Andy Carroll - To Start or Not to Start?

So Andy Carroll is getting nearer to a first team start, but would you play him from the outset tonight or give him another half hour from the bench?

Bearing in mind we've got Sunderland away on Sunday, then West Brom the following Saturday, do you put all your eggs in the Europa League basket, or keep plugging away and hope for a 5th place finish?

I'm not saying that we should totally give up on the league but if we want to get into Europe next season it's beginning to look like winning the Europa League is our best bet.

Ah well, didn't make much difference did it?

Can concentrate on the league now!

YNWA

Andy Carroll

King Beer wrote:Andy Carroll

Good Link!

Jealousy is an ugly colour Bank Farter!

I thought he did well last night considering he was clearly lacking match sharpness. Good movement and an absolute Behmoth in the air.

My worst fears were confirmed though when I saw Carra launch 4 hoofs in Carroll's general direction within the first 15mins. Long ball football shouldn't be the only plan, it should only be an option. It's all to easy an option for defenders without any real ability on the ball to hoof in search of the targetman, so we need to eradicate that. Carra's time as first choice CB at Liverpool should be numbered, although to be fair he wasn't the only guilty culprit last night.

liverbnz - That's my biggest concern about the signing of Andy Carroll and it's got nothing to do with the player himself. Let's be honest Carra doesn't need a second invite to launch the ball forward, but now he's got the excuse of Carroll up front. Hell, he'd be hanging them up in the air for Lionel Messi if he played with him!

I just hope that our other defenders don't get into the habit of pumping aimless long balls forward in the hope that Carroll will get on the end of it.

I think it's really important to buy a good CB in the summer, one is comfortable on the ball and can partner Agger, and then cover for him when he is injured so that the drop in quality when that happens isn't as much as it is now. They don't have to be as good as Agger on the ball, but confident enough in their own ability to eat up space with ball at feet and be capable of moving the ball along quickly without the need for a Gary Owen. Maybe Gary Cahill or Jan Vertonghen, or someone of that ilk.

Edit: We could also therefore play a higher line which means the team will be a lot closer together and reduce the propensity to launch it long from deep inside you're own half.

Gary Cahill would be my first choice liverbnz, although I think Roger Johnson would compliment Daniel Agger quite well too. Over time I hope we see Martin Kelly and Danny Wilson become our first choice centre backs, I think they'd make a great pairing.

That would be my hope too, although Agger has a lot of mileage left in him yet at only 26/27. Only problem with him is that when he is injured we miss him badly, and the same fate may wait Martin Kelly given his injury record.

That's the worry with Martin Kelly, he's had no luck with injuries at all. Although when he eventually moves to centre back that should mean no more torn hamstrings as he won't be galivanting up and down the touchline