If you have been reading recent reports we are lead to believe than Liverpool’s Andy Carroll is only willing to join us permanently if his wage is increased to £100k a week.
Look, don’t get me wrong I appreciated Andy’s contribution towards the latter end of the seasons but apart from that, what did he really do?
Injured on his first game against Fulham; fair enough that’s unfortunate and it was only natural for it to take some time to heal and get back to full fitness-and I remain adamant that none of us would be too fussed about the possibility signing Carroll January/February time!
Although many of you will see signing the big man as a ‘step forward’ I see it as a step back, he isn’t the type of player to bag you 20 goals a season, his motives are questionable as well. I want a player to join West Ham for the thrill of playing at Upton Park and in front of our passionate fans; not because his best mate is there and a manager he is familiar with, some may argue that was an ‘extra incentive’ no, that was the only incentives!
With the departure of Carlton Cole and seemingly inevitable farewell of Modibo Maiga we are in desperate need of fire power, so I say we evaluate the options available to us, with players like Bent, Bony, Hooper and Rhodes (among others) out there. The money supposedly being demanded for Carroll could be invested on two or three decent attackers. Admittedly it would be a gamble, but signing a striker on a 100k a week who will be lucky to bag us 10 goals is a gamble…
Andy Carroll has not said anything his on holiday in America till early next week then I expect him to sign a deal . As for Defoe for get it us faithful will never forget what you did lukaku is the natural choise if Chelsea would do a loan deal similar to the Carroll deal
He would be a great signing for us. Regardless of if we pay him £70, 80, 100k a week.
That’s the going rate nowadays for a half decent player. The TV money is going up so will the wages, some are on 200+ now so if we paid AC 100k it’s not an outrageous amount (in football terms obviously).
As Gizza said, he puts in 100% every minute he’s on the pitch. Not only does he score goals but he makes them and very importantly, he defends goals too. Think of how many headers he’ cleared from set pieces and how many times he’s chased back.
I’m a huge fan and I think he could become a massive player for us for the next few years. My only concern is he picks up a lot of injuries and they seem to all be 2/3 months out.
I too have my doubts about Andy Carroll motivation for playing at West Ham. He took an age to convince to sign last summer, because he wasn’t really interested. Last game of the season he wore his t shirt to thank the crowd and looked as though he was saying goodbye. As though he’d already decided not to stay. And now he’s stuttering on signing a done deal. … I can’t blame him for thinking it over. But if this was interview for a normal everyday humble job like the ones the rest of us have, we’d be given a day or two to think over a job offer. If we asked for 2 weeks we’d lose out! Why? Because it would be deemed that our heart is not in it. … It’s the same here with Andy Carroll. .. He’d prefer a different option but he hasn’t got one. That’s not the kind of conditions i like my beloved WH to spend a record amount of money on.
Regarding his commitment on the field of play, I don’t know if he does give 100% all the time. I disagree with some comments here. Sometimes yes, he does!. But sometimes i see him strolling around, arrogant and disinterested. As though it’s beneath him. And sometimes he puts more energy into complaining to the ref. ..The arrogant walking around is what gets to me. But he does cause problems, he does build play, he does have a lethal shot on him. … He does have a fine season in him somewhere, a 20+ goals per season. I’m sure of that…. A lot however will depend on the service he gets and whether we play positive or negative football.
The fee? 15 million yes. Definitely! He could be scoring in the world cup next summer and would be a great advertisement for the club. 100k per week? i just hope that’s blx. It’s way too much to ask for, and too much to give.
Regarding other options? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSLoDVoXqVo Here’s a link to Gary Hooper’s video. He looks pretty handy too. Great touch on the ball. Look at his first goal!… Remember we would need 4 strikers in our squad. I’d go for Defoe as well.
Gizzi you have made some really good points. In my opinion to see Carroll in full tilt getting on the end of crosses is a great siight. People talk about his second goal against West Brom but I thought his first goal in that game was a great goal.
I would guess 100% of West Ham players would rather play for other clubs if the opportunity arose whether that be Newscastle, Spurs, Man Utd or Barcelona – it’s a silly argument
Carrol apart…….who isn’t a West Ham player and lets hope that remains the case at the wages he’s demanding…….shame Ashley is too tight to come in for him. I don’t think any of our players would see Newcastle as anything other than a sideways step……..London / Newcastle….the gerdies better offer better wages IMO.
Sorry just to clarify didnt mean all our players would want to join Newcastle just there are clubs they would all pick over West Ham
I agree Chris. I’ve made this point elsewhere that there must be better goal scorers about whom we can get for less money. I don’t think that AC will be good for WHU in the long term. If we do sign him then I hope that I’m wrong.
Bony, Rhodes and Hooper for me. Probably cost us £25m in fees and all on around £50-80k per week each. When Carroll gets injured he misses lots of games. For example he is supposed to be out now until at least Oct-Nov. Thats possibly 9-15 league matches (going by last seasons stats) plus 2 cup matches (if we win the first game!). That will leave him with between 23-29 league games remaining (if he stays fit) possible return again of around 7-10 goals…also he will miss all pre-season training too. Lots of ifs….but you see where I am coming from. The other guys are all fit and ready to go.
have done the maths based on how many points we got this season with carroll, 33 points from 24 games, average of 1.375 points a game. without carroll, 14 points from 14 games. average of 1 point a game. if you average out both over 38 games, with him we would have 52 points, good for 8th place, without him, 38 points, 17th place, just 2 points above 18th. £800k a place means an extra £7.2m in prize money.
i knows its not an exact science but we were clearly better with him and if he did the same next year the extra prize money would pay for his fee… in 2 seasons!
£15m and £100k per week indicates a quality footballer. However only we are prepared to pay it apparently. Liverpool don’t want him or rate him. Carroll plays hard to get….. so Sam keep on looking elsewhere.