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When I was considering what to write for my first post I was torn between a number of topics. I am generally a very positive fan who sticks up for the board and Sam regularly and this is often the nature of my columns and tweets. However, as I was weighing up the ideas in my head, the situation with Andy Carroll started to develop this week and I felt this should naturally be where I start. To say I am gutted about the news that has originated regarding Andy being ruled out for a further period is a complete understatement.
At my time of writing it hasn’t been confirmed how long he will be out for. I, for one, was a firm member of the “We want you to stay” brigade. My real eagerness for him to join largely stems from Big Sam’s reluctance to vary tactics and his insistence on one forward, in the mode of a big target man. For me there was no one better available, that we could get, than Andy Carroll. On his day he is a handful for any defensive line and as the season progressed he was really turning in some great displays. Those of you who follow me on twitter will know I said the deal would happen many months before it did because I knew the importance Sam placed on young Andy’s shoulders. He was determined to make him the essential transfer of our window. I really felt with another winger (Downing) on one wing and Jarvis on the other we had a recipe for goals. I supported spending most of our budget on him at the expense of other positions and depth to our squad because I knew of his importance to our system. I was also under the impression from the club that a second forward would be bought/loaned.
I write a weekly column for “IronViews”:http://www,ironviews.com and it was there I questioned how legitimate some of our bids for forwards were and spoke of those that I knew had been submitted. We did bid for Kalou, (he wouldn’t join because he didn’t want to play out of position due to Mr Carroll’s guaranteed selection), Ba, Bendtner, Lukaku and apparently Zapata, Bony and Arnautovic were all firmly on the radar. Of course with one of those players here, as well as Andy, it seemed that we were in for a good season. Therein lies the problem. We didn’t sign any of them and so far have pursued Cole and signed Petric to solve the desperate situation.
The gamble to put all the proverbial eggs in one basket with Andy seems to have had many knock on effects. As previously mentioned players such as Kalou were reluctant to join us due to it being clear Andy was the number one choice. Andy has indirectly been told that no matter who we sign and how he plays he is a guaranteed starter, which I personally don’t think is the right message. I also feel that our over reliance on Andy may have been a trigger for the new heel injury. To me, it seems no coincidence that he has injured the same part of his body as the previous injury, meaning that it probably hadn’t had enough time to heal. Before the injury the club had put out the email and on the website how we could all buy tickets for the Everton game and see Andy Carroll’s return. It seems there was a number of people counting on this happening perhaps quicker than it should have.
I also question how it was possible for Andy to pass a medical with us, when completing his record move, when he was currently out injured at the time. This summer we have seen Cole and the funnily named Roger Rojas be declared unfit to pass, surely the same must have applied to Andy?!? Again, I throw it out there but did we make an exception of the rule to make sure he passed his medical?
I am not going to write off Petric at all and have heard some glowing references about his ability. I have been informed that had it not been for Martin Jol’s over reliance on Berbatov (where have we heard this before!) he would have figured more and had a better record at Fulham as well. He has an impressive CV. Of course there are questions as to why he didn’t have a club sign him before we made our move and how fit is he going to be but I am hoping that he is up to the task. I do worry that he is not overly suited to being the lone forward and pray that Sam may look to alter the tactics to accommodate him but I feel that this is unlikely.
We still have one squad place left and I expect that to be filled by Carlton Cole. It got back to me in late July that Saif Rubie, who is Carlton Cole’s agent, had expressed that Carlton deeply regretted the decision not to sign the contract he was offered by us in January.
I think Carlton was badly advised and was looking for one last pay deal and was confident he would secure that move. When a move to Crystal Palace fell through it started to become clear this would not happen. As our striker choice started to become fruitless we turned our attention back to Carlton. Had both our situations not been so desperate I am sure Carlton would not have returned. I would welcome him back as I think he has served us well and suits our system. Again, I question why and how a professional footballer looking to earn himself a contract at a club ended up being not fit enough to pass a medical but when he is back and hopefully scoring some goals, this will be forgotten. I don’t wish to bring doom and gloom for my first post but I just had some questions about our transfer activity. I am hoping that Petric will score enough for us not to be so dependent on Andy being fit, if he does, he could prove to be one of our most important signings in recent years.