Harry: Kenny and Carroll will have last laugh

Posted Friday, December 30, 2011 by The Sun

KENNY DALGLISH has an unshakable belief in £35million buy Andy Carroll and rightly so.

Because we all know when the England striker gets a decent run in the Liverpool side, the goals that made him such a high-priced target will flow.

Statistics can tell you anything you want to hear in football but what they don't reveal is the ability, commitment and desire a player possesses.

Pessimists will point to Carroll's big fee, snigger at his goalscoring record since he left Newcastle and come up with some pointless old rubbish.

But Reds boss Dalglish knows the bigger picture will tell the true story of a striker many, many clubs wanted to sign and I'm pretty sure he will have the last laugh.

Even Carroll's former Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is on record as saying he would take him back to the Sports Direct Arena in the blink of an eye.

Speaking of Pards, he hasn't done too badly in taking the gamble to sign striker Demba Ba as a replacement on a 'free' from relegated West Ham in the summer transfer window.

Carroll is a big-time player capable of handling the big occasion and it doesn't come any bigger than facing your former club at Anfield tonight.

I would have thought there is a decent chance 22-year-old Carroll will start against Newcastle as striker partner Luis Suarez is banned from tonight's match.

Ironically, the additional eight-match ban also imposed on Suarez by the FA could give Carroll the regular run he has been waiting for to prove what everybody in the game knows already — that he is a top, top player.

Part of the reason Carroll has missed out on a regular starting place is the way that Liverpool are set up tactically.

And if Uruguayan Suarez cannot get his lengthy suspension reduced, Dalglish will come up with a different approach to his attack.

Carroll has everything needed to spearhead a forward line. He is young, spectacular in the air, robust and athletic. Centre-halves know they have been in a game when they try to mark him.

I'm certain the boy who did so well at Newcastle will turn into the man who does the same for Liverpool, as well as regaining his Three Lions place.

As for Toon hitman Ba, you have to take your hat off to Newcastle for taking the plunge while others hesitated.

But I am told the 'free transfer' came at quite a hefty price because of the fees people involved in the deal were demanding.

Whatever was paid, Senegal star Ba has repaid it with his 14 goals in 17 Premier League games this term.

He is making one of the hardest things in football look pretty easy right now.

Some have described his start for Newcastle as slow but he was one of the main driving forces behind the Toon's 11-match unbeaten run from the start of the season that took them into third place.

I think most managers would take 14 goals from a slow start. In fact Ba's 14 strikes put him ahead of Manchester United's Wayne Rooney and Manchester City's Sergio Aguero, so not bad then.

Newcastle will have to cope without Ba for a large slice of the season-defining fixtures in January as he is heading off to the African Nations Cup.

It's impossible not to miss a striker who is in red-hot form but I'm sure Newcastle will remain confident with the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa, Leon Best and Shola Ameobi in their ranks.

What has hit Newcastle are injuries to their defence, which was unchanged while they went on their fabulous run.

Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor have arguably been Newcastle's best players this season but their absence has been compounded as Mike Williamson, the only other specialist centre-back at the club, was out with a long-term injury.

Liverpool manager Dalglish knows what it feels like when your top players are missing, as skipper Stevie Gerrard was out for months with his ankle problem.

There are some fabulous players at Liverpool but there is only one Stevie G. He is irreplaceable, no matter who is brought into the team.

Gerrard is another one who I expect to start for Liverpool tonight and his full-time return will give a fresh impetus to the Reds' charge towards a Champions League place.

I'm never fooled by current league positions, as Liverpool are not just hanging on but right in the mix. As I said, stats don't reveal everything.