Would anyone take Carroll back for the amount we'd have payed for Luuk De Jong?

"Look at what Arsenal have done, they have played good football for years, it hasn't let them down".

Apart from they haven't won a thing in like 7 years? And they've choked in so many matches where they've come under pressure and lost because they didn't have a plan other than pass, pass, pass?

I don't want to see us revert back to long balls as our primary strategy.

I want to see us play 4-3-3, technical football. But it's always nice to have an ace up your sleeve and the ability to change your style when the occasion calls for it.

We played long balls in the 3-0 win over man utd, it killed them. Did anyone care? No. We still put in a great performance, which was still technically good, but instead of playing it across the deck, with skill for most of it, we decided to bombard their defense with long balls.

Everyone respected us after that match because we totally raped United. We were also respect at the start of the season where we started to look like a great, well organised team, and that was before we adopted our more recently technical style. We were playing long balls towards the start of the campaign, and it served us well.

You can still play technically good, but also use long balls. Look at what Spurs did with Crouch and VDV!

 

In the long run, that style doesn't work out. You'll come up against a teams that will just pick you apart. And if you're trying to match Spurs, then what have they done in the last few years apart from a Carling Cup win? Surely your vision is to progress up the table and into a Champions League spot than to win a Carling Cup?

 

if he was to become available, we've got a good set of lads together, why go back....his transfer allowed us to reinvest in a better team. we are now mentioned more on the back pages rather than the front. used properly he is a very good striker but so are ba and cisse. we need more dimensions to our play anyway, rather than more of the same up front.

 

You still don't understand what I'm saying do you.

I'm not saying we should get Carroll and revert back to long ball strategy. I want us to use our technical style as our primary style, however it's good to be able to switch styles for certain games.

We can play more technical football in a 4-3-3 in certain matches with Cisse and two wingers or w/e, and in some matches we can play Carroll with a partner up top and play long balls.

And just for your information, we played two big strikers and long balls against Spurs, we drew 2-2. We played it against Man Utd and we won 3-0.

Also why are you assuming that a team that plays long balls = A hoofball team? Hoofball teams constantly whack balls up the pitch, because they can't pull off a more technical style.

You can play long balls and still play technical football. Long balls can be useful, and we were in the top 4 long before we adopted this new style.

This new style will take us forward, but what will help us become very successful is being well organised, and also being able to change styles to suit different scenarios.

 

No, I understand what you are saying. What I am saying, is that even when you are half way through a match and are cruising, you shouldn't change your attacking style. You should have some faith in your current system. What you also need to remember is that the competition above and around you is extremely vast. You aren't just going to get success over night, it's going to take you a few seasons, and that would be a good time to establish a a good style of play, and once you have mastered it, that's when you can push on and cause some damage for other teams. Harry Redknapp's tactics shouldn't be aimed for, especially considering he isn't a renowned tactician.

 

I really think how people feel about this comes down to how gutted they were when Carroll left. I was pretty pissed off the way he exited, but once I knew we weren't going to get relegated that season I stopped giving much of a ****. And with the performance of the team last season, I'm really not bothered what happens with Carroll now. (Though I did laugh at his failure to live up to expectations at L'pool, but that was more to do with some L'pool fans I know and their annoyingness, rather that Carroll himself).

Anyway, my point is, I'm more excited about seeing new players come into the club, rather than wondering about what life would be like if Carroll hadn't left. And it's not that I have anything against him really (though he's probably burnt a few bridges); if he lived up to his potential he could be a useful player for NUFC. I just think that in the universe of players, we can find a better fit for our needs. Especially since the team has moved on from then.

It's all a bit hypothetical anyway, since even if he did go out on loan (and L'pool were prepared to subsidize his wages) there's still no way they'd send him to NUFC.

 

Absolutely this .

 

I personally wouldn't have him back as I don't think he's a better option than Cisse or Ba to start, and he's too costly to be third choice, but I do agree entirely with Pouch in that the suggestion that 'height = not good at football' is nonsensical. Carroll is a good all round striker, good with the ball, fairly quick and has a great shot on him. He's also 6'4 and can bury a good cross in the air. We could play in exactly the same way we do with Cisse, but with the additional bonus of being dangerous from crossed dead balls again. Having him in the side doesn't automatically mean you have to welly long balls at him, thats just the easy way out for lazy midfield players as shown by Liverpool and England (particularly when he came on against Italy) to no result whatsoever. I think a lot of people forget he's actually shorter than Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and no one regards him as a Peter Crouch outball.

Truth be told I'd like to see him go to Milan, I think it'd be fantastic for him personally and in terms of playing with players who'd actually pass him the ball. Plus I always like to see English players play overseas, we must be one of the only countries in world football where the entire squad plays in the same country, how do we progress like that?

 

Yo man, you actually live in the Bronx? That's cool, you a native or an exile? (I thought they were all Yankee fans in the Bronx?...)