West Ham agree fee in region of £15m with Liverpool for Andy Carroll

[Interpolic]

I'd have him back in a heartbeat for a decent price. Money can't buy you passion for the club and for the city. It's something football lacks nowdays.

 

If he had that much passion he wouldn't have left at the first opportunity.

 

We still don't really know the full story of him leaving. If your employer wants you to fuck off you can't really stick around can you?

 

The shit players on high wages manage to claw every last penny out of the club, fairly certain if Carroll didn't want to leave (and double his wages) they wouldn't be able to do much.

 

Unless you honestly believe they would just bench our best striker whilst letting his value rapidly decrease. Someone so passionate about a club doesn't try and dive for a penalty which would have left said team down to 10 men and a goal down if the ref fell for it.

 

The odd story you hear about this seems to imply that the club smelt 35 million quid and conned a very thick person into thinking he wasn't wanted anyway.

[Cajun]

I'd have him back in a heartbeat for a decent price. Money can't buy you passion for the club and for the city. It's something football lacks nowdays.

 

If he had that much passion he wouldn't have left at the first opportunity.

 

We still don't really know the full story of him leaving. If your employer wants you to fuck off you can't really stick around can you?

 

The shit players on high wages manage to claw every last penny out of the club, fairly certain if Carroll didn't want to leave (and double his wages) they wouldn't be able to do much.

 

Unless you honestly believe they would just bench our best striker whilst letting his value rapidly decrease. Someone so passionate about a club doesn't try and dive for a penalty which would have left said team down to 10 men and a goal down if the ref fell for it.

 

The odd story you hear about this seems to imply that the club smelt 35 million quid and conned a very thick person into thinking he wasn't wanted anyway.

 

I have absolutely no doubt the club wanted to cash in but Carroll wanted the money just as much.

[Interpolic]

I'd have him back in a heartbeat for a decent price. Money can't buy you passion for the club and for the city. It's something football lacks nowdays.

 

If he had that much passion he wouldn't have left at the first opportunity.

 

We still don't really know the full story of him leaving. If your employer wants you to fuck off you can't really stick around can you?

 

The shit players on high wages manage to claw every last penny out of the club, fairly certain if Carroll didn't want to leave (and double his wages) they wouldn't be able to do much.

 

Unless you honestly believe they would just bench our best striker whilst letting his value rapidly decrease. Someone so passionate about a club doesn't try and dive for a penalty which would have left said team down to 10 men and a goal down if the ref fell for it.

 

The odd story you hear about this seems to imply that the club smelt 35 million quid and conned a very thick person into thinking he wasn't wanted anyway.

 

I have absolutely no doubt the club wanted to cash in but Carroll wanted the money just as much.

 

We'll never know tbh, I agree with you about the diving thing mind.  Proper out of order and glad he ended up looking like a tit.

 

I still really like him as a player, he brought the ball down lovely to set up one of West Ham's goals yesterday.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

It doesn't really make sense to say "I trust the clubs policy, but this time we should step out side of it for X reason"

 

 

Don't know if you're doing this on purpose or I haven't explained myself properly, but anyway.

 

This quote is about not calling for the club to make big signings while claiming to support the general transfer policy. Which I haven't done.

 

That isn't a contradiction to saying that I would happy if the club decided to pay £20m for Lukaku. I think he's class and is worth that money.

[TRon]

Were were hoofing it too much in 2010 when he was killing it?

 

Not for a side that's just come up from the Championship, but if you want to be a top 6 side you can't play that way. If we brought him back we'd be wellying it high and long before the ink on his contract was dry and you know it.

[Ronaldo]

We hoofed it just as much when we were in the top 5 for 3 seasons running with SBR.

[Rosenrot]

We hoofed it just as much when we were in the top 5 for 3 seasons running with SBR.

 

That season with Bellamy over the top every time... 

[TRon]

We hoofed it just as much when we were in the top 5 for 3 seasons running with SBR.

 

Aye right. Nolan must have been our version of Kieron Dyer.

[Ronaldo]

Yeah you'd need Kevin Nolan to hoof it when you have a host of fantastic attacking players waiting for knockdowns. Selective memory as per.

[toontownman]

Don't agree on the Hughton hoofball we were playing some good fluid attacking football previous to his sacking. Was certainly far from hoofball every game. We actually had someone that posed attacking threat through the centre of midfield. That seems like a long time ago.

[TRon]

Yeah you'd need Kevin Nolan to hoof it when you have a host of fantastic attacking players waiting for knockdowns. Selective memory as per.

 

Having players who are good in the air isn't the same as hoofball. We were a very fast counter attacking team under SBR, to say we played just as much hoofball during the CL years is just daft. I'd say if we want Carroll back, first let's hire a manager who plays passing football and if he wants Carroll that's fine. If we bring back Carroll under Pardew it's going to be hoofball all day long.

