Tag Archives: Carroll

Dalglish puts faith in Carroll

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Bet on the Premier LeagueLiverpool manager Kenny Dalglish looks set to turn to struggling striker Andy Carroll for goals for the Premier League clash with Newcastle United on Friday (Liverpool 4/7 draw 3/1 Newcastle United 11/2 – match prices).

The 22-year-old has the perfect opportunity to kick-start his career at the Merseyside club and who better to do it against than his former employers.

Carroll (4/1 first goalscorer) has struggled to find the back of the net since his £35m move from St James’ Park almost 11 months ago, with only two goals in the top flight this season.

The England international has been giving the backing of Dalglish, after he saw yet more opportunities go wide of the mark or saved during the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day.

With the Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez set to miss Friday’s clash with the Magpies due to a suspension for his gesture to the crowd during another Liverpool draw against Fulham, Carroll is set to take a leading role against his former club at Anfield.

Reds skipper Steve Gerrard also featured against Rovers on Monday and is likely to play some part against the Magpies, as Dalglish looks to ease the key midfielder back into regular football.

As for Newcastle, after a stuttering couple of weeks they got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Premier League strugglers Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium on Boxing Day.

Once again it was that man Demba Ba (8/1 first goalscorer) who got himself on the score-sheet, as the Senegalese striker continues his superb season for Newcastle following his move from West Ham in the summer.

The 26-year-old could be the signing of the season, having joined the Magpies on a free deal, he has put away most of the chances presented to him and Liverpool will have to be wary of the goal-machine.

Another man who impressed during the victory over the Trotters was the Frenchman Hatem Ben Arfa (10/3 – Anytime Scorer), who found himself on the score-sheet with a wonderful finish.

The 24-year-old made a slow start to life at St James’ Park having suffered a broken tibia and fibula in one of his first games for the club, after being on the wrong end of a tackle from Manchester City’s Nigel De Jong.

However, manager Alan Pardew will be delighted to see the player coming back to full fitness and he will be another the threat the Reds will have to be alert to.

Liverpool and Newcastle sit in sixth and seventh place in the Premier League table respectively and there certainly is not too much between these two teams.

The Reds have tended to raise their game for the bigger fixtures in the top flight this season and struggled against the supposed lesser teams.

This is certainly a big game for both clubs as they hope to contend for European football next season.

Liverpool are likely to raise their game but this contest pits together two attacking football sides so expect goals but a stalemate at the final whistle.

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Can Carroll fire Liverpool?

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Liverpool have enjoyed a productive January transfer window as the Anfield side attempt to salvage their season and there have been plenty of changes in the red half of Merseyside (Match Betting – Stoke 3/5, draw 11/4, Stoke 5/1).

Key man Fernando Torres may well be on his way to Chelsea before the window slams shut at 11pm today, Monday, but the Reds have secured a ready-made replacement in the shape of Andy Carroll from Newcastle.

The Magpies rejected two offers from Liverpool before “reluctantly” agreeing to a transfer after Carroll handed in a transfer request at St James’ Park and Newcastle then accepted a £35million offer from the Reds.

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has already snapped up Uruguay international Luis Suarez in January and the club legend will be hoping his new-look strike-force can help push the Reds up the Premier League table and possibly even challenge the likes of Chelsea and Spurs for the fourth spot (Liverpool 20/1 to secure a top four finish).

On paper Torres certainly has a better pedigree than Carroll, having played at the top level of football in both Spain and England for a number of years and with a fantastic goalscoring record, while Liverpool fans may question the player’s price-tag after just half a season in the Premier League, albeit a highly impressive one.

However, it is worth noting that the current campaign has been a fairly disappointing one for Torres in comparison to his previous exploits and after the striker handed in a transfer request it seemed inevitable he would leave before the window closed.

Torres’ switch to Stamford Bridge has not yet been finalised but following Carroll’s arrival on Merseyside it seems almost certain he will be a Chelsea player before 11pm today.

Liverpool currently trail fourth placed Chelsea by nine points in the Premier League table but the arrival of Carroll and Suarez could prove vital in their hunt for Champions League football next season.

The Reds remain massive outsiders to secure a spot in Europe’s top competition but if they can go on an unbeaten run things can change quickly – as has already been perfectly demonstrated by Chelsea this season after they relinquished a five-point lead at the top of the table, their own title hunt is now in tatters according to most pundits.

Carroll has not played since December 28 with a thigh injury but should return to action soon and if he can pick up where he left off he could well be the crucial man for Liverpool in their hunt for European football, while Suarez also has a prolific strike record and if he can adapt to life in England quickly he could prove another shrewd bit of business.

Torres may have struggled at Liverpool this season but there is no denying his talent and many pundits had suggested he is no longer happy at Anfield long before he announced his desire to move on.

The fact Torres has been unsettled could well account for his lacklustre displays and a move to Chelsea could see the Spanish star return to form, having shown glimpses in recent weeks, while the chance to link up with the likes of Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba at Stamford Bridge will have been hard to resist.

With Anelka, Torres and Drogba leading the line the Chelsea squad will receive a much needed boost following their unprecedented slump and they could yet challenge for the title at the end of the campaign, although it will take a massive effort with Manchester United currently 10 points clear of Carlo Ancelotti’s men (Chelsea 7/1 to win the Premier League).

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Big opportunity looms for Carroll

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Fabio Capello seems destined to name a very young England side for the game against France at Wembley, with the likes of Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson and Keiran Gibbs all starting (see Totesport match betting).

The Italian manager has nailed his intentions to the wall already by confirming the three young players will all be amongst his starting XI at Wembley on Wednesday night – and they are 11/10 to be part of a winning England team.

Capello has previously looked to bring through the next generation of England stars during qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. That was heralded by many as a new era for England, but this optimism soon waned as the likes of Jamie Carragher came back from international retirement and then it emerged the boss had attempted to persuade 35-year-old Paul Scholes to come back into the England frame.

Many England fans will be delighted to hear the likes of Carroll, Henderson and Gibbs will all the given an opportunity to impress – and many will hope they can make the same kind of impact Adam Johnson has made during the early games of his international career. He has scored two goals for England already and is 11/4 to add to this on Wednesday.

England will be fielding a young side, but fans are going to have to remember this is a rather pointless friendly against an under-par France side (who are 13/5 to win, with 9/4 for the draw) – and what percentage of the new faces in his squad will be involved when England play their next Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales in March? It is a definite the more traditional faces will be back for then.

That is especially true among the striking options, as come March 2011 Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe are not going to be replaced by the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Jay Bothroyd yet again.

Newcastle striker Carroll seems the best bet for a long-term striking option to come from this friendly experiment. It is 18 years ago that a young striker from Gosforth made his England debut against France at Wembley. On that day, Alan Shearer started an illustrious international career with a debut goal that saw him become a hero for all lads growing up around Newcastle.

Gateshead-born Carroll has followed in the footsteps of his hero by graduating into the famous Newcastle number nine shirt and will now be looking to copy Shearer’s introduction into the England side, and the 21-year-old is 5/1 to open the scoring for Capello’s side on Wednesday night.

Despite his high-profile off-the-field problems Carroll has impressed many with his powerful performances in the Premier League, and at a time when England are not too blessed with striking options – something exemplified by the fact Capello has turned to the likes of 32-year-old Kevin Davies and Championship forward Bothroyd (who is 15/8 to score anytime against France) in recent months – this really could be a big chance for the lad.

A great performance would catapult him up the ranks of England forwards for the coming years, and as the first England striker to have a ponytail in history then he could spark a new craze among the kids around Newcastle. Better that than the Fabricio Coloccini permed-mullett though.

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