West Ham could have done the best business of the summer

Premier League new boys West Ham secured the signing of England striker Andy Carroll on a season-long deal on transfer deadline day.

The Irons had previously been linked with the Liverpool striker, but it didn’t look like a deal would happen.

Coup

However, West Ham managed to persuade Carroll to move to the Boleyn Ground and it could be a real coup for the side from the east end.

Carroll made an impressive start to his West Ham career in his sides 3-0 victory over Fulham yesterday.

Handful

Andy Carroll is a real handful on form. The big striker is always a threat to opposition defences and even when he’s not on form he is an obvious physical presence up front. Carroll was regarded as a flop at Liverpool, but that judgement was harsh because they never played to his strengths.

Style

Big Sam Allardyce has been criticised in his time at West Ham for the style of play that the Irons were playing. The signing of Andy Carroll has only added to the sense that West Ham is a long ball team. His signing was seen as a sign that Allardyce was going to play a more direct style of play.

However, I think that a lot of people underestimate Carroll’s ability with the ball. He is stereotyped as the big lump of a target man, but he does have decent feet and can play a bit. Critics say he is not the most graceful on the ball.

Carroll wouldn’t be playing for England and have moved for so much money if he was just a lump of a centre-forward. West Ham played superbly against Fulham yesterday and they certainly wasn’t just launching balls in the general direction of Carroll, they played some fantastic football with Carroll at the centre of it.

Link-up

Andy Carroll is adept at bringing his team-mates into the game. His physical presence allows him to win most headers and link-up play. Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers thought that Carroll didn’t fit into his philosophy because he didn’t have quick enough feet.

At West Ham he will be the focal point of the West Ham attack and at times will play more to his strengths, than Liverpool did. That’s not to say that the Irons are going to just hit high balls through balls to the striker.

Supply

One factor that could be key for West Ham this season is the service Carroll receives from wide. West Ham have recently signed winger Matt Jarvis from Wolves and he could be just the man to provide Carroll with the ammunition to score a lot of goals.

Jarvis could be a very shrewd signing by Irons boss Sam Allardyce. Jarvis has impressed in fits and spurts in the Premier League with the Midlanders. If Jarvis can find some consistency then he will prove to be a very good signing for West Ham.

Ambitious

The signings of Matt Jarvis and Andy Carroll show that West Ham are very ambitious. Nobody at the club or outside of the club seems to believe that the Irons will struggle this season. That is a sign of just how well Sam Allardyce has done in the East End.

Big Sam has had his critics in the east end but nobody can argue with the fact that he has moved the club forward since his arrival at the Boleyn Ground. Allardyce deserves immense credit for the job he has done and the summer signings he has made.

Winner

It seems that everybody wins from Andy Carroll’s move to West Ham, apart from Liverpool, who are currently struggling for a plan B. The Reds sold Carroll without finding a replacement and are now short on striking options.

Carroll and West Ham seems like a perfect fit at the moment. The big striker seems to have rediscovered his confidence at West Ham. A confident Andy Carroll can only be good for club and country. The Irons could have made the best move of the transfer window by signing the striker.

Will Andy Carroll be a success at West Ham?