Everton’s stand-in manager and Newcastle striker triumphed this past week with traditional values but science is also neededWhat a week old-fashioned centre-forwards have just had. First we saw Duncan Ferguson revive Everton’s fortunes from the touchline just by breathing on players who were struggling to make any impact under Marco Silva, then Andy Carroll came on at Newcastle and helped engineer a remarkable comeback against Southampton.Carroll is a particularly interesting case because when occasionally deployed as an impact sub at West Ham it was usually a signal for spectators to express further dissatisfaction with the manager for not having any better ideas. Carroll as Plan B was, essentially, a sign of desperation, a last clutch at a straw. Yet Steve...
The very English centre-forward is surplus to requirements at West Ham but another club could surely harness his talentsWhen the time comes for a big screen Andy Carroll biopic it may be a good idea to start with a chase scene. Perhaps even that traumatic attempted heist three years ago when a man on a moped stopped Carroll’s jeep after training and tried to get him to hand over his watch.It led to some heroic quick reactions. Key details include Carroll crashing into “at least 10” cars as he drove away. Carroll shouting “I’m a Premier League footballer!” at the emergency services as he fled his pursuers. And Carroll heading rather sweetly not for the nearest police station but back...
While West Ham and Stoke score more goals when Andy Carroll and Peter Crouch play, there is little evidence that Chelsea using them – or Ashley Barnes – as a Plan B would workHow times change. At the dawn of the Premier League the news that Chelsea wanted a rugged English striker to hurl himself at crosses, preferably after smashing through a centre-half in the brusque style of Kerry Dixon or Mick Harford, would barely have caused a ripple. Yet when it emerged last week that they were lining up a £20m bid for Andy Carroll – and then started making eyes at Peter Crouch – their fans were entitled to check their calendars to make sure it was not...
Seeing Andy Carroll or Peter Crouch at Chelsea is too good to hope for as it could confirm suspicions about the basic numbers of effectiveness and opportunity in elite teamsIt is nearly 40 years since a famous photo emerged that left the nascent Indian space programme an object of widespread mockery. The photo, published in 1979, showed India’s brand new state-of-the-art communications satellite being wheeled out for its launch – on a bullock cart.For political opponents the picture exposed the space programme as a matter of grandiose ambition undercut by agricultural thinking, a bullock cart culture. That same year the Indian government announced it would also be spending $6bn on bullock cart research, with the idea of entering the white...
Back after a six-week absence, Andy Carroll contributed little to the game other than fouls and was told he was not fit to wear West Ham’s shirt by fansWith seven seconds on the clock Andy Carroll rose to challenge Marvin Zeegelaar for a high ball and left the Watford debutant on the floor, his nose bleeding. It had not taken long for the forward to make an impression on his opponents.In the starting lineup for the first time in six weeks, handed a new chance by a new manager, there could be no better time for Carroll to prove his worth. Perhaps with this performance he could make himself the toast of his team, acclaimed by his new coach. As...