Andy Carroll Back To Being "The Beast"

At Liverpool, Andy Carroll had to adapt his playing style. Then again, at Newcastle, Dalglish had been favoring a classic no. 9 already so the signing of Carroll for Liverpool should not surprise many last year. What was more disappointing was the lack of service for Carroll especially when Dalglish also bought Downing and Enrique to lay bombs on Carroll's head. For me, Carroll was not a flop at Liverpool, the supporting cast of Downing and Enrique let him down badly.

The move to West Ham, where Sam Allardyce plays the football that Andy craves, could not come at an opportune time. Andy Carroll scored arguably the best goal in the Euros and he proved that when it comes to heading the ball, he has no peers in the Premier League.

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Two Late Headed Winners Should Give Andy Carroll Confidence Boost

Andy Carroll started the last two Liverpool games, and they were important games in some respect. Liverpool ended a four game win-less streak with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Blackburn Rovers. The Reds followed that up with a come-from-behind FA Cup victory over Everton, thus maintaining their hoodoo spell over the blue of Merseyside. In both these games, Carroll scored late winners to emerge as the hero for Liverpool. That the winners were both headed goals made everything all the more sweeter.

When asked about the 87th minute winner, Andy Carroll told ESPN,

"It's the best feeling ever. We worked hard and getting the goal right there at the end was great. I had a few chances and should have probably scored earlier. But I kept at it and it was a great ball in by Craig, and I just had to score with that one and I did. It's a great feeling. I've had some criticism but I've just kept on going. I get the winner here and it's a great feeling. I believe in myself every day."

It's been a while since he had felt the love of the fans. And he certainly felt it after that superb header against Everton.

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Unlucky Reds Home Form Are Reminders Of Rafa's Title Chasing Season

Liverpool huffed and puffed once more but came up against another excellent goalkeeping display. A feat that Mark Bunn probably will and could not repeat even if he tried. The journeyman goalkeeper showed far better reflexes than Paul Robinson have had this season to deny Andy Carroll a confidence-boosting goal. As if to add insult to hurt, Blackburn defence only had Chris Samba as the experienced defender, the rest were youth team players elevated to emergency first team action!

SIX home draws have surely dampened Liverpool's hopes for a Champions League spot. Drawing against the Wigans, Fulhams and Blackburns of the Premiership are of course nothing new for the mighty Reds. We should remember that home draws against inferior opposition costed Liverpool the Premiership title. There is a strange Benitez resonance to this season's results and this problem to kill off the lesser Premier League teams at home is rearing its ugle head again.

The Reds need to be ruthless like Manchester United if they want that fourth Champions League spot.

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Liverpool Homing In On Fourth Spot With Villa Win

Liverpool have taken more points off Aston Villa than any other team in the Premiership, 68 points to be exact. Villa have let in seven goals through opposition setpieces prior to their match against the mighty Reds. And so, it was inevitable that Liverpool would get three points against the toothless Villans and that the goals came from corners meant that Liverpool exploited Villa's weakness.

Bellamy was fantastic throughout the match and poignantly in that 15-20 minute first half spell, Craig Bellamy was involved in everything that was good about Liverpool. He created one and scored one, Kenny Dalglish could not have asked more from the veteran Welshman.

He even took on the role of a playmaker as he sprayed passes left and right in that dominant Liverpool first half spell. The Reds have been excellent away from home, winning five of their eight away matches.

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Swansea Looked Like Barcelona Against Liverpool

Once again, Liverpool flattered to deceive. At Anfield, against a Swansea that does not travel well, the mighty Reds laboured to a disappointing draw. An out-of-sorts Liverpool performance was made worse because of a superb goalkeeping display by the Swans' Michel Vorm. His two saves from Suarez highlighted his sterling performance. Another worrying observation was that a poorly performing Luis Suarez automatically meant a disappointing Liverpool.

The Reds used to be known as a two-man team when Gerrard and Torres were in Liverpool red. Now, Liverpool is looking like a one-man team with El Pistolero. When the Uruguayan performs, Liverpool performs. Against Swansea, he seemed strangely lethargic but yet was still the Reds' most dangerous player.

To be honest, Swansea passed the ball extremely well. The Swans hardly lost possession and Liverpool were made to work very hard to get the ball back. So, when Daniel Agger commented "we were like headless chickens", he was spot-on. Barcelona turned possession football into an art-form and if Swansea had Messi instead of Danny Graham. the Swans would have left Anfield with three points.

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Suarez And Carroll Partnership Blossoms For Liverpool

Luis Suarez never has a bad game. A body of perpetual motion, the Uruguayan's movement and elusiveness remain Liverpool's most dangerous attacking threat. El Pistolero's immensely positive contribution in games are often tinged with slight regrets. He does not score as many goals as he should have, considering the amount of chances he creates game in game out. Having said that, his presence in a Liverpool red alone is worth the admission fee to the match as he gives his all and tries his all for the team and for the fans.

True to form, the wee man, Luis had a major influence against West Brom. His very presence in the Baggies' penalty box frightened the life out of Olsson and forced Jerome Thomas into conceding a penalty. A penalty that allowed the Reds to take early control of the match against their former manager's team.

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Dirk Kuyt's Vision Created Andy Carroll's Derby Goal

My buddy, Ed and I continued our almost weekly dissection of Liverpool's weekend performance after a friendly game of indoor futsal. Now Ed is a guy with a rather thought provoking mind. While we were both thrilled that "The Beast" Andy Carroll opened his Premier League account this season with a brilliant derby goal, he remarked how Dirk Kuyt's excellent run and "dummy" duck created the room for Carroll to rifle the ball past Tim Howard.

That got me thinking. Did the Dutchman know what he was doing when he ducked under the ball as Enrique cut the ball back from the byline? Or was it just that the ball was hit at a speed that Kuyt had no choice but to avoid contact with the ball? I watched again the video replay of Carroll's first goal for Liverpool to make up my mind. In the lead up to the goal, Kuyt ran to the near post taking Distin with him, he knew Carroll was centrally placed, showed great vision by avoiding the ball, allowing Carroll to pick his spot with a sweet left footed finish.

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Liverpool's Andy Carroll Off The Blocks!

Andy Carroll finally proved his worth to Liverpool against Manchester City on Monday night. In his fourth full game for the Reds, the giant Geordie scored two brilliant goals underlining his potential and ability as a big-game player. The goals showcased Carroll's talents and strengths, a lethally accurate left foot and superb heading ability. I have not forgotten that powerful shot he scored from against Dalglish's Reds at St. James Park in December last year.

Carroll was frightening in the first half when the damage was done. Manchester City was left shell-shocked by the early onslaught from Liverpool and could not keep pace with the Reds. Unlike against West Brom away, Liverpool swarmed forward at every opportunity, Meireles, Spearing and Kuyt were taking up good positions at the edge of the box to keep the pressure on City. That pressure kept City on the back foot and helped Liverpool maintain the upper hand.

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