Andy Carroll?

[Pearcey3]

Re: Andy Carroll?

Carroll doesn't have much technical ability - he's more of a battering ram and his style of play probably explains why he is injured so much. He must be better than Watters who, let's face it looks soft, is bullied by opposing defenders and looks out of his depth. Even Harris, when he came on, posed more of a threat by occupying the opposition's defenders and that says something as I'm not a fan of his either. If Carroll is the best we can get then so be it but that's a potential signing that doesn't excite me in the least.

I seriously beg to differ. Technically Carroll is excellent.I was against him signing for us and completely changed my opinion of him by the time he left.

[dml1954]

Re: Andy Carroll?

Not relevant. He was only with us a short time and scored a crucial winner against Swansea, scored another elsewhere, had two worldies disallowed, held the ball up really well, defended well and worked his arse off. I would gladly take him back and we didn’t play long ball with him in the side. He was a cut above.

If Carroll does come here then I will support him and clap him on and off the pitch as usual but I was just hoping that we would get someone rather different/better to play with players such as Watters and bring them on.

[Rjk]

Re: Andy Carroll?

the occasional signing like this is fine tbh.
as long as we aren't relying on him to play 30+ matches and aren't paying him a king's ransom.
the problem comes when too many of our players are of that kind of age profile, then you get into problems where half the squad suddenly declines rapidly. as it is, we have enough younger / pre peak age players to be able to tolerate one or two like this

[Undercoverinwurzelland]

Re: Andy Carroll?

I still don't think he's the kind of signing we should be making right now unless we're desperate, but he did "score" these 2 last season https://youtu.be/8v6KGSJzb-I

[Citizen's Nephew]

Re: Andy Carroll?

the occasional signing like this is fine tbh.
as long as we aren't relying on him to play 30+ matches and aren't paying him a king's ransom.
the problem comes when too many of our players are of that kind of age profile, then you get into problems where half the squad suddenly declines rapidly. as it is, we have enough younger / pre peak age players to be able to tolerate one or two like this

Exactly. I do think the game has moved on with 5 subs too. I think it will prolong the playing time of players (Bale) and management strategy comes into play. We all know how bad we were with our contracts and wages. Sometimes I think there's ageism too, which is strange considering players should be playing longer and be fitter than ever before. As always, it'll be a gamble but as long as a player has a good ROI and we're not reliant then older players have got a part to play.

[Colin'sReversibleHat]

Re: Andy Carroll?

All this Watters ‘bashing’ is ridiculous. He is a young player with limited Championship experience so far, who is a totally different type of player to people like Keiffer Moore or Andy Carroll. He is mobile and can finish and has potential. He also worked extremely hard on Saturday, so I am not sure what game you were watching. Due to our shortage of forwards at the moment he is being asked to play a different role which he is not totally suited to but with another player up front along side him would flourish in my opinion. How you can say Andy Carroll was terrific last season for Reading is beyond me - they nearly got relegated, he only played 8 times and scored twice.

I didn't say he was terrific- an actual Reading fan did. Not convinced he will be terrific, but he'll certainly be better than what we've got and be a handful for defences if nothing else.

I must have watched a different game to you, as Watters for me was completely anonymous until about 5 minutes before he went off. That being said, it was not a game which lent itself well to the strikers of either side.

[jon1959]

Re: Andy Carroll?

I would take Pearcey's assessment over most others on here. At least he has watched him recently, and more than just a few highlights clips on Quest.

If Carroll was available on the same basis (fitness, pay etc) as for Reading last season it would be madness not to take him. With five subs having the skill, experience and presence of Andy Carroll as a second half impact sub would be excellent. If on the same limited pay as at Reading it shouldn't block the signing of two other strikers either - the plan for one on a fee and one on loan as confirmed by Mehmet Dalman.

But it's all pointless speculation isn't it? Nathan Blake was probably foolish to do his ITK 'reveal' after the Norwich match and is probably embarrassed now. The club and Carroll's agent (or 'sources close to him') have denied the story.

[Pearcey3]

Re: Andy Carroll?

I still don't think he's the kind of signing we should be making right now unless we're desperate, but he did "score" these 2 last season https://youtu.be/8v6KGSJzb-I

We lost that won 7-0. We left at 4-0. I was out of my seat when he “scored” those two.

[delmbox]

Re: Andy Carroll?

We lost that won 7-0. We left at 4-0. I was out of my seat when he “scored” those two.

I absolutely love that second "goal"

[North Cardiff Blue]

Re: Andy Carroll?

:sherlock:

Would you be happy?

No chance, Cariff pub team is is level, he wouldn't even get in Cardiff Ladies if he had a sex change.

[Rjk]

Re: Andy Carroll?

No chance, Cariff pub team is is level, he wouldn't even get in Cardiff Ladies if he had a sex change.

scored more championship goals than Watters or Harris last season

[North Cardiff Blue]

Re: Andy Carroll?

scored more championship goals than Watters or Harris last season

They weren't playing and are crap ?

We want a striker not an ex lunatic injury prone waste of wages, we've had quite a few of them already ?

3 in 15 for WBA is still rubbish!

[NYCBlue]

Re: Andy Carroll?

Five of those were scored last season in the Championship. More than Harris and Watters combined.

So we should sign him?

[The Lone Gunman]

Re: Andy Carroll?

So we should sign him?

That would depend on a lot of factors including wages, length and terms of contract and, perhaps most importantly, whether or not there are other signings that are genuinely in the pipeline.

Personally, I'll be amazed if either Watters or Harris ever prove to be good enough for this division. Their Championship stats are:

Harris - 24 (+29) appearances, 6 goals

Watters - 7 (+5) appearances, 1 goal

Carroll's Championship stats last season were:

17 (+6) appearances, 5 goals

And we know he's far more of a handful for defenders than either Watters or Harris. The former looked like a fish out of water on Saturday. Frankly, he was effectively useless. Is he likely to improve significantly on what we've seen from him so far? It would be good if he could, but I doubt it.

[Tuerto]

Re: Andy Carroll?

That would depend on a lot of factors including wages, length and terms of contract and, perhaps most importantly, whether or not there are other signings that are genuinely in the pipeline.

Personally, I'll be amazed if either Watters or Harris ever prove to be good enough for this division. Their Championship stats are:

Harris - 24 (+29) appearances, 6 goals

Watters - 7 (+5) appearances, 1 goal

Carroll's Championship stats last season were:

17 (+6) appearances, 5 goals

And we know he's far more of a handful for defenders than either Watters or Harris. The former looked like a fish out of water on Saturday. Frankly, he was effectively useless. Is he likely to improve significantly on what we've seen from him so far? It would be good if he could, but I doubt it.

Carroll can play, he's got a great touch.