15 Aug 2012

'We made a huge offer' - Chairman confirms bid for 'perfect' LFC star...

West Ham Chairman David Sullivan has lifted the lid on the Hammers' recent failed bid to sign Liverpool Striker Andy Carroll.

In an interview with The Mirror, Sullivan insisted that Carroll was 'perfect for the style of football we play', and described about how the striker would've been utilised by Sam Allardyce. He said:

"Andy was the perfect player for the style of football we play: a lot of high balls and a lot of crosses, but clever crossing, not just humping it"

Sullivan confirmed that West Ham 'had a deal in place with Liverpool to borrow the player which automatically became a purchase if we stayed up', and he seemed disappointed that Carroll ultimately rejected a move to Upton Park:

"Then there was a huge transfer fee which would have blown our budget for several years, and as he had the same agent as our manager, and he was very friendly with Kevin Nolan, our captain, we hoped that Andy would want to come".

"But he really wants to stay at Liverpool. He believes that he will get back into the side by his performances - coming off the bench or for the reserves. He believes the manager will have to put him back in the side"


Fair play to Carroll for having the determination to stay and fight for his Liverpool place, but it probably won't make any difference in the long-run.

As Sullivan said, the 35m man is perfect for West Ham's style of football ('a lot of high balls and a lot of crosses'), and in my view, Carroll needs to accept his limitations and move on instead of clinging to the hope that he has the ability to fit into a technically gifted passing team.

West Ham is Carroll's level, not Liverpool.

Jaimie Kanwar


26 comments:

  1. AndWithSuchSimplicity5:08 pm, August 15, 2012

    Been away for a couple of weeks, so missed a lot of what's been going on. Did, however, overhear a West Ham fan in Tesco Minehead saying that they don't particularly want Carroll as it may compromise their style of football......???!!!

    Did I also miss the article rejoicing that Suarez has signed a new long-term contract, by the way?

    :)

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  2. You are of course welcome to your opinion, but you only *think* Carroll is not good enough for Liverpool. You don't know. Why be so categorical when it helps no one and you haven't the knowledge to accurately do so? Before you start, I know you have said "in my view", but you did not qualify your last, rather definitive and memorable, line in the same way.

    He performed well the other day and there is no reason not to think he cant make it in a "technically gifted passing team" (which Liverpool are not anyway). He is still young and if all the other youngsters in the side can be trained to play a new way, why can't he? Plus, what benefit is there in dumping a footballing option? Having a lock pick is preferable, but sometimes what works best is a battering ram (although I think such a metaphor does Carroll a disservice).

    I always like reading your pieces. They are regular and sometimes different and always (sometimes unnecessarily) brutally honest.

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  3. His footwork isn't as bad as some and I am sure in time he will progress. I am not his biggest fan but he deserves a chance and I think if someone is that willing to take a chance on having to sit on the bench for a season he must have the desire to succeed and prove people wrong, can't be a bad thing, can it?

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  4. Jamie a little cynical at the end there, I do believe that Carrol gives us options and we should have a plan B additionally was I the only person that saw how strong he was defensively .... His goal against Bayern leverkusan not exactly pub footy mate and the difference he made against Chelski in the cup .. A Hungary AC is worth keeping

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  5. yet again jaimie judge and jury give the lad a break if rushie had been treated the same way a great talent might never have come to the for lets pick on suarez hes just signed a new contract

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  6. I think that Andy has a lot to prove to his critics. I commend him for what he is trying to do. Last season's flops in front of goal left a bad taste in the mouth of a lot of Kop faithful who had been spoilt over the years as they saw their club participate at the highest levels. Not to say he was responsible for everything that went wrong since his manager at the time was also to blame. It is my belief that anyone can learn to play a quick passing style of foot-ball in the fashion that BR wants the team to adopt. Andrew was seen as the player least capable of learning this method since he is a big man who has traditionally thrived in the air as he  fights off defenders to win headers. This is the reason why Rodgers singled him out of all the other members of the squad for a transfer or a possible loan.

    The current squad as a whole is not traditionally all that comfortable with  "tiki-taka" since the club had not implemented it as a strategy under Daglish's tenure nor was it implemented under Hodgson's tenure either. I am not saying that the members of the club can not adopt to it. It will take more than a season before we get really good at it is what i believe. Everybody was already  there before BR is getting used to the changes at Anfield . Andrew is taking more flack than anyone else because he was valued at one time as a 35million pound striker breaking the transfer record for an English player. That distinction came  with a lot of expectation from the fans. I guess he feels he owes Liverpool supporters something. Turning down the loan move to West Ham means that he is willing to take his chances knowing that he will not get near as much playing time as he enjoyed under Kenny Daglish. A season of more goals is all Carroll will need to do to silence his critics. For a striker it is his bread and butter . Your goals always do your talking for you. If they are not regular you open your self to all kinds of speculation from the fans and the media.

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  7. He needs to accept his limitations !? The limitations you've put on him is it ? At 23 .. seriously ?

    The only real limitations are the ones we put on ourself, ask Oscar Pistorius about limitations..

    Think the only one who needs to accept things is you and the fact AC will be at LFC this season.. despite your best efforts to dis-credit the player at every turn.
    Despite your predictions and countless negative articles it seems AC will be a LFC player 2012/13.. near the eve of a new season I think its time you gave the 'AC not good enough for LFC' campaign a break.   ch

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  8. I think one of the most important things that come out in this is the fact that Andy wants to stay & fight for his place on the team which for me is very good news. We have Agger and now big Andy willing to stay at the club, Suarez having just signed a new contract & Skrtel on the verge of signing one so Brendan is obviously a manager that all the players react to. So much for all the doom merchants posts that all the big name players will be looking for transfers, in fact the opposite is happening so lets get behind the manage just like the players have & be true supports & support.

