Former Millwall and Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino has questioned Andy Carroll’s intelligence.
West Ham United’s Andy Carroll celebrates scoring
Carroll returned to the West Ham team after another recent injury lay-off as the Hammers were beaten 2-1 by Premier League champions-elect Chelsea on Monday night.
His much anticipated return was something of a damp squib, though, as he was kept quiet by the Blues defence throughout.
That did not stop the big striker putting himself about, though, as he clattered into the likes of Gary Cahill and David Luiz on a number of occasions.
Carroll spent two spells off the pitch for treatment on a bang to the nose picked up when launching himself into a full-blooded aerial challenge.
And after the game former striker turned pundit Cascarino, who played for West Ham’s bitter rivals Chelsea and Millwall during his career, questioned Carroll’s intelligence on talkSPORT.
“I was watching Andy Carroll and I think Andy has got an incredible will to try and win certain balls, but he doesn’t half go for some daft ones as well,” Cascarino told The Sports Bar.
Tony Cascarino in his Millwall days
“I can easily see why he gets injured so much.
“Because there’s some as a centre forward you’ve got to go ‘I can’t go for that one, I could hurt myself’.”
There is no getting away from the fact Carroll is injury prone, just ask any Newcastle United, Liverpool or West Ham fan.
When he is fit and firing he is up there with the best strikers in the league, as proved by his recent run of six goals in the equivalent of eight matches.
Calm down Carroll
It is striking that delicate balance and not taking away what makes the player special, which in Carroll’s case very much stems from his physicality and bravery.
But Cascarino has been around the block and scored a fantastic 267 goals in over 700 career games and knows what he is talking about.
Indeed Slaven Bilic even touched on the fact Carroll doesn’t help himself with his overzealous approach even in training.
Now he is back fit he will be hoping it stays that way with 11 games to go and top scorer Michail Antonio to catch.
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