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Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish reassured his most expensive player Andy Carroll on Thursday that he was worth the 35 million pounds paid for him as the striker faced a media grilling over the club record fee.

The striker became the most expensive English player when he was brought in just before the transfer window shut on Monday as the club sought to fill the hole left by Fernando Torres's departure for Chelsea.

Carroll, who has scored 11 goals this season, was asked whether he felt he was worth the money.

"I'm sure that time will tell really," he told reporters. "I've scored goals at Newcastle and that is what I want to do here. We'll just have to wait and see."

Dalglish stepped in to defend the massive fee paid for the 22-year-old, who will not make his debut for a few weeks because of a thigh strain he was carrying before he joined on the same day Liverpool signed Uruguay striker Luis Suarez.

"Every question you ask is negative, we don't see any reason whatsoever to be negative in any way shape or form about Andy Carroll signing for Liverpool Football Club," Dalglish said.

"It is a great signing for us, it's fantastic for us. We can reassure Andy that we are more positive than what yourselves are.

"The price might be a bit more than what some people think it should be but every single person in here has got to justify their wages and their costs so if you can do that for yourselves then I'm sure he can do that for us."

Suarez made a dream start by scoring on his debut in Wednesday's 2-0 home victory over Stoke City in the Premier League as Carroll watched from the stand.

"We're really looking forward to getting him fit," Dalglish said. "It may be a few weeks but we never signed him for a few weeks, we signed him for five and a half years."

Labels: Carroll, Dalglish, defends, Eurosport, underfire, Yahoo

Bobby Zamora is again targeting an England place after making his Fulham return on Sunday.

The striker broke an ankle against Wolves in September, but has come back with goals against Everton and Brighton for the Cottagers’ reserves.

And Zamora, 30, remains hopeful about his England international chances.

“I think there’s a place for my sort of player with the way I play, as I like to hold the ball up,” he said.

“They have (Andy) Carroll now, but I would like to think that I am up there with him – and also Carlton Cole.

“Obviously I will look to get back playing for Fulham, but who knows after that? If I get my goals, there is no reason I can’t play for England.”

Labels: Carroll, compete, England, MirrorFootballcouk, place, ready, Zamora

By Dominic King Last updated at 11:58 PM on 18th February 2011

Kenny Dalglish is convinced Andy Carroll will make a success of his Liverpool career after giving him an unexpected midweek trip to Europe.

The striker, who signed for ?35million from Newcastle in January, was a surprise inclusion in the squad Dalglish took to the Czech Republic for the first leg of Liverpool's Europa League tie against Sparta Prague.

Though the 22-year-old was unable to play in the 0-0 draw or take part in any training sessions due to a thigh problem, Liverpool manager Dalglish believes it was a worthwhile exercise as a means of integrating Carroll into the squad.

'We just wanted to get Andy in amongst the boys so he will recognise a couple of faces,' Dalglish said.

There have been questions raised about Carroll having the right disposition to cope with the pressures that will go hand-in-hand with his enormous transfer fee.

But Dalglish, who is hoping Carroll will be able to make his Liverpool debut in the Barclays Premier League fixture against Manchester United on March 6, has been impressed with the level-headed way in which the striker has adapted to life at Anfield.

'He is a really good lad and really down to earth,' said Dalglish. 'That is a value that I think is very important nowadays. You say this is an age where the punters can't relate to the people on the street. Well I don't think he is going to have a problem with that.'

Dalglish added: 'The fans will really relate to him once he gets fit and starts to play for us. Going to Prague was just so he could continue his rehabilitation.'

Labels: Carroll, daily, Dalglish, insists, Liverpool, Perfect

Liverpool's record signing Andy Carroll has vowed to bring goals to Anfield.

• Carroll completes ?35m Liverpool move
• Liverpool seal Suarez switch
• Blog: Bye Nando, we'll miss you
• Forum: Window winners and losers?

Carroll, 22, became the eighth most expensive footballer in history, and Britain's most expensive player to boot, when he signed from Newcastle for ?35 million on transfer deadline day.

