Andy Carroll
{Profile Updated 01/09/12}
Date of Birth: - 06.01.1989
Height: - 6ft 3 inches
Position: - Striker
Nationality: - English
Current Club: - West Ham (Season Long Loan)
Estimated Market Value: - £18 Million
Linked with: - Just moved on loan
Club Statistics
Newcastle
2006/2007 season - 6 matches, no goals and no assists.
2007/2008 season - 6 matches, no goals and 1 assist.
2008/2009 season - 16 matches, 3 goals and 1 assist.
2009/2010 season - 42 matches, 19 goals and 12 assists.
2010/201 season - 20 matches, 11 goals and 7 assists.
TOTAL - 90 matches, 33 goals and 21 assists.
Preston North End
2007/2008 season - 12 matches, 1 goal and 1 assists.
Liverpool
2010/2011 season - 9 matches, 2 goals and no assists.
2011/2012 season - 47 matches, 9 goals and 6 assists.
2012/201 season - 2 matches, no goals and no assists.
TOTAL - 58 matches, 11 goals and 6 assists.
International Statistics
England U21
2009/2010 season- 5 matches, 2 goals and no assists.
England
2010/2011 season - 3 matches, 1 goal and no assists.
2011/2012 season - 4 matches, 1 goal and no assists.
2012/2013 season - 1 match, no goals and no assists.
TOTAL - 8 matches, 2 goals and no assists.
General Comments:
Hello again all. Over the coming few hours it is all going to get so hectic!! Therefore, us profiling Ed's are attempting to try and profile as many players who will be leaving Liverpool, and as many as possibly could be coming into the club as possible. The profile on Charlie Adam is already up, and we hope that there will soon be profiles on Joe Cole, Jay Spearing, Danny Wilson, Doni as well as some possible incoming players; Affelay and Llorente.
Anyway, this is my first profile of the day after only 5 hours rest, so please excuse me if it is not my best!! It should also be a good talking point as I know a lot of you disagree with my viewpoint on why Carroll should leave the club.
Anyway, the player. Firstly, let me start with his good bits of Andy Carrolls game. He is an actually a really good finisher, and he has a great long range shot on him. His first Liverpool goal came from a long range effort which thundered into the left of the Manchester City goal (facing it). Also, earlier in that January transfer window, he had scored against Liverpool from similar distance, when Lucas stood off him (I think it was Lucas anyway). But anyway, my main point is there are many times when you look back across the goals he has scored, and he has scored some real wonders of goals from long range. But also, his finishing aint too shabby either. I actually think if he gets the chance to score with his left foot, then it will almost certainly go in. However, his right foot is actually awful. That is something which is very poor about his game. If the ball is not on his left foot, then he will struggle. He cannot even seem to pass with his right foot! Maybe I am being a little bit too harsh here, but you get what I mean.
Anyway, he is actually a good player when it comes to controlling the ball, and holding play up; that is one thing I am actually impressed about in his game. Whether the ball is coming at him at head height, chest height, or along the floor, he always seems to be able to get hold of the ball and control it well, which is strange for such a big man!! Furthermore, he is also very good at keeping hold of the ball. He shields the ball very well, and his size and height help him in doping this as well. It is what you expect a sticker of his sort to be able to do - but it is one thing expecting him to be able to do it, and another thing totally that he can actually do it.
To conclude the good things about Carroll, I think his attitude and effort need to be n=mentioned. When he came to the club we heard all these stories of drinking, staying up late and eating too much. Not ring enough, moaning etc. etc. However, this has come out of his game now, and he has improved greatly at his time at Liverpool. In his first few games he would stand there and do nothing, would not track back or anything. But now, he will chance down the defenders, come back to help out, and generally just be much more of a team player. It should also be said that he is a far far far fitter and stronger player now than he was for Newcastle. He has worked extremely hard on that, and has improved, so hats off to him!
However, there are many things that are not great in his game. Firstly, his heading is appalling. Clint Dempsey is not even a target man and is far better at headering than Andy is. Andy is actually a really poor header of the ball, which is a surprise for a target man. How often do you see him score with a header? I can hardly remember any headed goals from him. SO many times you will see him just go wide wide a header, or just over the bar. I am sorry, he just is not good enough in the air, and I really don't think he is. For the type of player that he is, he needs to be far better.
Furthermore, both his movement and passing is very poor. He is not a great passer. You see him pass, and it can be behind the player, too far in front etc. etc. it is terribly annoying. His short passing should also be better than it is. He is a player who should be there to hold onto the ball, and lay it off with a neat little pass. However, he done not seem to be able to do that. It is awfully annoying; I can imagine it is even worse for his teammates. I also mentioned his movement. And normally, for a striker, you would say that they would be in the right place at the right time to score. However, Carroll always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. If a cross goes back most, then he is front post and vies versa. Yes, a little bit of the blame could be put down to his teammates not being on the same wavelength, but really, he should read the play far better.
His attitude, if you want it to call it that, is also terrible, when he is on the pitch. He is forever screaming at teammates, and opposite players. He gets far too worked up. It is good to see a player get worked up, angry and disappointed, but only if they show it in the right way. He shows it by blaming his teammates, then charging off and fowling an opposite player. It's not great. A few times he has got himself needless cards for doing it as well!! This also leads me on to his tackling. He just cannot tackle. I appreciate him coming back to help, but he should not tackle. He needs to be kept out of the tackle!! He tends to go diving in, and always gives the free kick away, causing more pressure to come onto his own team. As I say, he tends to foul more as he gets more worked up - and then by fouling the player, he gets even more worked up!!
To conclude this profile, I want to say that Carroll is a really really good player - just not for Liverpool. He was not suitable to our style under Dalglish; no way will he be suitable now!! He obviously has talent, he did so well for Newcastle and for the sake of the Kids career, he needs to go. I know I have already caused a bit of controversy, because I have said that Carroll should be sold. I gave my reasons earlier on the Liverpool website, and in case you missed them, this is why I believe that Carroll should go;
a) He won't play,
b) He won't get any better
c) He will warm the bench
d) Doesn't suit the style of play
e) We could still get a good return on him, is he bench warms for a year we will get only a few million.
AND, if we sold him for about £16 - £18 million, then that would mean we could afford Walcott and Sinclair. Now who would you prefer? Carroll, or Walcott and Sinclair (or players similar in standard). 2 players for the expense of one sounds a cracking deal to me!!
Summary of Carroll:
Strengths: Effort, Finishing, Long shots, Holding the ball up, Control and height.
Weaknesses: Heading, movement, passing, tackling, not very mobile, attitude and reading of the game.
The Business End of the Profile:
Carroll has moved on loan to WHU, on a season long loan. The loan fee is believed to be £2 million, and the future fee is believed to be £17m. WHU are also paying all of his wages.
Thanks
{A profile by Ed052}