Andy Carroll - Best Striker in the World

[Lee]

3 little words, (love that song) and you could'nt get that right, not a very good advert for Est posters is it for our guest ?

Tits on a bull.

[fidget]

Truefan999 sounds like and has the same effect as a neurotoxin.

[Exiled_red]

Just joined this board and have to say that there is some decent banter on here.

Was interested to see what peoples opinion of Carroll and the £35m fee were, and was going to ask the question but then I found this thread. Can't really be faffed to read 70 odd pages, but read the first couple and the last couple and its quite interesting to see how peoples opinions seem to have shifted from one of elation at his signing back in Jan, to one of disappointment.

I was gutted when he left, and even more gutted when we didn't bring anyone else in to replace him. We certainly missed him in the 2nd half of last season, and it was quite interesting to see how anonymous Barton and Nolan became after he left. We still kept playing the way we had been which didn't really work.

I still have a sneaky feeling he will end up back at his hometown club eventually. I don't think he's had the start he would have been expecting at LFC, whether he is still trying to get his fitness back or what I don't know.

Gutted Enrique went as well, he is top quality.

Keep yer mitts off Colo. You can have him for £35m...lol !

Welcome to the board.

It sees obvious to most of us that he hasn't reach the same levels with us as he reached with you. Some believe this is the difference in our styles of play and the role he's expected to play, some believe the injuries he picked up and lack of fitness are to explain, some just don't think he's good enough.

Personally I think he will improve when he's settled into the style of play and when he's fully fit, he's along term buy, he wasn't worth the £35m, but hopefully he will reach his potential and prove value for money.

[cronemeister]

Cheers for the warm welcomes guys.

Never came across this board until someone linked to a thread in the forum I frequent and I had a bit of a nose about and the craic seemed decent.

Personally I don't think Carroll is worth £35m, but it was an offer to good to turn down regardless of what club you are. He had an awesome season in our championship season, and was on fire in the first half of last season, proving a lot of doubters wrong, but our style of play and the way we were set up was ideal for him. He's undoubtedly a good player who could either stay a good player, or go on to be a great player. Once he gets a couple of goals in consecutive games I think you will all see a different player.

I don't necessarily think we're a better team without him, more of a different team without him. A lot of our goals came from link up play between Carroll, Nolan and Barton, all of whom have moved on and we have had to adapt accordingly. Reading some of the stuff coming out of NUFC in recent weeks, it seems apparent that Pardew's primary focus is on defence, and making it difficult for the opposition to score, which so far seems to be working and I don't think that its any coincidence that our back 5 have been the only constant in our team this season. Colo, Taylor and Krul have been immense for us. Simpson and Taylor (Ryan) have done enough for me, but they have been helped out a lot and protected very well by our wide players, Obertan and Jonas. We are playing as a team for the the first time in a long time, and playing for each other and just generally getting stuck in, whereas in the past we haven't. Our performance against Stoke was the performance of the season so far for me - and that's saying something given that we beat the mackems.

Looking forward to sharing much more banter with you all in the future.

[Craig_H]

edit: Oh aye, Welcome to Est, Craig will be along after for some 'banter' about our respective clubs, enjoy.

What you talkin' 'bout Willis?

[Nicey]

What you talkin' 'bout Willis?

Burn the Racist !!!

[Vermilion]

What you talkin' 'bout Willis?

I'm talkin the beast of Banter!

[fidget]

Cheers for the warm welcomes guys.

Never came across this board until someone linked to a thread in the forum I frequent and I had a bit of a nose about and the craic seemed decent.

Personally I don't think Carroll is worth £35m, but it was an offer to good to turn down regardless of what club you are. He had an awesome season in our championship season, and was on fire in the first half of last season, proving a lot of doubters wrong, but our style of play and the way we were set up was ideal for him. He's undoubtedly a good player who could either stay a good player, or go on to be a great player. Once he gets a couple of goals in consecutive games I think you will all see a different player.

I don't necessarily think we're a better team without him, more of a different team without him. A lot of our goals came from link up play between Carroll, Nolan and Barton, all of whom have moved on and we have had to adapt accordingly. Reading some of the stuff coming out of NUFC in recent weeks, it seems apparent that Pardew's primary focus is on defence, and making it difficult for the opposition to score, which so far seems to be working and I don't think that its any coincidence that our back 5 have been the only constant in our team this season. Colo, Taylor and Krul have been immense for us. Simpson and Taylor (Ryan) have done enough for me, but they have been helped out a lot and protected very well by our wide players, Obertan and Jonas. We are playing as a team for the the first time in a long time, and playing for each other and just generally getting stuck in, whereas in the past we haven't. Our performance against Stoke was the performance of the season so far for me - and that's saying something given that we beat the mackems.

Looking forward to sharing much more banter with you all in the future.

Nice signature. FoC is funny.