As a war of words raged between Carroll and his old club about his exit, he promised to continue his impressive Premier League strikerate under new boss Kenny Dalglish, and fire the club to silverware.

"Goals have always been in my game so I'm very confident I can score for Liverpool,'' he said. "It's a great feeling. The number nine is a big number and the one I wanted. To get it at Liverpool is a great feeling. I want to go out there and play the football that has brought me here.

"I'll bring as much as I can to the team - I'll score goals, create chances, hold up the ball and just try my best really.

"They have spent a lot of money on getting me here and I just want to repay them for what they have spent. I'll do my best and think I can do it. I want to win trophies with this club and help push us forward.''

Liverpool have not won a trophy since the FA Cup in 2006 and their fortunes have been on the wane over the last 18 months, with the club finishing a disappointing seventh in the Premier League last season.

The start to the current campaign was the worst since 1953 and resulted in the departure of Roy Hodgson after just six months in charge. But with Dalglish now on board, the purchase of Carroll and Luis Suarez has instilled a sense of optimism at the club.

Carroll admits he was as surprised as anyone about how quickly his move from his hometown club developed but he is keen to seize the opportunity.

"It's massive. Liverpool is a big club which is going places and this is a chance to show what I can do,'' he added. "What I did at Newcastle has got me here and now I have to carry it on with Liverpool.''

Dalglish is looking forward to working with a player who has the potential to become England's first-choice striker in the next few years, having made his international debut in November.

"This is a great opportunity for him. He was in the England squad last year and did very well,'' said the Reds' boss. "I know Newcastle will be deeply hurt to lose him but it's a great signing for us.

"He's just a young boy with a fantastic talent. He's a big lad but is very good on the deck as well, he has good feet, he's very strong in the air and he'll give us a bit of presence up front. He's a little bit different to what we've been used to but it won't change our principles and philosophies of how we want to play.

"At the moment he's got a bit of a knock and is probably a few weeks away from playing, but the signing wasn't made to cover a few weeks. He signed for five-and-a-half years and there's a lot of weeks in that time when he'll be fit and playing for us.''

The club's other deadline-day signing, Suarez, could feature against Stoke at Anfield on Wednesday if his work permit and international clearance come through in time. Dalglish is equally excited about integrating the 24-year-old - scorer of 111 goals in 159 matches for Ajax - into his team.

"He's someone who has been on the radar here for a long time and someone who was brought in to really enhance the squad,'' he said. "He's got a fantastic goalscoring record. For a Uruguayan to go to Ajax and become club captain speaks volumes for him as a person.''

Having seen Torres depart to Chelsea, claiming on his personal website that "since last summer I've felt I needed to move my career forward and to meet my ambitions'', Dalglish is pleased to have two players who are eager to help the club improve.

"A very important factor for us is that both players wanted to come here,'' added the 59-year-old. "Liverpool was their first choice. Certainly in Luis' case he had other options but he chose here for the right reasons. That's a fantastic accolade to the football club, to the supporters, the owners and everyone connected with it.''

Labels: Carroll, goals, Iaposll, Liverpool, score

By Colin Young
Last updated at 11:07 PM on 1st February 2011

The fall-out after Andy Carroll’s departure from Newcastle has descended into a war of words between the ?35million Liverpool forward and Toon boss Alan Pardew.

Carroll maintains he was forced out of St James’ Park by owner Mike Ashley, managing director Derek Llambias and Pardew following Liverpool’s incredible bid for the England striker on Monday.

Pardew claimed the 21-year-old wanted to quit Tyneside after his pleas for a new contract were rejected.

The Newcastle boss said: ‘Some of the things he said, he’s slightly misguided. We certainly didn’t twist his arm to put in the request or get on the helicopter. He had a five-year contract, we said we would renew it in the summer.

‘He wanted to renew it straight away. He indicated to me in my room that he wanted a new deal, and if he couldn’t get that new deal he wanted the option of talking to Liverpool.

