Not really because Suarez presses high up the pitch and wins the ball in dangerous areas. What's the point of Carroll winning the ball back in defence as he's not quick enough or got the motivation to run with the ball from his own half to join the attack.
It's a shame Agger will be out for a little while with a broken rib. I think he definately gets the best out of Skrtel.
Thought Carroll did just fine to be honest, couple of times he should have been closer to goal for crosses etc but his control and defensive duties were spot on and his control last month was beyond a joke so he is improving and will keep doing so. For me KK has Gerrard playing far too deep, its like he was a CB yesterday taking passes from Reina!! Loved Kuyt popping up with an important goal, rarely fails to get one on the big stage. And back to the actual topic, Downing was fantastic. I don't know why he hasn't been playing with that flair/ambition since the start of the season, agree that he is treated harshly and isn't as bad as some make out but he has had a poor season and would love it if he could kick on and put in more shifts like yesterday.
Well is Carroll really a number nine? Or a number ten? He does a lot of defensive work that he recieves no credit for.
Exactly and this was a Cup Final, there were always going to be points where we needed players to dig in and do the less glamorous things. It's not like he spends every game on the edge of our box. If we'd had him in the box for their 2 corners in extra time then we may well have kept the goal out.
I absolutely agree, and I'm not knocking Andy for helping out defensively. In fact, it was him who put off Kenny Miller who could have won the game just before FT. However, I just felt he lacked the same desire up front. His recent performances have been encouraging though and it was a big occassion for any footballer, let alone a 23 year old.
To be honest I thought Downing was good yesterday without being amazing, he has been poor since he joined and yesterday was his best display by a distance but for me Skrtel was hands down the man of the match yesterday.
so if your team wins a pen shootout 1-0..is it sumt for you to be proud of? or would you actually question the penalties as an issue...after all you did win? as for Andy Carroll....if you had paid 10million for him as oppose to 35 million..i bet everyone would have praised him for his gutsy hard work and bonus of being a useful defender at times...and a bargain with huge potential etc.....the price tag kills him.
We was good! Probably our best along with Johnson. Hopefully we can kick on from here. Boy do we miss Lucas' energy. Without it there is a gaping hole behind our midfielders who don't have the legs to get back.