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  9. It will be a great achievement for AC if he can score anything between 6-8 goals a season coming off the bench. With no disrespect, he is nowhere near the standard of Fowler, Owen and Torres and he's definitely not the man to lead the line for LFC. Therefore, he will not be a factor for LFC to fight for a Champions League spot again, plan B or no plan B, willing to stay or not willing to stay whatsoever.

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  10. It's not cynicism, it's reality (as I see it)

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  11. Thanks for your comments, Tommasz. It's not just my opinion; the stats back up the fact that Carroll is not good enough:

    * 57% passing accuracy in the opposition half
    * 5.2% conversion rate
    * 30% shooting accuracy
    * Only 6 league goals in 42 games
    * Scores a league goal every 516 minutes
    * Won only 64% of aerial duels.

    I don't make emphatic statements like that without some form of persuasive evidence to back it up. You say there is 'no reason to think Carroll can't make it' in a technically gifted passing team. Well, that's your opinion, and you're entitled to it, but it's entirely subjective. 57% passing accuracy suggests otherwise.

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  12. Thanks for your comments, Tommasz. It's not just my opinion; the stats back up the fact that Carroll is not good enough:

    * 57% passing accuracy in the opposition half
    * 5.2% conversion rate
    * 30% shooting accuracy
    * Only 6 league goals in 42 games
    * Scores a league goal every 516 minutes
    * Won only 64% of aerial duels.

    I don't make emphatic statements like that without some form of persuasive evidence to back it up.  You say there is 'no reason to think Carroll can't make it' in a technically gifted passing team.  Well, that's your opinion, and you're entitled to it, but it's entirely subjective. 57% passing accuracy suggests otherwise.

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  13. You (and most of us) are giving him that chance only coz we spent 35 mil on him and its not gonna come back...if he were to be bought for less than 15, he would've been sold way before maxi, bellamy etc.

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  14. But how many assists JK?

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  15. quite an expensive plan B coming off the bench methinks... perhaps if this is the case we should sell him. But give him a few starts (with success as a result) and then he's earned his keep. Andy must score 10+ to justify the heavy burden of his price tag. 15+ awesome

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  16. Carroll's stats from last year clearly are not good, but he also had a great scoring record at Newcastle. Whether their playing style matched liverpools is unlikely, but he clearly knows where the net is, he just needs to remember it. His Alledged troubles dealing with the pressure surrounding his Signing are also well documented.

    For a young player of such widely acknowledged promise, it seems harsh to dismiss his value out of hand off the back of one poor season. Why is an untried talent like sterling or suso more deserving of a place than a full international possessing such unique physical attributes?

    I understand your impatience, but we only have to look at Lucas to see player development is rarely a simple linear progression from talent to star.

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  17. Tommasz - it's not impatience; it's been 18 months already! Lucas may have had a slow start but there was never any doubt about his technical ability, core skills (related to his position), and ability to fit into Liverpool's team. Carroll does not have the technique, passing ability, or game intelligence to fit in at LFC, and that is not going to change no matter how long he stays. These technical skills are learned when you're a kid/teenager; Carroll is 23 - if he hasn't mastered the rudimentary skills of football by now, he never will.

    The other issue is that Carroll will simply stunt LFC's progression if he plays regularly. He needs to be in a team that's set-up to serve him, and LFC should not have to adapt the free-flowing pass and move style just to accommodate Carroll.

    Sterling and Suso are more deserving of a place in the team because they play in a way that fits LFC's style. In Rodgers' 433 system, Sterling and Suso fit in seamlessly, and both have better first touch/ability to hold the ball than Carroll.

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  18. He's not good enough........... Period!!!!

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  19. At the age of 23 he should be showing nearly his peak abilities, instead he's been terrible for most of his time at LFC with only a few decent showings recently.
    Here's an example, at the age of 23 Carroll's fellow geordie, Alan Shearer, scored 31 goals in 40 games for Blackburn, Carroll has scored 6 in 42 league games for Liverpool.  Now, okay, comparing to Alan Shearer (like him or not) is a fairly high benchmark but come on, surely we should have got a better return than this?

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  20. TuckerBelfastRed1:30 pm, August 16, 2012

    Do you remember a player by the name of Fairclough, Liverpools super sub. Dont be so sure Andy cant have that sort of impact on a game. Imagine big Andy the new super sub roll on his first hat trick. 

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  21. Jamie try to up your own game a bit and offer some useful journalism rather than just confrontation. And a deeper level of understanding of the game wouldn't hurt either. You help make sites this these into useless tabliod-style "discussions" ala Jerry Springer.  Yawwwwwwn

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  22. Have to agree with Jamie on this one. If we get a good price for him I hope he goes gracefully. Same with Adam.

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  23. Damn straight he has a lot to prove....which is really just another way of saying how awful he was last year.

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  24. Yeah, but how much more time should a player be allowed when there are better options out there? As liverpool fans I think we often get too caught up in sentimentality. 18 months is long enough to prove if someone is good enough. I don't just feel this way about Carrol. Adam is in the same boat. Downing for me gets a bit of a break (even though I was never a big fan), because the only times he looked good last year was from the right, and Rodgers will be playing him there every week. Still would rather see Demsey there though. 

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  25. no andy carrol and no replacement. we had a young, developing, full england international footballer - one of a kind in terms of qualities - dedicated to the club and desperate to prove himself and he's been let go to fund transfers... that never happened. if suarez gets injured who plays as the 9? and suarez isn't a 9 anyway!

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