Ever since signing for Liverpool in January of last year, the career of one Andrew Thomas Carroll has been the proverbial roller-coaster of emotions. A trophy, below par performances, important goals, heavy criticism from the press and a major tournament with England have seen Carroll become one of the most talked about footballers of the last 18 months. And that enormous £35million transfer fee has done nothing to stifle the talk.
Andy Carroll is still the most expensive British footballer of all time, a tag that should promise more than what the big striker has done so far. Now Andy finds himself at a cross roads in his career. Speculation is rife that new Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers may move him on. So what lays ahead for Andy Carroll?
With hindsight on your side it’s easy to argue that Carroll should never have left Newcastle United for Liverpool in the first place. Local boy Carroll was becoming a hero to the passionate Geordie faithful, wearing their famous number 9 shirt. He’d established himself as one of the most dominant and physically imposing strikers in the Premier League and had done so with his boyhood club.
But Liverpool, who looked a much more attractive proposition at the time, came calling and Newcastle were met with a mammoth offer which they could not refuse. Ironically, last season, Newcastle would finish above Liverpool and barely miss out on a Champions League spot. But this would have been hard to foresee at the time so Carroll probably made the right decision in joining the Merseyside club.
A literal hit and miss year and a half with Liverpool followed. Carroll showed better form towards the end of the current campaign, earning himself an England call up for Euro 2012 where he scored a fantastic header against Sweden, but overall his time at Anfield has not seen him reproduce the promise he showed at Newcastle.
All of a sudden Carroll finds himself at a club where his face doesn’t fit. The appointment of Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool manager seems to represent a change in football philosophy. The football that Rodgers played at Swansea City last season, where Rodgers made his name as a manager, isn’t crying out for a 6ft 3 target man. A Brendan Rodgers side gets the ball down and passes it. There is no element of route one. No ‘Plan B’ where they decide to ‘knock it long to the big man’.
Strikers Luis Suarez and Craig Bellamy fit into the Brendan Rodgers mould quite well, Andy Carroll does not. It may be this fact that has caused the speculation that Carroll may be destined to link up with a manager whose game suits him much better.
As much as Brendan Rodgers made his name playing possession football, Sam Allardyce made his name with Bolton Wanderers playing unattractive, but effective, route-one football. Now at West Ham, Big Sam may be the man to get the best out of Big Andy. A loan move to Upton Park and a subsequent link up with long-time friend and Hammers Captain Kevin Nolan seems increasingly likely. Especially if you are to believe what the papers say.
AC Milan have also been linked with a loan move for Carroll. The slower paced Italian league may play right into his hands but stern competition for places from the somewhat similar Zlatan Ibrahimović, may leave him no better off than he is at Liverpool.
A loan move may be the best option for Liverpool as well as Carroll. At just 23 years of age, Carroll still has the opportunity to get a lot better yet. Liverpool won’t want to be left cursing the day they sold one of the top strikers in the country if Carroll does come good. A year at West Ham could breathe new life into him.
Carroll’s price tag has probably encouraged a lot of the criticism that he has received. Was he terrible? Not really. Was he worth £35million? Not even close, it has to be said.
When you consider that Robin Van Persie, Luka Modrić, Vincent Kompany, Javier Hernández and Rafael van der Vaart were brought to the Premier League for a combined fee of just under £35million, then it’s easy to see what a vast sum we are talking about! And similarly- why so much pressure comes with it.
But one person who is not responsible for the price tag is Andy Carroll. He’s just the one who’s been burdened with it. His future may continue to be a mystery for the rest of the summer, but whoever he does end up playing for has potentially one of the country’s most effective strikers on their hands.
Unfortunately for Andy, potential alone doesn’t pay the bills. Getting the job done does. And getting his next move right will be crucial with regards to him tapping into that vast potential.