Andy Carroll has come back from injury recently, and has been in excellent form over the last two games.
Andy Carroll – looking the part at Newcastle
And he is not short of the passion and enthusiasm you would expect from a local lad, born and bred in Gateshead.
New dad Andy said today:
“I suppose I’m going to be a marked man now,” “Two goals in two games will make people sit up and take notice. It’s nice to have that recognition, but it doesn’t make my job any easier.”
“It was tough against Plymouth, they were holding us and grabbing us the whole time. They were putting a man in front of me and behind me.”
“So I couldn’t move backwards or get a run up on the header. It’s tough and very physical and teams will continue to use those tactics.”
“I’m going to have to get used to the special treatment, it’s part of the game because they don’t want me winning the ball in the air and they don’t want me to get it into my feet and turn with it.”
“I’ll have to take a few kicks and bruises along the way. It’s my job to try and win as many headers as a I can and I’ll try to give as good as I get.”
The England U21 International is still far from the finished product of course, but there’s no doubt the class is there, and if only he keeps his head down, lives a clean life, works hard on the training pitch, and listens to the coaches, he could become some player.
And the very same thing can be said for 18 year-old Nile Ranger, currently an England U19 International, so Newcastle fans sense a growing excitement about these two lads and what they can aspire to.
Carroll also knows there arequite a number of things he needs to improve on, including his hold-up play, but he seems to know all that:
“I’ve still got a lot of improvement to make, particularly with my hold up play,” “I also want to get in the gym and work extra hard because I want to get stronger.”
“I have to be able to hold my own physically if I’m going to rise to the challenge of leading the line for Newcastle United in the Championship.”
“It’s always going to be a battle in this division and I’ve got to work on my hold-up play, bringing other people into the game and linking up moves.”
Great words from Andy, and we’ll likely need some of his goals tonight at Peteborough.
Anybody know if Andy and his girlfriend have named their new baby daughter yet?
Comments welcome.
7 comments so far
bren32
Sep 22, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Comment #1this boy looks a verygood prospect. I am quite sure had we not have been relegated we would not have seen too much of him for another year or two. It is sad to see how much we were let down by the senior players last year when you see some of the young players from the academy that was waiting in the wings. most of those bad players have moved on and have got another chance which is not deserved to earn big money and start again at another club.I hope that the club are tying andy and the other young players up to long term contracts because they will most certainly e sought after come January and it realy would be the bottom of the barrel if ashley sells the future of the club to line his pockets.
Charlietoon
Sep 22, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Comment #2What do you reckon…any chance of the game being shown on the net tonight??
sirjasontoon
Sep 22, 2009 at 10:25 AM
Comment #3Think a year in the championship will do Carroll the world of good as well as Ameobi….still unsure if they both could cut the custard in the premiership though.
punk skunk...
Sep 22, 2009 at 10:39 AM
Comment #4Bren mate,
players are equally culpable these days, when it comes to transfers, if a player wants out, he’ll get out…That said, there’s no point in keepin’ a player that doesn’t wanna be here!..
…& none of the players that have recently gone wanted to stay…Simple!..
…They weren’t so much bad players, it’s all been a bad situation & was bound to end in tears, wasn’t it?..
punk skunk...
Sep 22, 2009 at 10:42 AM
Comment #5Your right there SJT,
At least down here, they get some proper game time that would never have got in the prem…
bren32
Sep 22, 2009 at 12:54 PM
Comment #6i am sorry punk skunk maybe you picked me up wrong you are quite right that none of the players wanted to be here last year as that was quite obvious in the way that they performed. The point I was trying to make was i believe that some of our young players are the talent of our future and with proper management and ownership in place I am quite sure that with the right pay deal they would be willing to commit for the future. It is true to say that if a player does not want to stay then clearly they wont, thats where the manager comes in. Things were clearly unsettling last year and my fear is that if we dont get some stability those players that would like to commit to the club may also become unsettled and ultimately be sold.
punk skunk...
Sep 22, 2009 at 1:56 PM
Comment #7Bren,
so sorry mate, my bad!..
…You’re dead right!..