[Ronaldo]

I agree with the last bit, completely. What I wasn't having was the notion that for Carroll to be effective you have to play long ball stuff.

[Interpolic]

I agree with the last bit, completely. When I wasn't having was the notion that for Carroll to be effective you have to play long ball stuff.

 

Agree, you can play a mixed game.  His link-up play is great when he's on song.

[Mole_Toonfan]

If anything Carroll is more effective when you DONT randomly lump it to him expecting him to be Drogba.

 

As Liverpool found out.

[Tooj]

I'd have him back in a heartbeat for a decent price. Money can't buy you passion for the club and for the city. It's something football lacks nowdays.

 

If he had that much passion he wouldn't have left at the first opportunity.

 

We still don't really know the full story of him leaving. If your employer wants you to fuck off you can't really stick around can you?

 

What a load of tosh man. Carroll knew about Liverpool's interest so demanded a pay-rise even though he'd only recently signed a new contract and we rightly told him to piss off. True loyalty to us that is.

[Tooj]

Has he improved with regards to where he's aiming his headers whilst being a target man? I always thought that when he was here he used to win the ball in the air but wasn't really aiming it at anybody.

[Guest neesy111]

Were we hoofing it too much in 2010 when he was killing it?

 

Yes we were.  In his last game for us at Spurs, a spurs fan told me he's never seen a team play more longball than us that day.

[Unbelievable]

A Spurs fan said it? Must be true then.

[Zero]

Carroll improves a lot under Allardyce, who know how to coach a target man just like Kevin Davies.  He is a perfect partner for Sturridge / Suarez but luckily this would never happen under Rodgers

[Guest Howaythetoon]

Under Sir Bobby we were never a long ball side. We were direct at times but we had Alan Shearer up front and 2 very good crossers of the ball on the flanks. We played fast, attacking football. We could mix it up and could play through the middle, over the top or down the flanks. We were superb to watch at times and always went out to get at the opposition. While we didn't dominate possession like a Liverpool would today or Arsenal, we did dominate teams by way of getting at them from all angles.

 

KK's first side was similar but more fluid and more incisive going forward.

 

Hughton's team were a mixture of Sir Bobby's and this one.

 

Pardew's is without doubt the worst I've seen at the club given the players we have. At least with Souness and Big Sam you knew what they were trying to do even if it didn't happen. Under Pardew I don't have a fucking clue what we do other than we don't do much either on the ball or off it. The gap between Cisse and the midfield at the weekend was shocking and I'm fucking sick of seeing Cabaye virtually playing as a 3rd CB and poor Ben Arfa as a wing-back.

 

At one point during the game Tiote looked at Pardew and one can only assume he did so to seek assurances as to whether he should stay back or get forward more. Pardew didn't even acknowledge him!

 

Anyway, Carroll can play in a non hoof ball/long ball side as he did under Hughton. He needs good crosses and someone to pick up his flick-ons though to be effective. In Barton on the right and Nolan we had to perfect players for him.

[Lotus]

We'd also need other players to accomodate him, buy a winger or 2 who can cross, CMs who can play a 4-4-2 or a CM who get onto flick ons if it's a 4-5-1. We don't have that personnel at the moment so it will need Carrolll plus a couple of others to be relatively useful.

[GuyP]

Ben Arfa on the Right is good, meaning we need 1 winger on the left (first 11-wise at least) which would be a handy signing even if we didnt get Carroll anyway. Cal Mac?

[Lotus]

Ben Arfa on the Right is good, meaning we need 1 winger on the left (first 11-wise at least) which would be a handy signing even if we didnt get Carroll anyway. Cal Mac?

 

HBA on the right doesn't put crosses in. TBF, he doesn't do it much on the left, he's not the type of player to be looking to whip a cross in, he likes to take on his man and either put a through ball in and have a shot.

[GuyP]

Ben Arfa on the Right is good, meaning we need 1 winger on the left (first 11-wise at least) which would be a handy signing even if we didnt get Carroll anyway. Cal Mac?

 

HBA on the right doesn't put crosses in. TBF, he doesn't do it much on the left, he's not the type of player to be looking to whip a cross in, he likes to take on his man and either put a through ball in and have a shot.

 

If we are playing 2 wingers though, where would you stick him? He is more beneficial than a winger in many ways! I'd rather have HBA on the wing than Adam Johnson and Ryan Jarvis...

[TRon]

I don't dislike Caroll nor think he's a bad player, but It's the implications of the signing that worry me. It signals that Pardew has got his wish and we are stuck playing this direct style for the foreseeable future. Its fucking stone age and I'm sick to death of watching it.

 

This is pretty much where I'm at. I can acknowledge that Carroll can be mighty effective aerially but the best teams don't play long ball. You can say all you want that Carroll can be an effective player in a passing team but the only time he played in a passing style at Liverpool he failed. Add to that, if we are honest we should admit if he comes back here we will be playing long ball football. It's like seeing a glimpse of a better future after last season then throwing it all away.