Cometh The Hour, Cometh The Carroll

Angel of the North no more, Carroll takes flight to Liverpool

This morning’s sports pages were covered in pictures of Liverpool fans torching a replica strip, using only a can of Lynx, a match and a lack of any common sense. Torres’ name was just visible above the liquefying fabric. The faces of the perpetrators looked delighted rather than crestfallen, caught up in the moment of this metaphysical lynching. Torres’ loss leaves a huge hole in Liverpool’s ego, one that once the smoke from their transfer fireworks dissipates will become more evident. Liverpool no longer have a world class player on their roster, and while Suarez and Carroll have undoubted talent, they are still to truly warrant the money laid out on them. Suarez has arrived from the Dutch Eredivisie, a division whose exports oscillate between the sublime and the ridiculous: for every Robin Van Persie there is an Afonso Alves, a player whose move from Heerenveen to Middlesbrough at £12.7 million boar only 10 goals (3 of which were in the 8-1 demolition of Manchester City that was Sven-Göran Eriksson’s abject last game managing the club). Suarez could yet prove to be majestic signing, a player coveted by Europe’s leading clubs, but it would be prudent to remember that only Liverpool and Spurs – two clubs chasing former glories – made any sort of move for the Uruguayan.

This brings us to Andrew ‘call me Andy’ Carroll. Pictures of him, clean shaven and towering over an increasingly elderly looking Kenny Dalglish are meant to take the edge off Torres’ departure. The way Carroll has attacked the Premier League this season has been a joy to behold. A classic no.9 who can lead the line, battle in the air with the roughest of centre halfs and is unafraid to lash a shot goalwards from outside the box. Carroll will operate as the fulcrum of the Anfield attack, the pivot from which a deep attacking trio of Gerrard, Kuyt and Suarez will seek to thrive. This prospect will excite Liverpool’s fans and it could well thrust them once more into the upper strata of European clubs. However, since the departure of Alonso, Liverpool’s chief problem has been swiftly transferring defence into attack. The drilled 30 yard pass that cuts through the opposition’s midfield and releases Gerrard on his famous blunderbusting runs has been lacking. The exasperation on Gerrard’s face and the dejection evident in Torres’ demeanour are symptoms of this, an ailment that the has seen the red of Liverpool slip anaemically down the table. Sadly for Liverpool the trinity of signings that could have cured then didn’t quite come off. Charlie Adam was the man earmarked for this role, and although not linked with a move to Anfield, Newcastle’s Joey Barton could seem a wise addition to a midfield lacking dynamism and incisive passing.

Adam eluded Liverpool while their attentions were more firmly focused on their strike force, and the cynic among football fans could claim that Tottenham Hotspur’s late interest in Adam could have been a ploy to stymie Liverpool’s clean sweep of January transfer targets; Tottenham never planning to actually sign Adam, but to block Liverpool from unfettered pursuit. 

With a net spent of just £1.8 million Liverpool will no doubt re-enter the transfer market in the summer, and the remainder of this season should be about proving to players such as Reina that Liverpool are a team on the up, not a team to be too long moored in the stagnant waters of midtable mediocrity. Liverpool’s clash with Chelsea this Sunday will be an enticing prospect as two wounded giants seek to stamp their authority over the league.

Most Banal Comment of the Day:

‘...with a touch that is usually beyond players of his gangly gait.’

Rob Stewart, The Independent

This is exactly the lazy type of journalism that is so regularly churned out by sports writers in the nation’s papers. It is a baseless claim that tall players should have a poor touch: the type of comment that Peter Crouch normally attracts, and one that ignores players like Ibrahimovich and Dzeko when made. It may stem from large players being promoted into teams playing above their ability for their stature alone rather than their technical ability. However, good coordination of movement is not the preserve of the impish man.   Poor touch in a Premier League footballer should never be tolerated, no mater his size, and the ability to control a football should be a prerequisite rather than an attribute to be praised.

~Ed