Andy Carroll finally made his long awaited return from injury when he came off the substitutes bench for the final few minutes in the draw against Aston Villa at the weekend. That would seem like barely enough time to have a real impact in the match but what an impact he did have.
It was a very frustrating result in the end, but the failure to score certainly wasn’t down to a lack of trying. There were more than enough chances created in normal time to put Villa away, but in those final injury time minutes, it was complete carnage in the visitors penalty area, which was highly entertaining, if ultimately disappointing.
With Carroll on the pitch alongside Diafra Sakho and Carlton Cole up front and Stewart Downing switched to the wing, West Ham went very direct for those closing moments of the match, pumping ball after ball into the penalty area. You certainly couldn’t argue that Sam Allardyce didn’t go all out for three points. However, the Irons were unable to find the back of the net thanks mainly to a combination of a blatant penalty appeal being turned down, some valiant defending, and several superb saves from the Villa keeper Brad Guzan.
Despite this, the introduction of Carroll really emphasised the so-called ‘plan B’ option we have in our armoury now. The Geordie striker was an absolute menace from the moment he stepped onto the pitch, and supplied with good crosses from the likes of Downing and Aaron Cresswell, struggled to be contained by the Villains’ back line.
This switch of tactics, and the ability to call on a man with the aerial prowess of Carroll, who is arguably peerless in that regard, is likely to be something the Hammers will need to further utilise in matches this season. I think there are going to be a fair few other sides who will come to Upton Park with a similar game plan as Aston Villa did on Saturday; sitting deep and looking to counter-attack, thanks to the increase in quality in the West Ham squad. Sometimes, in this scenario, the diamond formation, which has worked so well this campaign, may be nullified to a certain extent.
Having the players who can provide accurate crosses on a regular basis into a box filled with players strong in the air is therefore an alternative route to goal, and will certainly make life much harder for opposition defences.
With most of the players now back from the various injuries that have hit the squad this campaign, there looks to be a plethora of options and formations that Sam Allardyce has at his disposal against different opponents. Andy Carroll gives us a particularly good extra dimension, and it showed in just those few minutes on Saturday.
