Andy Carroll’s Time At West Ham

Andy Carroll will soon be leaving West Ham and returning to Liverpool as the loan deal keeping him at Upton Park is set to expire. According to reports, the Hammers are determined to secure Carroll’s services on a permanent basis and talks are underway. So, while the suits in east London and Merseyside ping emails back and forth in the hope of coming to a mutually beneficial agreement, let’s look at how the big Geordie has done while wearing the claret and blue.

When the Hammers signed Carroll on loan at the end of August 2012, several of West Ham’s fans thought the club was paying too much for the player and some also believed recruiting him was the final nail in the coffin for the ‘West Ham way’. But the vast majority were overjoyed about the deal, and they did not have to wait long for the England international to justify that excitement either.

Just two days after linking up with the Hammers, Carroll gave an inspiring, talismanic performance on his debut against Fulham and steered his new side to an impressive 3-0 victory at the Boleyn Ground. He was more than just a pest for Martin Jol’s defence; he was a nuisance, a nightmare, a nemesis, and would surely continue to be for the rest of the campaign for West Ham. But, just when the home crowd thought they finally had a player to lead their line, Carroll suffered a hamstring injury 68 minutes into the game and was ruled out for a month.

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When he returned to action, the 24-year-old struggled to find form and find the net. In fact, Carroll’s first goal for West Ham came towards the end of his ninth appearance for the club, and it was nothing other than a consolation for the Hammers who trailed 3-0 away to rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the time.

The disappointment and embarrassment of that defeat left West Ham supporters deflated, but they could at least cling to the hope that Carroll might build on his first strike for the Irons having broken his duck. That hope lasted all of three days. Carroll picked up another injury in West Ham’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, and this time he was ruled out for two months.

Carroll could only watch as the Hammers battled through a gruelling winter period and saw them sinking closer and closer to the relegation zone. By the time he was fit again – ironically in the return game against Fulham at Craven Cottage – West Ham had won just one game in their last 10 in all competitions. Although he did not score immediately upon his return, Carroll did grab the winner in the Hammers’ next match; the 1-0 victory over in-form Swansea. That match included, Carroll has scored six times in the last 12 fixtures – an average of a goal every other game, quite a respectable statistic for a centre-forward, and has become West Ham’s joint top scorer with Kevin Nolan. One of the key facts behind Carroll’s improvement later this season is that he has played every minute of every one of the Hammers’ games since he returned from injury in January, finally allowing him to build up momentum and find form.

Carroll has contributed more than just goals to the side since he arrived though. Delving even deeper into the statistics about West Ham’s number 8 shows that he is the ideal man for the current West Ham set up. It is no secret that the Hammers have come to rely heavily on lofted balls under Sam Allardyce, and Andy Carroll has the best average for winning aerial battles in all of Europe’s major leagues, so he is the perfect weapon for Big Sam.

Just to explain that stat, Carroll has won 217 of the 334 headers he has gone for, which gives him an average of 9.4 triumphs in every one of the 23 games he has played for West Ham. That’s a better average than other notorious aerial presences like Christian Benteke (7.9), Marouane Fellaini (5.0) and Nemanja Vidic (4.2).

So Carroll’s time at West Ham is generally considered as a success, hence the reason David Sullivan and David Gold are supposedly busting a gut to sign him. And yet there is a legitimate notion that this may only be because the striker’s best performances have come at the end of the season, so the memories of them are fresh, and at just the right time for the businessmen. After all, we should remember that Carroll has been hindered considerably by injuries this year.

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Of all the figures quoted above, the main stat attacking players are actually measured against is goals scored and, to a lesser extent, goals created. Having found the net himself on seven occasions and laid on two goals for his colleagues, Carroll has not got as many in either field as Benteke (19 goals and four assists) or Fellaini (11 and five). This can of course be attributed to the staccato nature of the ex-Newcastle United striker’s season but has, nevertheless, paved way to rumours that West Ham are hoping to get him for a rate reduced from the £17m that was apparently agreed with Liverpool when the loan deal was originally signed.

Injuries are not the player’s fault though, and when Carroll has had a decent run in the West Ham side he has produced the goods. He has proved himself to be a genuine goalscoring threat, a great outlet for his teammates, and an industrious centre-forward who will muck in with defensive duties whenever necessary. Now let’s hope the two Davids can work their magic and ensure Carroll is doing the same for the Hammers next season.

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