Andy Carroll, what does he do?

[RedKnight]

It was, as Brendan Rodgers put it, an honour for Luis Suárez to captainLiverpool in what proved to be André Villas-Boas's swan song at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. And much more besides. It was recognition of his status as the club's finest talent, reward for his reaction to a thwarted transfer saga and, perhaps cynically, part of a concerted effort to avoid a repeat next summer. Liverpool cannot be faulted for indulging Suárez on that score.

The award of the captaincy in the absence of the injured Steven Gerrard and the out-of-favour Daniel Agger, Liverpool's vice-captain, underlined the extent of Suárez's rehabilitation since accusing Rodgers of breaking promises over his future only four months earlier. His response was another illustration of why he is being recognised as simply one of the leading strikers in the world, rather than a world-class talent carrying too much baggage, as Liverpool reinforced their Champions League credentials at White Hart Lane. It also demonstrated why Anfield officials wish to secure him on a new long-term contract before the season is over.

Suárez's brace in the 5-0 rout took his tally for the season to 17 goals in 11 appearances, an average of 1.54 per game. The 26-year-old has scored more goals in the 12 weeks he has been available to Liverpool than 10 of the Premier League's 20 clubs have produced since the campaign began on 17 August. And to think there were question marks over Suárez's finishing during the first 18 months of his Liverpool career.

The Uruguay international's return under Kenny Dalglish was hardly a cause for despair, four in the 13 games that followed his £23.5m arrival from Ajax in January 2010 followed by 17 goals in 40 appearances in 2011-12 as he settled into the Premier League. But the trajectory soared to 30 under Rodgers last season and, were he to maintain his current remarkable ratio over the final 22 league games, Suárez would break the 50-goal barrier.

Rodgers gave his explanation for the striker's outstanding form and finishing before West Ham United's recent visit to Anfield, pinpointing the bold decision to off‑load Liverpool's £35m record signing, Andy Carroll, and construct a team around Suárez at the start of his tenure as the turning point. The Liverpool manager said: "My thinking was that if Luis is playing with a big guy he is playing off the second ball, and his anticipation skills are very good. But I just felt that wouldn't benefit him because when you play with a big target man it is hard not to make that the focal point of your team.

"Removing that means you have to connect your game better through the lines. Possession is not good enough on its own, you have to penetrate. With a player like Luis, who is always on the move in between spaces and in behind, that serves him best."

That, however, does not address Suárez's impressive reaction to being refused a move away from Anfield this summer. Premier League stars were accustomed to getting their own way, and sulking if refused, but Suárez's commitment has been faultless while his temperament is reflected in a disciplinary record this season of one booking during a frenetic Merseyside derby. If he is playing for a move to a Champions League club, the evidence so far indicates he wants to take Liverpool with him.

With all due respect to Arsène Wenger and Arsenal, Suárez must have reflected on why the Premier League leaders – whom Liverpool can overtake with victory over Cardiff City on Saturday – were the only club to make an official bid for his services in the summer and realised that change was in order. As Gerrard said just days before the striker pleaded for a transfer in an interview with the Guardian: "Move on if you want further down the line, but a player of his calibre should wait for the big one to come to him. He deserves to play for one of the best teams in the world, a Barcelona or a Real Madrid. They will come calling for him again. I am hoping, from a biased point of view, that he gives us another year and shows us the form he did last season. Maybe it will be time for him to go next year or the year after. I don't think it is the right time for him to go just yet."

The Liverpool captain has been unerringly accurate in his statements relating to Suárez's career and value to Rodgers' team, saying in August, for example, that: "What we can achieve this season depends on whether he stays or goes."

On Sunday, in the Sky studio at White Hart Lane, Gerrard admitted: "We're lucky to have him and we need to enjoy him while he's here because if he keeps performances up like this, I hate to say it, but the big guns are going to be sniffing which is what we don't want." Liverpool are striving to ensure that is one Gerrard prediction that bucks the trend.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/dec/16/luis-suarez-rodgers-andy-carroll-liverpool

[Jairzinho]

What might have been...

[xerxes]

The best bit of business in getting rid counter-balanced by the worst piece of business in buying him for the price we paid.

 

Blame needs to be equally shared.FSG casually allowed the proceeds to be spent with scant regard for value ( because they had no idea what was and was not value). Comolli was the wrong man for the job, appointed because he knew more about football than FSG and Ayre( not difficult). Kenny was far removed from the market, and although he didn't set the price, at the very least acquiesced to the buy, draining funds, and setting an inflated standard for the Henderson and Downing purchases as a result, whoever was to blame. It was a perfect storm of disastrous proportions.

[El Rojo]

Showed a shot of him in the director's box at West Ham at the weekend, he looked like a former Miami Vice extra who'd spent months finding himself in a cave with a rucksack full of peyote.

