Source: FOOTYMAD
Life With Andy Carroll - The Long Ball Game!
The Scousers crashed out of Europe last night as Andy Carroll made his first start for the club, and there weren't many tears on Tyneside for their demise. Is Carroll a Liverpool type of player? Personally I don't think he is. Liverpool fans expect more from their team than the 'long ball game' and I'm afraid they had better get used to it. The temptation is always there to loft the ball high into the middle with a striker so tall, and he does cause defenders problems. It worked for us in the rough-and-tumble Championship, but Liverpool are never going to be challenging for the Premiership playing the way they do ... and they won't be playing in Europe next season, either! Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish does not know what the after-effects of their Europa League exit will be on his side but admitted it places extra significance on their domestic form. The Reds' goalless draw against Braga at Anfield meant they went out of the competition 1-0 on aggregate at the last-16 stage. In order to avoid failing to qualify for Europe for the first time since 1999 they now have to finish fifth in the Barclays Premier League. But that is no easy feat with current incumbents Tottenham six points ahead having played one match less. Dalglish: "Andy stayed on longer than we hoped he would have to stay on but necessity meant he had to stay on the pitch because we were looking for a goal. "Overall we are pleased to see him back on the pitch and we were not disappointed with his contribution in any way. "It was a bit unfortunate he did not score a goal; he put one header wide in the first half and then had one stopped by Dirk Kuyt in the second. "Considering it was his first start I think he can be very pleased with how he played. "If Andy's header had gone in in the first half it could have been a different outcome but we never put anything past the goalkeeper. "You need to be really strong creatively if you are going to break down a very organised side or you need a bit of luck and we certainly have not had much fortune over two legs. "Like every other team in the world we could do with a bit more creativity but we are no different than anyone else. "I don't know if it will be a help not being in the Europa League. "It (the Europa League) was an option for us to get back into Europe next year if we'd won it. "But we know that in every league game we will have to try to get as much as we possibly can. "We were going to do that any way, so I don't know if it will be a blessing or not. "You only get in Europe if you win games. If you win enough games and get enough points we will get in Europe."
