At the turn of the year they were two of the hottest number nines in the Premier League and the focal point of their respective teams. Come the end of the January transfer window, the pair had commanded big money moves to clubs where they would step up their game and reaffirm their position as the best strikers in English football. But what has happened to Andy Carroll and Fernando Torres has shocked most football fans to the core.
Torres left Liverpool to join Chelsea for £50 million in acrimonious circumstances whilst Carroll’s £35 million move to Anfield as a replacement for the Spaniard came off the back of a tremendous first half of the season for Newcastle United. The transfers were supposed to herald a new beginning at both clubs with the goals expected to flow after knocking in 20 between them during the first half of the 2010/11 campaign. What has transpired has left Torres and Carroll being labelled expensive mistakes and flops after hitting the back of the net only twice each since their big money transfers. But is their dire form down to the huge price tags weighing on their shoulders?
I can’t imagine what it must be like to play with the burden of £50 million’s worth of expectations praying on your mind every week. Having to live up that price tag must be tough and, let’s be honest, it’s not a footballer’s fault that a club decides to splash out that kind of money to acquire their services. In the cases of Torres and Carroll I think this is only the tip of the iceberg. Watching the latter drag himself around the field at White Hart Lane yesterday was rather distressing after the commanding displays he put in during the first half of last season at Newcastle.
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The decline of Torres is even more agonizing as we all know what he is capable of. He showed flashes of his old self against Manchester United and his goal was the hallmark of a player who used to strike fear into Premier League defences. Whilst many have labelled them a waste of space or an expensive mistake I like to believe there are a myriad of reasons as to why they’ve floundered so dramatically.
One of the problems I believe the pair have suffered is fitting into their new teams’ styles of play. Carroll, in particular, has struggled to adapt to Liverpool’s passing game with the signing of Charlie Adam indicative of the direction Kenny Dalglish wants to take his side. At St James Park the onus was to get the ball into the box as much as possible and let Carroll do what he does best – head the ball. At Anfield the message is to get it into Luis Suarez and utilise his pace in behind defences, which is why Carroll is continually left on the bench. He lacks the finesse to fit that system.
Torres is the same, with his method of playing on the shoulder of the last defender using his intelligent movement and pace to outstrip the back four and latch onto through balls working wonderfully at Liverpool. At Chelsea the idea is to use the strength of lone striker Didier Drogba to hold up the ball and bring others into play around him like Frank Lampard coming in from midfield. New coach Andre Villas-Boas seems to be trying to change the philosophy of the team to help Torres adapt and it was evident in the game against Man Utd.
It could also be said that they have been ripped out of their comfort zone and I think this applies on the pitch as well as off it. For Torres I only think this is a minor problem although his ego seems to have taken a bruising now that the spotlight isn’t just focused on him like it was in Merseyside. Carroll, on the other hand, at 22-years-old, has been taken away from the area in which he grew up, the football club he loved and the confines of his friends and family.
Worst of all he’s lost the positive influence and guidance that he received after his troubles with the police. At Newcastle he was in a harmonious environment, adored by his fellow Geordies and playing with no added pressure on his shoulders. That was all sacrificed when he moved to Liverpool with Fabio Capello recently berating him over the fact he doesn’t seem to take his obligations as an athlete seriously enough.
These are just some of the problems that have plagued both players since their big money moves. Obviously the constant scrutiny and desperation for them to live up to their hefty price tags will have had a detrimental effect on their mental state. But to solely blame that for their poor form is extremely naïve. They’ve struggled to adapt to their new habitats with this a worry for Carroll especially who now has to make a serious decision regarding his lifestyle choices. Obviously their confidence has sunk to dangerous levels and with injuries also playing a part in the tragic downfall ever since their moves it remains to be seen whether the duo can eventually find their feet, some belief and start to play football to the level expected of them.
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