Andy Carroll: Liverpool's unlikely savior

Liverpool are in disarray, make no mistake about it. Blood boiled over in their latest league game loss against the Magpies in which they didn’t just fail to score, they also had their keeper sent off for violent conduct at the end of the game. Never ever has this club needed a savior more than they do now. Liverpool have been atrocious this season in the league. Failing to beat the smaller teams and their inconsistency to get results has marred their first trophy tinted season in a long time. Much of that the blame has been directed at Liverpool’s number 9′s inability to find the net. Carroll has lacked confidence and belief since his move from the Magpies and as poor as he has been this season, I believe Liverpool and Kenny Dalglish has got it all wrong when it comes to his how and where to play Carroll.

Currently sitting in a lowly 8th position, Liverpool must push for a run of good results to have any chance of finishing in a respectable position come the end of the season. The first man a Liverpool fan would think of would be Steve G or a Suarez but the two of them have not been at their best off late and Andy Carroll may just be the man for the job.

Andy Carroll scored 17 goals in 39 appearances to help Newcastle finish first in the league and gain promotion. He continued his goal-scoring run for Newcastle in the Premier League, scoring 11 goals in 19 appearances in his first season. Carroll’s strength, powerful shot and excellent heading ability make him a classic No. 9 centre forward.

Former Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan stated “he is probably in the top three headers of a ball I have ever seen in football”.

Andy Carroll is a monster in the air. Out of his 11 goals for the Magpies in the 2010-2011 season, 6 of them were headers. That is an average of 1 headed goal almost every 3 games! With the wingmen Liverpool have in Downing, Bellamy and Kuyt not forgetting the wingbacks Enrique and Johnson and add to that dead ball specialist Charlie Adam, I find it unbelievable that Carroll hasn’t found the net more.

In my opinion if Liverpool have gone out and splashed enough cash to buy the entire roster of a fair few championship sides, they must adapt their style of play to suite their new number 9. Suarez is often preferred as the lone striker and the ball is played through the middle with Gerrard or Adam being the chief creators. As good as Gerrand and Suarez are on the ball, the lack of wing play is evident in Liverpool’s play. Take Downing’s stats for a start, he’s played almost all Liverpool’s league games and has no goals and didn’t have an assist to his name till the QPR game a couple of weeks ago. That’s an assist every 1000+mins from their €20M summer signing.

Kenny Dalglish seems to have a long standing feud with logic which he refuses to sway from.

After doing the business in transfer market he buys a fantastic crosser of the ball in Downing and an even better header of it for a combined fee of €55M and then puts the striker on the bench and expects the winger to churn out 10-15 assists for the season. Ingenious isn’t it?

Instead of experimenting with the inexperienced Shelvey in the middle of the park when the goals aren’t coming, utilizing the ability of the wingers to cross the ball and Carroll’s ability to win it would be a far better bet. Suarez would be perfect to play in just behind him, mesmerizing the defence with his quick feet and audacious skill. Gerrand can then go about the business of spraying passes all over the place and making those impeccable forward runs.

Liverpool simply must change their game if they are going to stand by the big Englishman; he’s still 21 and has the strength and heading ability that can cause problems for the very best defenders in the game. Kenny, give him a some games, watch his confidence grow and behold the number 9 that Liverpool paid €35M for!