Why Isn't Andy Carroll Starting Games?

Some thoughts :

1. Carroll has been paid 35mil, in emergency in the last day of a winter transfer market and after Tottenham tried to buy him, "worth" is another matter. In other circonstances, in the summer and with no competition, he would have been paid 10 or 15m, and I think he's worth it. Now showing to the team that FSG will splash the cash if needed can well have been worth the extra 20 mil we paid him. Who can say if, for example , Pepe, wouldn't have followed Torres without such declaration of intent ?
2. When he was playing people were complaining and asking for Kuyt/Bellamy. Now Kuyt/Bellamy are playing and people ask for Carroll ?! Is the problem team selection or the fans never being happy ?
3. As any other player, he doesn't play because he's not showing enough in training to be picked, or because other players are showing more, or because Kenny don't consider him suited for the tactics he wants the team to use.
4. As any other player, he will play if he shows enough, or if Kenny consider him adapted to the opposition.
5. He's 22 year old and has a long term contract, there's no urgency to play him or to call him a flop. Nobody can say how useful he will be in the coming years. He may even desserve to have been paid 35mil at some point.
6. For the moment, I think he has some problems with the pressure of being the huge signing of a big club. Perhaps the best for him would be that people forget he is there, until he's ready and Kenny starts to use him regularly.

ps :

I think Kenny is so confused about his lineups the whole team is confused. We have no defined playing style.

And the whole "free flowing fast pace football" is 100% bullsh*t. I can't even start to count the amount of times the ball was simply hoofed to Suarez to let him do something vs 3 defenders and then get blamed for not being clynical. The rest of our chances came from 1 of every 10 balls that were shoved into the area just because. So I don't see exactly how would Carroll disrupt anything, the problem isn't him not fitting in our playstyle, it's the fact that there is not even a playstyle to adapt to, and I think we can see that is f***ing with everyone, Downing, Adam, Gerrard, Suarez, Kuyt, they all look lost as f**k.

7. I think an "Is Kenny the right man ?" subject should be opened to centralize this kind of posts. People seem to have difficulties to find the knee jerk thread.

ps :
7. I think an "Is Kenny the right man ?" subject should be opened to centralize this kind of posts. People seem to have difficulties to find the knee jerk thread.

Be like shooting fish in a barrell though!

I think an "Is Kenny the right man ?" subject should be opened to centralize this kind of posts. People seem to have difficulties to find the knee jerk thread.

Personally, I think that Kenny is the right man to get us back to the top. To be honest, my opinion is based on his success back in the late 80's / early 90's with LFC and Blackburn, and by some very good performances we've had under him since his return. Still, he is yet to develop any consistent strategy and regular tactics for this LFC team. He is still experimenting, and we are yet to see the final outcome of those experiments. It is very likely that he will succeed, but there is always a chance that he will fail. After all, 11 years out of management is a long time. I think that we will have a better overall picture come the end of the season.

Who can say if, for example , Pepe, wouldn't have followed Torres without such declaration of intent ?

There was no time left for Pepe to leave in that window... we could aways make a declaration of intent in the next transfer window.

Some thoughts :

1. Carroll has been paid 35mil, in emergency in the last day of a winter transfer market and after Tottenham tried to buy him, "worth" is another matter. In other circonstances, in the summer and with no competition, he would have been paid 10 or 15m, and I think he's worth it. Now showing to the team that FSG will splash the cash if needed can well have been worth the extra 20 mil we paid him. Who can say if, for example , Pepe, wouldn't have followed Torres without such declaration of intent ?
2. When he was playing people were complaining and asking for Kuyt/Bellamy. Now Kuyt/Bellamy are playing and people ask for Carroll ?! Is the problem team selection or the fans never being happy ?
3. As any other player, he doesn't play because he's not showing enough in training to be picked, or because other players are showing more, or because Kenny don't consider him suited for the tactics he wants the team to use.
4. As any other player, he will play if he shows enough, or if Kenny consider him adapted to the opposition.
5. He's 22 year old and has a long term contract, there's no urgency to play him or to call him a flop. N*body can say how useful he will be in the coming years. He may even desserve to have been paid 35mil at some point.
6. For the moment, I think he has some problems with the pressure of being the huge signing of a big club. Perhaps the best for him would be that people forget he is there, until he's ready and Kenny starts to use him regularly.

ps :
7. I think an "Is Kenny the right man ?" subject should be opened to centralize this kind of posts. People seem to have difficulties to find the knee jerk thread.

