"The big lad up front"

[Silk]

I thought Carroll caused Italy more problems than anyone. We defended well. We have a good keeper (although I thought his behaviour in the shootout was naive). We have some good forwards who never get the ball, because the midfield is poor. We spent the whole of the second half not knowing what the ball was or what to do with it. The first twenty minutes, we were the better side and I felt optimistic; we were passing well and creating chances - what went wrong? Gerrard is past it. Milner is hopeless. Young was poor throughout. Rebuild the midfield and we might be surprised.

 

[B.W.]

Gus has said he wants a player with presence upfront, and has tried (and failed) with Barn-door and Vokes (a bit better, but not great), so the OP is out-of-order in criticising fans asking for a player with presence: Gus is in 'the minority' the OP mentions!!

 

[Albumen]

Having a go at Carroll for last night? Wierd.

 

[Questions]

But you have to remember that at this level the coaches are just the parents of the kids doing it. It can take years for them to get coaching qualifications so you will always have a mixture of coaching abilities.

Fair point but we have a fraction of Uefa pro A and B coaches compared to Spain and Germany.

 

[pork pie]

With the comedy of Andy Carroll tonight against Italy, then will the minority of Brighton fans asking for Poyet to "buy a big lad up front" to "give another option" have learnt?

When English kids start playing 5 a side football until they are 14 then the likes of Carroll and Heskey up front for England will be history. England did as well as they could with limited passing ability.

What a load of bollox!

If Carroll had been playing instead of Rooney when the ball was far enough up the pitch to create chances in the first half hour he would have been effective. Even in the period that he was on the pitch he did his bit, and won nearly every ball. Nobody should expect him to have the ball stuck to his feet, the little players were too slow to give him the support he was looking for, and he was forced to try to carry the ball like a little player. Nobody should point a finger in his direction for our failure to win last night.

In my opinion, the biggest issue about last night and the Ukraine match, is playing Rooney. His walking back into the team, and failure to perform on a big stage, personify all that has been wrong with England football for recent decades.

If people are going to be talk about issues with size and strength - what about that lightweight poof Ashley Young? How did he get to play even?

All of the anti JT brigade - where would we have been without him? Rio who? Gerard had a good Euros, so it would be unfair to say anything against him, but the true captain was not wearing and armband.

 

[Stat Brother]

Carroll didn't do a lot wrong, last night.
The problem is mind set of any English when 'the big lad' is playing.

Instant hooftastic.

Carroll played really well, back to goal touch lay off move.

The problem stemmed from the fact all his good work was done with a ball launched at him, from 60 yards away.

 

[Seagull58]

The scary thing is, Carroll is a lot better than Heskey, and a lot (most) people on here would be happy to sign him...

Carroll is not in the same class as Heskey AT HIS PEAK. Heskey was much much more mobile and had better control. Haven't seen him play for 2 or 3 years though.

 

[Seagull58]

Shearer made an utter tit of himself as a pundit though. He (and Guy Mowbray) kept on and on about Carroll's different dimension, Shearer going as far as to suggest "They [Italy] won't have seen anyone like him before" and wondering how they'd cope.

What? Don't tall people exist in Italy? FFS, Carroll is 6'3". Balotelli is 6'2". Is there some sort of freakish ability that comes with that extra inch in height?

That freakish ability to turn attack into defence?

 

[watsongooal]

What a strange thread. Carroll didnt do anything wrong last night and did more that Wellbeck in the time he was on.

He also destroyed Al Abd at Anfield.

I would love a player like him

 

[Gregory2Smith1]

personally i thought carroll was out of his depth last night,ok did a number on al abd,but this is italy were talking about

walcott made a 50 yard run,all carroll had to do was pass to him and get himself in the box,but no,he ignores walcott's run,instead turns round and passes back 20 yards!

fair enough turfhead wasn't much better,clearly ate too many pies,lacks pace for someone so young

anyone over 25 get rid,let's build a team for the 2018 world cup

 

[Working class pride]

The most successful "pass" rate was the England keeper to "the big lad up front". That says everything that is wrong with English football. When will people learn?

 

[kevtherev]

Carroll scored one of the best goals of the tournament. Held the ball up well and was probably England's best striker in his time on the pitch. The only mistake was not using him more. When Carroll is at it, he is unplayable, much like Duncan Ferguson was in his day.

 

[melias shoes]

The scary thing is, Carroll is a lot better than Heskey, and a lot (most) people on here would be happy to sign him...

Not me.

 

[Lethargic]

What a load of bollox!

If Carroll had been playing instead of Rooney when the ball was far enough up the pitch to create chances in the first half hour he would have been effective. Even in the period that he was on the pitch he did his bit, and won nearly every ball. Nobody should expect him to have the ball stuck to his feet, the little players were too slow to give him the support he was looking for, and he was forced to try to carry the ball like a little player. Nobody should point a finger in his direction for our failure to win last night.

In my opinion, the biggest issue about last night and the Ukraine match, is playing Rooney. His walking back into the team, and failure to perform on a big stage, personify all that has been wrong with England football for recent decades.

If people are going to be talk about issues with size and strength - what about that lightweight poof Ashley Young? How did he get to play even?

All of the anti JT brigade - where would we have been without him? Rio who? Gerard had a good Euros, so it would be unfair to say anything against him, but the true captain was not wearing and armband.

If he had played Barn Door Billy up front he would have been more affective than Rooney - unfit and over hyped.

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

I'm no fan if Carroll but we were so poor when he came I thought he showed some good touches. Some good headed flicks, good chest control to hold the ball up. If your going to criticise anyone, Rooneys your man. Another poor performance tonight.

This.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Current equivalent of Linekar and Bearsley anyone - most succesful partnership I can remember?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Euros - never going to win it - who really cares now its over at last.

 

[Pavilionaire]

That goal against Sweden shows he can do something no other English striker can do, therefore he has to be part of the squad. And can you imagine what he might achieve if we had a winger in the side who could cross like Beckham?