Filed under: Liverpool, Premier League, Football
The season may only be 90 minutes old but Andy Carroll will already be feeling the heat at Liverpool.It may seem strange to suggest the England international is already under pressure at Anfield but, unfortunately for him, that is one of the byproducts of a £35 million price tag.
When Kenny Dalglish played Newcastle United that fee for Carroll in January, it increased the expectations on the 22-year-old by an unimaginable degree.
And, so far, Carroll has not had chance to live up to those expectations.
A thigh problem restricted his game time last season and also affected his pre-season form and he looked below par against Sunderland in Liverpool's disappointing opening day draw last weekend.
Carroll knows only too well that he has to produce this year, particularly as Liverpool have also forked out a fortune in purchasing players to service his game.
The likes of Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing have been specifically recruited by Dalglish to put the ball on Carroll's forehead inside the penalty area.
Yet, so far, Carroll has not managed to be the frontman Liverpool expected him to be.
He told liverpoolfc.tv: "I have got to show what I can do.
"Kenny is a great manager and it is great to know that he has given me his backing. I have just got to give it all back to him.
"In training he is giving me little pointers here. Obviously I need to listen to him and put them into my game.
"It is nice to know that he has got faith in me and it is a big help. Now I have got to do what I did to get myself here and I am out to prove that I can do it here. I love playing for this club."
Dalglish has spoken about the fact Carroll is at Anfield on a five-year contract and that there is no rush for him to reach his peak form and that may well be true.
However, Liverpool cannot afford to wait forever so the quicker Carroll can get going this season the better.
No comments:
Post a Comment