An excellent balanced post that.

I think when you hear Kenny talk about the lad he always reiterates that he was bought for 5 years and not necessarily for this very minute. Now perhaps that's a nice way of saying Andy isn't quite doing it at the moment but i'm happy nto take Kenny at his word and am sure the lad will get his chances over the course of the season. We've got a pretty good sized squad now and not being in Europe is actually putting quite a bit of pressure on the players in tersm of competition for matchday. You've got a number of good players (Spearing, Maxi, Robinson, Flanno, Aurelio) who could all use the games but there aren't too many to go around.

He ain't going to get five games in a row if he is not performing.  Kenny will judge him on a game by game basis.  Keane or babel were never given five games in a row

Then surely this begs the question why buy him in the firts place ?.

Then surely this begs the question why buy him in the firts place ?.

Potential wasn't it.  We all know that he isn't the finished article, but in a couple of seasons he will be.  Kenny I think has taken him out of the team for the time being and will know when he wants to put him back in.

I'm fully behind the guy.  He ain't been with us five minutes, and for a lot of time he was injured.  He's finding his feet as the team are finding theirs.  It's a project, we're not the finished article, but are going in the right direction.  We have many options.  I see no need to say players are a waste of money etc.  Look at the bigger picture.

I was rather disappointed to see Andy only get a few minutes of playing time after scoring in the Derby. But, I do think Kenny got his tactics spot on in both games. We should have won both on the balance of play, and really that is all the manager can do tactically, is set the team up to win. Once they're out there, Kenny can't put the ball in the back of the net (but F**k me if we could get him in the kit ). He's got it right the last two games as far as starting lineup, in my eyes, given the balance of both games.

Now substitutions, on the other hand. That's another story.

I expect Andy to start against Stoke, and I have a feeling he'll bag one or two, especially if Downing and/or Gerrard play.

I was rather disappointed to see Andy only get a few minutes of playing time after scoring in the Derby. But, I do think Kenny got his tactics spot on in both games. We should have won both on the balance of play, and really that is all the manager can do tactically, is set the team up to win. Once they're out there, Kenny can't put the ball in the back of the net (but f**k me if we could get him in the kit ). He's got it right the last two games as far as starting lineup, in my eyes, given the balance of both games.

Now substitutions, on the other hand. That's another story.

I expect Andy to start against Stoke, and I have a feeling he'll bag one or two, especially if Downing and/or Gerrard play.

Hopefully he does score a couple of goals, it definitely would be a confidence booster for him.

Whats the matter with Andy?

Bleacher Report uses Carroll as one reason to consider the return of Torres.

As far as Carroll is concerned the article ain't pretty ... but much of what it says I now believe is true.


We just don't want to admit it.

Andy Carroll is not good enough to start for Liverpool Football Club right now and is, quite frankly, a long way from being good enough to start for Liverpool Football Club.

Anyone who cares to dispute that simply hasn't watched him play in a red jersey or is suffering from a case of blind faith.

It is my own personal belief that he will never be good enough, but I'll give the lad the benefit of the doubt for now and estimate that it will be at least two years before he has reached a level of play that is even worthy of the red shirt.

As I stated in the previous slide, form is temporary.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, Damien Comolli mistook one three-month spell of good form for long-term class and panicked into spending £35 million on a player who was worth no more than £15 million.
It ranks right up there with the worst transfer deals in football history, and in terms of value for money, you won't find a worse case.

