Liverpool's captain came on and lifted his team but the �35m striker from Newcastle could not capitalise against his old club
When Steven Gerrard finally arrived to sort out the lamentable crossing that had hobbled Liverpool's efforts during the first hour, Andy Carroll began to look like a centre-forward once again. It was as simple as that. Had they enjoyed a full match together, rather than the 30 minutes they were given after Gerrard, who is still working his way back to fitness, arrived as a second-half substitute, they might have managed to complete the transformation of Carroll from an embarrassing joke back into the young colossus he resembled a year ago.
Gerrard's appearance presented Carroll with three chances, all from raking diagonal crosses from the right flank. Mike Williamson's untidy challenge kept him from meeting the first but he was alone in front of goal to meet the second, a clumsy first touch taking the ball out of his control. A few minutes later a third ball, delivered on a higher trajectory, saw Carroll rise above Williamson to smack a full-blooded header against the bar. At least he was getting closer, though not as close as Gerrard, whose fine goal sealed his return with a dramatic flourish. "Andy did everything tonight but score," Gerrard said. "He was very unlucky. If we keep giving him the service, the goals will come."
First blood in the loudly heralded battle of the centre-forwards went to Demba Ba, although Newcastle United's top scorer did no more than provoke Daniel Agger into deflecting Johan Cabaye's glancing header into the Liverpool net. Just over 40 minutes later Carroll played a similar role in the goal with which Craig Bellamy gave Liverpool the lead, neither he nor Williamson appearing to touch the ball as the Welshman's free-kick made its way past Tim Krul.
The differences between Ba and Carroll can be measured in the inch that separates them in height, the four years in age, the �35m in transfer fees or, more pertinently at this stage of the season, the matter of a dozen league goals. Various reasons have been advanced for Carroll's inability to make his performances for the Anfield club match the reputation he acquired at St James' Park, the most convincing being that Liverpool's style of play is not so closely tailored to the demands of his very traditional approach to the No9's job. With Luis Su�rez supplying the team's most potent goal threat and Maxi Rodriguez seemingly rejuvenated, the team's concentration has been on a quick-witted, short-passing game.
The absence of Su�rez last night gave Kenny Dalglish the opportunity to rearrange his side with the aim of optimising Carroll's natural assets and helping the big Geordie to rediscover the confidence that mysteriously failed to accompany him on the journey from the Tyne to the Mersey. But it is worth remembering that only 13 months ago, when Carroll made his debut for England in his last days as a Newcastle player, he looked far from being a man who plays the game in one dimension. Even in a 2-1 defeat by France, he presented himself as an international footballer in the making, leading the line with conviction but also showing an ability to drop deeper and link the play intelligently.
Carroll had to wait almost a quarter of an hour to make his first contribution last night, leaping high to knock down a clearance and then guiding the ball into the path of Bellamy, who sent Jos� Enrique away down the left. The Spaniard's low ball created anxiety for the Newcastle defence as it skimmed across the face of goal but no Liverpool player had made himself available to meet it. A couple of minutes later, when Ryan Taylor's cross was half-cleared, Carroll's shot, fiercely struck from 20 yards, was blocked by Jay Spearing, his team-mate.
Until Gerrard made his appearance it could be said in Carroll's defence that the quality of Liverpool's crosses, particularly from Stewart Downing and Glen Johnson on the right, had been disgracefully poor. No one had given the centre-forward as good a ball as he delivered to Bellamy in the first minute after the interval, sweeping a first-time pass into the path of his team-mate, running free down the left. When he took the momentum out of a promising move a few minutes later by redirecting Jos� Enrique's pass sloppily wide of Johnson, it was the sort of imprecision that can be blamed on a lack of match practice. Su�rez's forthcoming extended holiday will remove that excuse, no doubt.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/dec/30/andy-carroll-steven-gerrard-liverpool-newcastle
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