‘I said, “You need to put that in writing”, and he did and that’s it. We have not tried to sell Andy Carroll.

‘When I was asked, he was not for sale. But when you get a player who is the commodity that he is, you are going to get the big, big clubs involved with him and his representatives. Unfortunately for us, that has happened.

‘We knocked back so many bids for him and I was adamant he wasn’t going to go until extraordinary circumstances came along.

'When I first heard the bid from Liverpool at 8am, a substantial bid, my advice was to turn it down. But the figure is a record for a British player, a 21-year-old who has done six months in the Premier League.’

Carroll, who Pardew revealed is out for at least a month with a thigh problem, insists he was forced to put in a transfer request and ‘pushed out’.

He said: ‘I was in talks about a new contract with the gaffer. He told me they were now not going to give me a contract. That was as soon as the offer of ?30million came in.

‘I asked why and he said his hands were tied. He said it wasn’t up to him and then I was allowed to talk to Liverpool. The owner made it clear to me that I was not wanted, saying that his own helicopter was waiting for me to go down to talk to them.

‘Derek asked me to hand in a transfer request. I had no choice.

‘I’m gutted that I wasn’t wanted at my home team. I didn’t want to leave at all.’

Pardew reassured Newcastle fans that the ?35m would be re-invested in players.

‘That is Andy’s legacy to the team,’ he said.

‘I told Mike, “Look, if that boy is going, this money has to be reinvested in the team. All of it”. And he assured me of that.

‘It could not be used on Monday night. It would have been paying an inflated price for a lesser product than Andy Carroll.’

Labels: blasts, Carroll, claims, Daily, leave, Pardew, quitter, striker, wanted

Option 1: 4-4-2 Kuyt, Gerrard, Meireles, Maxi, Carroll, Suarez
Much of the focus on Liverpool’s deadline day signings has been on how they will dovetail as a partnership. Suarez certainly seems to feel he can work well with a player of Carroll’s type, and a traditional 4-4-2 would provide a platform for the two to forge a little-and-large partnership.

It may, though, cause trouble in midfield, where Liverpool possess no natural wingers – Dirk Kuyt is a converted striker, while neither Maxi Rodriguez nor Joe Cole are left-sided – while a central two of Raul Meireles and Steven Gerrard do not provide much defensive cover. One would most likely have to miss out to allow Dalglish to include the more defensively steady Lucas.

Option 2: 4-3-3 Gerrard, Lucas, Meireles, Kuyt, Carroll, Suarez
This is the formation Dalglish seemed to be inching towards against Fulham and Wolves, before Torres’s departure. Gerrard, Lucas and Meireles are a formidable midfield, providing cover where necessary, eliciting the best from the Portuguese and allowing the captain to roam, while Kuyt functions far better in a more advanced role.

Suarez, meanwhile, has experience playing on the left side of a front three for Ajax and Uruguay and, though he is not naturally left-footed, his menace would come from cutting inside to work off Carroll, employed in a target man role. That may suit the former Newcastle striker, too, who is equally adept with his back to goal and as an aerial threat in the box.

Option 3: 4-2-3-1 Lucas, Gerrard, Kuyt, Meireles, Suarez, Carroll
Still the system with which most of Liverpool’s team are comfortable from Rafael Benitez’s time at the club, it would allow Carroll to function effectively as a straight replacement for Torres. Suarez and Kuyt would play from slightly deeper than in a 4-3-3, joined by Meireles in a more advanced role, with Lucas and Gerrard sitting.

Dalglish’s only concern with this system would, most likely, be a lack of pace on the flanks, a problem which has bedevilled Liverpool for years. Maxi and Joe Cole provide slightly more guile than Kuyt, but neither possesses a turn of speed. With Suarez looking to cut inside, Carroll may find his supply line cut. Playing Suarez and Kuyt further forward would alleviate – if not cure – that ill.

Labels: Carroll, January, Liverpoolaposs, spending, spree, Suarez, Telegraphcouk