Andy Carroll has been dropped more times than he has started this season which, to me, indicates that regardless of Kenny Dalglish's comments to the English media, he simply doesn't have faith in Carroll right now. Carroll has been confined to a position on the bench and on a number of occasions hasn't even been granted a cameo role late in games.

Liverpool have a number of options with regards to Carroll.
The first is that they could start him every week to the detriment of the team and hope that he improves or at least notches a couple of goals.
Playing Carroll from the start can often be like playing with 10 men because if he's not scoring goals, he really offers nothing else to the team.

The second option is to continue to confine him to the bench and hope that he can improve by being an impact substitute and by working hard on the training ground.

Unfortunately, Carroll's aptitude for hard work on the training is very low.
Rather than spending his summer at Melwood working hard to ensure that he was in peak condition coming into the new season, he spent it partying on numerous beaches.

As a result of that, he entered this season in nothing close to peak fitness and people are still, in December, attempting to use the excuse that he isn't fully fit after his thigh injury. Need I remind people that he returned to action from that thigh injury in April?

Eric Abidal had a tumour removed from his liver and returned in just over two months and looked like he hadn't missed a day.
An eight month secondary recovery following the initial four month recovery for a thigh injury is just not a credible excuse.

To make matter worse, Pepe Reina recently revealed that Andy Carroll is the worst trainer at the club, so he's clearly not putting in the required effort.

The third option is to sell Carroll but let's be honest here, nobody else ever considered him to be worth £35 million so we can rule out recouping what we paid for him. And given his form since joining Liverpool, nobody will even come close to offering the £12-15 million which would represent his true market value. The best Liverpool could hope for would be an offer of £5-8 million which represents far too great a loss to even be considered.

The fourth, final and best option is to loan Carroll out. If Liverpool were to bring in Torres, then with himself and Suarez, plus Kuyt and Bellamy, Liverpool would have enough options upfront.

If Carroll were to go on loan, rediscover the form that tricked Damien Comolli into spending such an exorbitant fee for him, and start banging in goals, then Liverpool would then have two good options.
Bring back the rejuvenated Carroll and find a way to fit himself, Suarez and Torres in to the team, or use a rotation system. Or, they could also shop him around and hope to attract an offer worth considering.

Carroll's value and self-belief are whittling away with each passing game that he spends on the Liverpool bench, and a loan move would do wonders for both if it worked out.
It would also keep his dream of playing for England at the European Championships alive, so really, it's the best option for all involved.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/983680-fernando-torres-5-reasons-why-liverpool-should-buy-back-el-nino/page/5

Well, if Suarez gets a ban, you can expect Andy to start every game, and we'll see what happens once the window opens.  Who knows, maybe Suarez getting a ban might be a blessing in disguise to bring about Andy's form and Suarez will grow up a little bit.

Why isn't Andy Carroll a regular starter for the first XI in the team?

It puzzles me to see a player worth £35 million left on the bench. Carroll definitely has the quality to be playing regularly in the first team but constantly finds himself being on the bench. Where's that lethal combination of the Suarez-Carroll partnership up front that we were all anticipating before the start of the season.

The price tag problem will never stop haunting Carroll. Actually Suarez came to Anfield with a larger-than-life reputation about his scoring ability.

The partnership hasn't really offered much compared to the Kuyt-Suarez partnership. There is also the rotation of players.

because he turns like the QE2 in the Mersey...cant get on the end of anything....lost for anything else speechless!!!!

The price tag problem will never stop haunting Carroll. Actually Suarez came to Anfield with a larger-than-life reputation about his scoring ability.

The partnership hasn't really offered much compared to the Kuyt-Suarez partnership. There is also the rotation of players.

...........Solodee the rotation of players wouldnt be happening if Carroll was playing well,which he obviously isnt,hence Carroll not getting a game...

simple answer to a simple question - because when he's given the opportunity to play he can't hit the back of the net, is far too slow and can't hold the ball up long enough to trigger counter attacks (kinda the point when you're a giant).

