West Ham: 10 Reasons Andy Carroll Has Been A Waste Of Money

8. His Hold-Up Play Is Not As Good As It Should Be

When you are 6ft 4in tall and as strong as Andy Carroll is, one would think that his hold-up play would not be a problem that his team would have to think about as the ball should stick to him on most occasions. When West Ham signed the striker, initially on loan and then permanently, you would think that with Sam Allardyce as his manager and the style of football that made him successful, Carroll would be in the perfect situation to work on this particular skill and develop as a footballer. However, what has been found is that he tends to lose out on a number of duels when he is not able to have a go at goal and often loses possession of the football when his team needs him to hold on to it. With his tendency to flick on headers into open space with only defenders around and a loose first touch that often comes with long balls out of defence, it means that teams with Carroll playing don't tend to keep the ball too often and can be forced to defend for long periods of the game, particularly when he is playing as a lone striker.