What will we get? This Carroll…or the one below?
Prepare for a long and probably tedious discussion about Andy Carroll’s future given that the injury ravaged striker has a two year option attached to his deal which runs out at the end of the season.
The Geordie Boy is due back from injury after the international break although predictions on his first team involvement vary from Spurs on the 20th of October to Burnley on the November 3rd.
It could of course be neither given the track record!
Carroll knows however, he is facing a truly critical time in his career after his spell at the Hammers where he has made a total of 104 appearances since 2013/2014, been paid around £85k basic wage when signing permanently following a loan from Liverpool and picked up £500k for every year we have stayed up.
With his deal coming to an end, AC has a lot of performing to do should he want to see himself receive the opportunity of getting that two year option.
Alternatively, he will need to be at his best and fit anyway should he want another club to come in offering him the sort of deal he thinks he is worth.
To approach next season with only a handful of goals to his name or finding himself in a treatment room again is his probable current nightmare.
So short term that’s good news for the Hammers because he will have to be at his absolute best to stand any chance of getting a long term reward.
It would help too to have some pressure on Marko up front where he is the one player who has none at all at the moment.
A recent CandH poll saw two thirds of those voting saying they were pleased to see Carroll was on the way back after the break. Whether they would feel the same were he to be offered another deal by the club is a very different question.
Carroll at his best is a frightening individual for defences but he is hardly the to feet centre forward you would expect to see as a Pellegrini regular although there is no issue with his ability to hold the ball up and lead the line.
Personally, however, I’d feel inclined to let him seek pastures new and put the money towards a decent striker with a good injury record.
Your views?
COYI
Pellegrini has no problem using a target man see – Rondon, Dzecko, Negredo
Roque Santa Cruz another that he had
Thanks Bear
Thanks for the balanced article, Hugh. AC has been unlucky with injuries throughout his stop/start career. Why should that change as he gets older? He’s a great option off the bench when fit but I’d rather we wave goodbye, on balance, and invest in younger players who can really provide an injury-free alternative to our main current strike force. Which is realistically only Arnie, it seems. That said, I’d also want to move Hernandez on and re-invest those wages too. But is he likely to give up his stellar pay packet? I doubt it …
It’s a tricky one. If we knew he was going to manage 30 games a season at full fitness i would say keep him. But that would not happen. On the other hand, how successful will we be replacing him with a ‘decent striker with a good injury record’? How many of those have we signed in the last 15 years? Just dunno the answer! I suppose we may get more of an idea of how much he has got left in him after a few games back.
I like Andy as a player, but it’s time for everyone to move on. I have had fewer injuries as I’ve aged by replacing intensity with intelligence on the ball, but I don’t think that would suit Andy, given his physique and position.
Xande Silva looks very promising. Not sure Martinez will cut the mustard, and the jury is still out on Browne. Hernandez is only effective with two up top, playing off the main striker (for me), so I think we wave goodbye with our blessings and invest in two new front men next Summer, with Silva to come through.
Keep Him . And use him where & when possible for as long as possible . We are hardly in a position to throw away valuable options . The truth is , in my opinion anyway , we have missed him . At least he gives it his all every game he plays . He is a proven game changer coming off the bench .
Can’t really miss someone when he hasn’t played at all ..I don’t class him a s s squad player really more of a part time player ..it will definitely happen AGAIN so if we can get 2\3 games out of him and a couple
Points then fair shout.but it takes him 3\4 games to get up to speed so if he ever gets for again he is bench player ..sorry but I like him as a player p!ayer but he will get injured AGAIN it’s happened all his career and it won’t stop now ..
I agree with you Kevin. I say Keep him. There have been many attempts to bring in new and better strikers. All have failed to live up to a fit Andy Carroll. I would get rid of Chicherito on his 130k a week, Perez, even Antonio before selling Carroll.