[Lee]

**** paper I know...

http://www.people.co.uk/sport/2011/11/20/andy-carroll-will-be-given-a-12-month-boot-camp-to-salvage-his-liverpool-career-102039-23573899/

Andy Carroll will be given a 12-month boot camp to salvage his Liverpool career

LIVERPOOL will put Kop-flop striker Andy Carroll in a 12-month boot camp in a bid to salvage his Anfield career.

The £35million star’s diet and drinking will be closely monitored – and he is even prepared to ditch his trademark ponytail as worried Kop chiefs plan a new clean-cut image for him.

Carroll, 22, has scored just four goals in 16 Premier League games since his move from Newcastle in January – a slump that that has seen him drop out of the England reckoning.

Three Lions boss Fabio Capello left him out of the squad for the games against Spain and Sweden and he hasn’t been guaranteed a Liverpool starting place this season.

The new year-long health kick imposed by Anfield chiefs is a clear sign they are disturbed by his conditioning, even though they have repeatedly denied it.

A source said: “Andy is happy to go along with this long training schedule Liverpool have devised for him. It’s a conditioning programme which will look at his whole lifestyle. While Carroll is obviously a big lad he is not particularly muscular and they are wanting to put this right. They are not looking to give him more bulk, but more strength.

“He knows that as a £35m signing he should be the first name on the Liverpool team-sheet for the game at Chelsea but he also knows this won’t be the case.

“And as far as England are concerned he feels that his international career is going backwards.” Significantly, when asked if Carroll still had an England future, Capello replied: “Yes. But it depends on him, not on me.”

But Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish is defiant about his out-of-condition striker...and particularly that hefty fee.

Dalglish said: “Andy’s price-tag is only a problem for other people, not for us.

“He replaced a £50m striker which means we are £15m up on the deal – so he’s not a bad buy. Besides, we don’t look at anyone’s price.

“If someone comes here for nothing it doesn’t mean he has to be better than someone who has come here for £20m. If you can pass, play and score it’s no problem what you cost. Money is irrelevant.

“We are delighted with Andy Carroll. Two of the last three games he’s played have been his best two for the club.

“I don’t know where people get their ideas from about Andy. Stories appear on the internet about him and people follow it up even though it’s not always true.”

England boss Capello has warned Carroll he must be playing regularly and scoring goals to be under consideration for the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine next summer.

The England boss said: “Andy Carroll is a good player and a good talent but in this moment we need to wait.

“First, he needs to score goals. For forwards it is like a drug – they need goals and I am waiting for his goals. I am looking for his goals.

“But I’m not worried about him. With young players you need to wait sometimes.

“When some players change clubs, like Carroll from Newcastle to Liverpool, the pressure is different.”

[Kenneth]

That article is just plane awful. Padded with old quotes in the second half, and otherwise completely made up. So obviously the work of someone working from home with a stinking hangover.

[BigChief]

“If someone comes here for nothing it doesn’t mean he has to be better than someone who has come here for £20m. If you can pass, play and score it’s no problem what you cost. Money is irrelevant."

Maxi disagrees with this.

[Lee]

“If someone comes here for nothing it doesn’t mean he has to be better than someone who has come here for £20m. If you can pass, play and score it’s no problem what you cost. Money is irrelevant."

Maxi disagrees with this.

It's almost like a direct nod to Maxi.

[Baracus]

12-months. Bloody 'ell fire. What aload of bollocks that article is.

[James P]

12-months. Bloody 'ell fire. What aload of bollocks that article is.

12 month boot camp Presumably it'll be serialised on Sky Living in between programmes about Katie Price.

[cronemeister]

12 month boot camp Presumably it'll be serialised on Sky Living in between programmes about Katie Price.

Lol. I'm not sure I'm reading too much into that, but it seems like a 12month period to prove yourself or your out, I may be wrong.

Since he left the Toon he has had to be defended time after time by KD from the media, Capello etc and rightly so, as that's what your club manager should do, unless your Mancini you don't publicly slate your players.

I feel a bit sorry for Carroll to be honest, although he does himself no favours by his off-field antics. This may have improved somewhat since he moved down there, as when he was up here he was regularly in the local papers for the wrong reasons, I don't know if this is the case down there, but he seems to have kept himself out of the national papers a lot more. I feel sorry for him because he was always going to have to justify the £35m price tag, and for KD to come out and say the price tag is only a problem for other people is a bit daft. Its a problem for firstly Andy Carroll, but he is a professional footballer, and he should have confidence in his own ability that he will naturally be able to justify it. He needs the team around him to play to his strengths though, and at the moment it does not seem that that is the case so he is fighting a losing battle at the moment. As a manager, and the person who went to the board and said "Get me Andy Carroll...regardless of how much he costs", I would consider the fee to be a problem as well.

That article is 80!!0x though I must admit.

Send him back up here in Jan on loan for the rest of the season, that'll sort him out. Maybe he's homesick. Dunno where he's gonna live like cos Nolan's gone now!