Andy Carroll - Best Striker in the World

[Fredo]

Carroll is bound to look a little rusty. He spent most of the second half of the season injured. Now he is back in training he is playing catch up fitness wise. I watched the game last night and thought he done well considering how long he had been out. I'm fairly confident he will perform well for us

I don't think he's got the game intelligence to be a great player. He'll be decent and score a few goals, but that's about it, IMO.

[RedReet]

I hate commenting on Carroll as I feel I’m always being far too critical on him. I just struggle to see the positives that everyone keeps telling me and therefore my posts always appear to be quite negative.

I also hate this ‘right supply’ crap. With the ‘right supply’ Darren Bent could win the European golden boot, **** I probably could too.

I still take massive encouragement from the City game, especially as he scored an identical goal for England just before, but I still need more evidence that he can sustain that level.

[Parr_Zee]

I'd be inclined to say he's probably been our best player

If you think that Carroll has been better than Aquilani in pre-seaso, then you need your head read!

[JohnDoe]

Carroll is the type of striker who is almost unstoppable in the box. Give him the ball there, and whether it's on the deck or in the air, if he's got a yard of space, he's going to score more often than not.

However, outside the box, he's not very dangerous. Sure, if he's open from 20-25 yards, he's got a powerful shot, but if anyone is expecting him to start running the channels and expertly link up play far from the goal, then they've a very different idea of the type of player he is.

When we play poorly, Carroll will not get many chances to look good because he won't get the ball in dangerous positions from which he can score. When the midfield is clicking, Carroll will not need to drop deep to get the ball. He's a massive mismatch in the box.

I fully expect Carroll to be unfairly criticized for "not doing anything" in a game where our midfield struggles to move the ball forward with purpose.

[Fernandinho]

I agree with a lot of that, I can see him being the type of player who won't deliver when the team isn't. That is what set Torres apart, we could be getting battered but Torres would pick up a half chance and bury it no questions asked.

[JohnDoe]

I agree with a lot of that, I can see him being the type of player who won't deliver when the team isn't. That is what set Torres apart, we could be getting battered but Torres would pick up a half chance and bury it no questions asked.

Because Torres had incredible pace and could create for himself even when the opposition dominated possession. Carroll is exactly the opposite, he dominates the box, not open space. If you want to stop Torres, you drop deep and deny him space but if you want to stop Carroll, you've got to play the offside trap and push up.

It's not Carroll's job to punish a high defensive line, it's going to be Suarez and our wide players who need to be able to do that. Carroll is a superb striker for a possession dominating team that forces the opposition to drop deep, he's going to kill teams that are going to sit deep against us and it will help us massively in terms of unlocking a defence. Teams will not be able to sit deep against us effectively with Carroll in the team. Remember that, it's been our biggest problem in the Benitez era.

[DannyMan2006]

The key with regards Carroll is service and support. He's average on the deck and a beast in the air.

Ping the ball to him and he'll often win it, but there MUST be players close to him to pick up the scraps and knock downs.

In pre season he has been the high and the low point. When no one supports it's frustrating and pointless when they punt a ball up. But when someone supports it all comes together.

A Stevie G of 08\09 or a Luis Suarez is an ideal player to be picking up the scraps. Henderson looked decent in the role as well, as I'd imagine Meiteles would look decent too - they have massive amounts of energy and can get up and down to support.

He'll clearly be a regular so we need to get this right.

[red g]

Sounds like you are describing Heskey 2000-2001 lets justs hope he realises his potential and doesnt decide to spend the rest fo his career falling on his arse.

[billy_mac]

He's on the pitch which is a huge improvement from last year. Let him get his fitness and his form before we make assessments. I think he'll improve as we learn how to get the best out of him in terms of goals and assists.

[Mattshark]

Because Torres had incredible pace and could create for himself even when the opposition dominated possession. Carroll is exactly the opposite, he dominates the box, not open space. If you want to stop Torres, you drop deep and deny him space but if you want to stop Carroll, you've got to play the offside trap and push up.

It's not Carroll's job to punish a high defensive line, it's going to be Suarez and our wide players who need to be able to do that. Carroll is a superb striker for a possession dominating team that forces the opposition to drop deep, he's going to kill teams that are going to sit deep against us and it will help us massively in terms of unlocking a defence. Teams will not be able to sit deep against us effectively with Carroll in the team. Remember that, it's been our biggest problem in the Benitez era.

See I disagree, teams that sit back deep are probably happier dealing with balls in the air than they would be with skill and guile. Hence when Torres was fit had a great record at scoring against deep lying teams.

[dww]

See I disagree, teams that sit back deep are probably happier dealing with balls in the air than they would be with skill and guile. Hence when Torres was fit had a great record at scoring against deep lying teams.

I think the key will be how we get Carroll and Suarez to interact. Sometime it might be advantageous if counter intuitive to have the latter play in front of the former.

[Exiled_red]

Carroll is the type of striker who is almost unstoppable in the box. Give him the ball there, and whether it's on the deck or in the air, if he's got a yard of space, he's going to score more often than not.

However, outside the box, he's not very dangerous. Sure, if he's open from 20-25 yards, he's got a powerful shot, but if anyone is expecting him to start running the channels and expertly link up play far from the goal, then they've a very different idea of the type of player he is.

When we play poorly, Carroll will not get many chances to look good because he won't get the ball in dangerous positions from which he can score. When the midfield is clicking, Carroll will not need to drop deep to get the ball. He's a massive mismatch in the box.

I fully expect Carroll to be unfairly criticized for "not doing anything" in a game where our midfield struggles to move the ball forward with purpose.

I agree with most of that, but the big question is with the first paragraph: Does he have the ability or game intelligence to create a yard of space for himself at the right times to get those goals?

[Mattshark]

I think the key will be how we get Carroll and Suarez to interact. Sometime it might be advantageous if counter intuitive to have the latter play in front of the former.

I can understand doing that definitely, my big issue is how immobile Carroll seems to be, it is a major worry in setting up in that manner.

[Fernandinho]

I think the key will be how we get Carroll and Suarez to interact. Sometime it might be advantageous if counter intuitive to have the latter play in front of the former.

for suarez to get beyond carroll from knock ons?

[marcus50bucks]

He's been good all things considering. Looked lively in the games he's played in, scored goals, looked increasingly sharp, had an excellent beard for a period. Last two games his movement has been much better and he's looked a lot quicker than he did at the end of last season. It's always a delight to see him galloping through defences with his fetlocks blowing in the wind.

I'd be inclined to say he's probably been our best player

Take off your tinted glasses next time you watch him play.

Put aside his two goals, his general has been pretty poor. Yes he's won his fair share of aerial battles but his alround game really needs improving. His movement isn't particularly good as he is far too static and doesn't make intelligent runs. People keep banging on about service and thats my main gripe with players like Carroll. They offer nothing without service and I much prefer a player that has the skill to creat openings for himself if a games tight. Carroll just makes us look one dimensional.