Chris Waddle thinks Andy Carroll could come to the rescue of Steve Bruce, as the new manager looks for the goals that will help fire Newcastle to safety.
Talking in the Chronicle, Waddle admitted that Bruce had a big task ahead of him and that his job had been made harder by the loss of top-scorers Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon.
“They’ve lost Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon,” Waddle said. “Yes they have Joelinton but he’s still learning his trade.
“Miguel Almiron still hasn’t scored after coming from the MLS which is a massive jump in leagues. If you can’t score you’ll be in the dogfight.
“Now you have some unproven players at that level… it sounds strange but I am already wondering when Andy Carroll will be fit and back out on the park.”
OPINION
Goals are key in the Premier League. If you’ve got a cast-iron goal-scorer then you’ve got a great chance of staying in the Premier League – as Norwich proved against Newcastle with Teemu Pukki. Almiron came with a great record from the MLS of 20 goals and 21 assists in 70 games, but that was the MLS. This is the Premier League and so far, despite some very promising moments, Almiron hasn’t delivered a single goal or an assist. Joelinton is a raw talent – Steve Bruce’s own words – and he missed an absolute sitter in the first-half of the game against Norwich that could have changed the outcome of that game. Bruce has said good things about Dwight Gayle but he’s never delivered in the Premier League. That leaves Carroll and it would be some fairytale if he came back into the Newcastle team and proved to be the saviour this season. He’s injured though, currently, with no date for his return. And that’s been the problem through his career. He’s in the last-chance saloon in the Premier League, now, and he boasts a one-in-three record for Newcastle but hanging your hopes on Carroll seems desperate after two games of the season.
