Player Focus: Why Carroll Will Struggle For Regular First Team Action Upon Return
Andy Carroll’s first home start since signing for West Ham permanently last season was certainly memorable. The striker, a club-record £15m acquisition from Liverpool, began the campaign injured and fans would have to wait until Swansea’s trip to the capital in February before seeing him in action in the Premier League from the off at Upton Park.
The burly striker made the impact supporters expected of him, registering 2 assists - both for Kevin Nolan goals - in a 2-0 win. However, in the 58th minute, Carroll saw red for violent conduct after lashing out at Chico. While not of the same level of Rivaldo’s theatrics at the 2002 World Cup, which saw Hakan Ünsal given his marching orders, Chico’s dramatic fall to the floor ensured Carroll was suspended for the next three games.
The 25-year-old did not let his time on the sidelines affect his performances in the league, however. Carroll was West Ham’s highest rated player (7.23) in the Premier League last term according to WhoScored, while only Kevin Nolan (5) registered more assists than the frontman (4) of all Hammers players. His performances helped the team to a 13th placed finish, but club owners David Gold and David Sullivan were dissatisifed at the displays of the team and demanded a change in style from Sam Allardyce.
Backed in the transfer market, Allardyce secured the services of Alex Song, Aaron Cresswell, Mauro Zárate and, perhaps tellingly, Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia. Valencia was signed on the back of an impressive World Cup for Ecuador, while Sakho joined after it was confirmed Carroll would be sidelined for four months with an ankle problem. In the England striker's absence, Sakho and Valencia have thrived.
Sakho, currently West Ham’s highest rated player (7.27) and top goalscorer (4), has excelled in a new-look 4-3-1-2 formation, while Valencia’s only league goal - a long-range thunderbolt against Hull - helped secure a point in the 2-2 draw at the KC Stadium last month. The change in system has benefitted the Hammers, who are a far more aesthetically pleasing side than they were last season. The onus, when he was fit, was to pump the ball long for Carroll to knock down for Kevin Nolan, which not only became tiresome to watch, but easy to defend against.
The tinkering has also seen Stewart Downing return to his best form, with only three players averaging more key passes per game (3.1) than the Hammers’ key creator in the Premier League this season. Last term, when West Ham attacked down the wings, the former Middlesbrough and Liverpool man would be tasked with delivering the ball into the box for Carroll, which limited Downing's impact as the east Londoners became predictable.
Now, with Sakho and Valencia pulling wide whenever West Ham push forward, there is an air of mystery about how the team will attack. It remains to be seen, however, whether Carroll can simply come back into the side and adjust to the new demands. Carroll is a striker who prefers to play as far forward and as centrally as possible, wreaking havoc in the 18-yard box rather than working hard off the ball to force the opposition defence into mistakes.
This is another reason why the 25-year-old may struggle to cement a regular starting berth under Allardyce upon his return. Sakho and Valencia have endeared themselves to the West Ham faithful already on account of their hard work off the ball and input into the high-pressing system that has been implemented. Sakho this season, despite his lack of Premier League experience, is winning possession in the attacking third an average of 0.6 times per game, an improvement on Carroll last term (0.2). It is unlikely that the target man could offer a similar threat, though that is not to say Carroll has become a bad player through injury.
His rating and goal contribution highlights how effective a player he can be, but Carroll may well be a backup once he returns to fitness. If anyone is likely to be affected by Allardyce’s change in tack it is the sidelined striker, of that there is no doubt. It’s a similar conundrum to the one he faced at Liverpool once Brendan Rodgers took charge at Anfield in 2012, which culminated in his eventual permanent move to West Ham. While Carroll is unlikely to be cast to one side as he was then, he is not expected to be drafted straight back into the starting XI once he is available.
"I don't mind a battle, and every team needs competition for places," Carroll said earlier this week as he steps up his recovery from the ankle problem that has kept him sidelined this season. Unfortunately for the England international, however, the competition has performed above and beyond for the Hammers so far and are better suited to the revamped playing style Allardyce has instilled at Upton Park.
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