpool, was caused by falling off a bar stool while heavily inebriated? It is affecting his ability to get and stay fit enough to play.

It is very difficult to make a case for the Hammers to hold onto Carroll, and much easier to make a case for cutting their losses and getting rid of him. Sadly his lack of professionalism is the main issue. He can't be trusted to do the right thing for his own career, so how can the club trust him to do the right thing for them?

Written by Tris Burke July 20 2015 09:16:50