I wish I could say I can see him improving, but I really don't. I will be quite happy to eat my hat however.

Combination of Andy Carroll not doing good enough when on the pitch and the team playing significantly better with him off the pitch.

Combination of Andy Carroll not doing good enough when on the pitch and the team playing significantly better with him off the pitch.

...well said

seemed to do ok in preseason? looked alot quicker aswell
Andy Carroll - Preseason - In Beast Mode - HD

 He'll come good, I've every faith in the big fella.

Not good enough for LFC.......but remember saying that about Lucas, here to wishfull thinking

Lads not good enough i actually think if we get a striker in in January i dont think the loan deal is as bad an idea as some people think. I think it be a good deal for the club and player. The player will get games and regain 100% match fitness and might have an outside chance of the euros because of he stays on our bench he going no where i actually see him as a potential player in the Olympic squad. For the club they get a fully fit confident Carroll back next season or if we decide to sell him his value maybe protected. Because at the moment i think we would make a massive loss on him if we sold him

Lads not good enough i actually think if we get a striker in in January i dont think the loan deal is as bad an idea as some people think. I think it be a good deal for the club and player. The player will get games and regain 100% match fitness and might have an outside chance of the euros because of he stays on our bench he going no where i actually see him as a potential player in the Olympic squad. For the club they get a fully fit confident Carroll back next season or if we decide to sell him his value maybe protected. Because at the moment i think we would make a massive loss on him if we sold him

Well hello Mr Corballyred...we've been expeting you.

Liverpool FC striker Andy Carroll will get his chance over Christmas, says Kenny Dalglish

ANDY CARROLL will get the chance to stake a claim for more regular action for Liverpool FC over the festive period with Kenny Dalglish insisting he's not considering signing another striker in January.

The Reds' record signing has started just eight of the 15 league games so far this season and the big frontman, who has netted twice in the Premier League, was an unused substitute against QPR last weekend.

However, Dalglish says there will be opportunities for those players looking to force their way into the team with Sunday's trip to Aston Villa kicking off a hectic schedule of five league matches in just 16 days.

“Everybody has got to be prepared and ready to play,” Dalglish said.

“They will all expect to play some part in some of the games.

“A lot of the games are in close proximity to one another, we just have to take each one as it comes and work on it. We'll deal with Villa and take it on from there.

“Everybody will be hoping they take part but not because someone is injured but because it would be right for them to take part in a game.

“Everybody will get an opportunity. I wouldn't know who has played how many games in a row and we won't judge by that.

“Every one of them is ready to step in and play. There is no individual we are not comfortable with putting in.”

Liverpool have scored just 18 goals in 15 league games this season and that has led to suggestions Dalglish may look to boost his firepower when the transfer window opens next month.

However, when asked if he would like to add another striker to his squad, he said: “Not particularly, no. It's not a Panini sticker book!

“It doesn’t matter what we say, it won't stop the speculation but we're happy with what we have got.”

The Christmas period is followed by a frenetic January when the Reds are likely to face eight games in 28 days, including their two-legged Carling Cup semi-final with Manchester City.

It will be a big test of Dalglish's squad but he's confident they have the strength in depth to cope.

“Everyone keeps throwing up exams for people but I think they've stood the test of time,” he added.

“They've done brilliantly. The performances in the Carling Cup where we've made a lot of changes for all the games, it's proved that the players who haven't played as much as they would like are very capable of stepping in and giving us a return.

“They've got to the semi-final of the Carling Cup, what else can you ask for? They've done as much as they possibly could with the opportunities they have had.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool are set to be boosted by the return of Steven Gerrard to full training next week.

The Reds skipper, sidelined by an ankle infection since October, has stepped up his rehabilitation this week during a trip to Abu Dhabi.


http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2011/12/16/liverpool-fc-andy-carroll-will-get-his-chance-over-christmas-says-kenny-dalglish-100252-29962614/