OPINION
Newcastle United took a bit of a punt last summer with the signing of former striker Andy Carroll. They were well aware of his injury history, but with a pay-as-you-play deal they saw it as a lose-lose situation,
However, the fact that it’s now late November and he’s yet to make any significant impact makes the move look more and more suspect. Surely there was another cheap striker on the market who would’ve been a more reliable proposition.
This Saturday saw Magpies boss Steve Bruce explaining to The Chronicle that the 6ft 4in England international had suffered a knock to the hip in training that saw him miss the 2-2 draw with Manchester City.
If we add up the game time from Carroll’s seven appearances for the Toon so far this season, it amounts to 124 minutes i.e. 17.7 minutes per game [Source: Transfermarkt]. Yes, he’s not costing much, but come on.
Given his lack of game time, lack of impact and overall inability to stay fit, it would appear that the 30-year-old is surely on his way out come the end of his contract in June.
How can Bruce possibly justify keeping him on with the way things are going? The former West Ham United man would need to put together a significant run of form and fitness to turn things around at St James’ Park.
His return was a heart-warming one last summer, and you could see how much it meant to him, but from a footballing point of view it’s just not worked out in any way shape or form.
