To lead the line or miss the bus? Time for Carroll to decide
By Martin Samuel
Andy Carroll has to decide what kind of footballer he wishes to be.
Is it his aim to become England's starting No 9, while leading the line at the most rapidly improving club in the Premier League; or his destiny to sit on the sidelines derided as a waste of money, before his telephone lights up in May for Fabio Capello to deliver football's equivalent of the Dear John letter, terse and final, with no way back.
There is a massive opportunity for Carroll and he is blowing it. Right now, both of his teams - the one that paid £35million for him and the one that considered him the answer to their prayers little more than five months ago - do better without him.
Kenny Dalglish, the Liverpool manager, has been staunch in his defence of the striker so far, but team selection speaks louder than words and Carroll did not start Liverpool's last two matches before the international break.
Capello did not even have him on the bench for the game in Bulgaria, a decision that places Carroll behind Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Darren Bent, Ashley Young and perhaps even Theo Walcott. Carroll is now England's fourth choice, at best.
Last March, scoring against Ghana in a lively display, he was considered the future. Capello has been searching for a striker like Carroll since starting the job in 2008.
Over lunch in the weeks before his first game, he spelled out England's need for a battering ram spearhead in the style of Italy's Luca Toni. If all else failed, he hoped Rooney might fit the bill.
It was clear from there that Michael Owen's days were numbered. The manager never found England's Toni and settled instead for Emile Heskey, who satisfied the physical demands of the role but posed little threat as a goalscorer.
Then along came Carroll. Hallelujah, praise the Lord and pass the Communion wine. On second thoughts, better keep that corked for now.
Capello has gone public before on his fear that Carroll does not live a life conducive to the highest level of performance and nothing he has seen this season has convinced him of any change since the £35m transfer to Liverpool. He is not alone.
Rumblings of disquiet over Carroll's refuelling preferences have emanated from Liverpool for some time. Carroll has had a persistent knee problem but that is not the only reason his form and fitness are felt to be failing, and concern stretches all the way from the medical wing to the dressing room.
For public consumption, Capello plays the diplomat. 'Andy needs to find good form,' he said in Sofia.
'I choose 25 players and the first XI are the players that, for me, are in the best moment. Andy didn't play the last game for Liverpool, and probably he is not at the top. He needs to play, though.
'Right now, some players are really fresh, really good, they run a lot and the last 20 minutes we had everything because of this, ball possession, chances to score, we were winning and we were at our best. When a player like Andy is fit and at the top of form he will be important and with the number of games being played, he should be fit in a very short time. I hope so.'
Privately, however, he is worried. Having decided that Carroll and Rooney were the way forward, Capello is now highlighting the inventive interchanges between Rooney, Young, Walcott and Stewart Downing. Where would a heavy, cumbersome target man fit into that? The simple answer is that he wouldn't.
Rooney talked of leaving his fitness programme at home and just enjoying a break this summer, but he has been on football's treadmill for almost a decade now, without respite. He needed to recharge, to let off steam, too.
Carroll also seems to have had what the Flintstones might call a gay old time, but to what end?
This was a summer to prioritise fitness on his return. Instead, infuriatingly,
he still appears sluggish and was not even considered for a start in Bulgaria despite Bent’s fitness struggle.
Will he play in Liverpool’s next match against Stoke on Saturday? Only if
Dalglish decides to slug it out against physically imposing opposition. If he
opts for the starting XI that has worked best this season, Carroll will
be a spectator.
Newcastle United were the perfect club for Carroll. Expectations are low
on Tyneside these days, so he could be the talk of the Toon, go out and bang a goal on Saturday and, regardless of the result, return to the centre that night as the local hero.
Nobody cared if he liked a beer; in fact, they loved that he did. Liverpool are different; Liverpool with a £35m price tag even more so.
With that comes responsibility; with ambition comes the need for intense focus. It is not Dalglish's way to expose his players to criticism, but he is no fool.
More than anyone, he will be able to separate myth from reality on Merseyside. Ultimately, the decision rests with the player. Against Arsenal, Liverpool were the superior team, but victory only seemed assured once Luis Suarez replaced Carroll late on.
At home to Bolton, the job was also done without him, his delayed entry an irrelevance. England then won 3-0 in Bulgaria and may have unearthed a new plan A.
This bus will leave whether Carroll is on board or not; and Dalglish and Capello are running no jolly boys' outing.
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