 

Rodgers' ruthlessness in getting rid looks more shrewd every day.

[spider-neil]

[Jairzinho]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVnFUVpVXVk

[Megadrive Man]

Not just the worst (by some distance) signing in our history, but I struggle to think of another signing in the world that prevents it being the worst signing in the history of the game.

 

I actually think West Ham were more crazy than we were.

 

For a club that size to put all their faith in him, when their didn't exactly seem to be clubs banging on the door to sign him, I was shocked!

 

At least when we signed him we were only using the Torres money, and we also got Suarez in the same window. He was the sole signing at West Ham, so they had to resort to getting Carlton Cole back! 

 

Admittedly everybody in football (bar our owners) realised that he wasn't worth £35 million and never ever would be. He was a £15- £20 million player in todays market based on his potential but he clearly didn't have the technique required to warrant a fee of any more than £20 million.To put it in perspective Sunderland paid £12 million for Steven Fletcher around the same time. 

 

 If you want a rival for worst ever deal try Elvir Baljic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvir_Balji%C4%87

[Sangria]

Indeed West Ham saved us a fortune, the year loan and then they bought him, it could have been our worst deal ever but we got out of it.  

We got almost twenty million back on him, that is some serious shit.  

 

It was a stupid panic buy and an astronomical amount of money we paid, crazy, not completely hides those facts, just thankfully there was a club out there crazier than us.

[DanDanShaw]

He was, is and always will be fucking shite.  It's the worst signing in football history.  Technical ability only a mother can love.

[Bjornebye]

 

boss song though 

[Section_31]

Feeling vindicated. Crippled big pile of dog shit. Adios fat Sam.

[Hand Shandy]

I predict a 15 minute cameo as West Ham chase the game, during the course of which he will break down with another injury...

[chrisbonnie]

A mate of mine reckons Andy Carroll failed a random drug test for some recreational drugs and West Ham have covered it up. He also says the FA are going to take points off of the hammers.

 

My mate also has a very, very vivid imagination :-)

 

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

 

 

[s(k)aturation]

Feeling vindicated. Crippled big pile of dog shit. Adios fat Sam.

 

I'd like to think you've had far greater triumphs on here, M.

[Bobby Hundreds]

One of the worst signing in the entire history of football what the giddy fuck was going through our heads. That aside Torres cost Chelsea 50 million and he has performed more like a jelavic.

[Red Banjo]

Seeing as Erik Lamela was roughly the same price as Carroll, and Soldado was only just cheaper... its somewhat surprising that Spurs aren't getting the same negative press coverage as we got with the big Geordie grock.

 

Oh wait. Its not a shock at all. 

[Jairzinho]

To be fair, Soldado and Lamela are excellent footballers.

 

AVB and Sherwood should get plenty of stick for not getting anywhere near the best out of them though.

[spider-neil]

The moment Brendan walked though the door he couldn't get rid fast enough.

Obviously Bren wasn't buying the Carroll hype.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

I'd have Soldado and Lamela here tomorrow. People are way too quick to judge these types of players.

[Duff Man]

Still can't believe we got 15m for him.

[Megadrive Man]

Still can't believe we got 15m for him.

 

Wasn't it closer to £19 million in total?

[Red Banjo]

I'd have Soldado and Lamela here tomorrow. People are way too quick to judge these types of players.

 

I said 6 months ago that Soldado could very well turn out to be Morientes. I've yet to see anything yet that is disproving this. Not a slight on him as a player, as i think he is very good. But being good in Spain is very different to being good in the PL.

 

Lamela could be following Veron's path. Excellent in Italy, fish out of water in England.

 

I'm not judging them quickly, I'm judging them on what they cost and what impact they've had. The answer to that is loads and very little. It may change ofcourse but there's not much evidence of it as yet.

[lifetime fan]

The moment Brendan walked though the door he couldn't get rid fast enough.

Obviously Bren wasn't buying the Carroll hype.

Anyone with eyes shouldn't have bought the hype.

 

He's fucking shite.

[Jairzinho]

Managers have to take a large chunk of blame.

 

Shevchenko was the same at Chelsea. Mourinho had a strop because the Russian billionaire dog signed him. So Mourinho decided to pretend Shevchenko was Drogba and just get the centre halves hoofing 70 yard hopeful punts at him. What an enormous shock that it didn't work out.

 

It seems Soldado was bought without even watching how Valencia played. Spurs signed 137 little creative attacking central midfielders and then a striker that thrives off direct play with balls in behind and crosses whipped in with pace.

 

Fucking mongs.

[El Rojo]

£35m cult hero.

 

It was a brilliant piece of business to get the guts of £20m back for him, and Rodgers deserves great credit for giving him a complete cold shoulder when he took over.