Andy Carroll has warned Chelsea that there will be no 19th-century football from West Ham United when the forward’s side face off against the league leaders at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day.
West Ham were battling against relegation when they held Chelsea to a 0-0 draw in the corresponding fixture last season, which led to José Mourinho accusing them of being overly negative, but Carroll expects Sam Allardyce’s side to be far more expansive this time. A run of one defeat in 11 league games has resulted in West Ham rising to fourth, their highest position at Christmas since 1985, and Carroll believes they should not be fearful about visiting the leaders and then hosting Arsenal two days later.
“They’re tough games coming up but we have a good team as well and I’m sure they’re going to be just as worried about us as we are about them,” the striker said. “We’re playing great football and I think any team that we play against is going to be worried about us. We’ve got more than one attacking option – we play it on the floor, play it in the air, down the sides. Obviously we’re in the position that we are in the league and that’s well deserved.”
Carroll, who scored his third goal in three matches in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Leicester City, puts West Ham’s transformation down to Allardyce’s managerial acumen.
“He’s brought in some great players,” Carroll said. “He’s changed the team around a lot, the players he’s brought in have settled in nicely and all the lads are buzzing about at the minute – and it comes from that really: the manager’s choice of players and how he wants to play now.
“Different tactics, different teams. He’s not the same every week. Obviously he wants a win but you’ve got to watch the teams, how they’re playing, how we’re going to break them down and win the game. He’s got loads of different ways of attacking, we’ve got loads of dimensions to go forward. We can do anything. That’s what our qualities are at the minute.”
Allardyce’s response to Mourinho’s criticism of his tactics at the time was to chuckle that he had outwitted the Chelsea manager. “He [Allardyce] knows how to beat managers and their tactics,” Carroll said. “He knows what they are going to do against us. It’s just a game of chess, really, looking a move ahead.”
Carroll is adamant that West Ham’s revival can continue. “Of course there’s a belief,” he said. “Everyone’s flying at the minute. Everyone’s looking forward to every game coming. Every week we’re thinking: ‘There’s another three points, potentially.’ The next two games are going to be a lot harder and hopefully we’ll do the same.”
Carroll has now started six successive matches since returning from the ankle ligament injury that forced him to miss the first three months of the season and his performances have been encouraging.
“I’m pleased,” he said. “I knew as soon as I was back fully fit that I’d start scoring goals, creating chances for the team and playing well. I’ve had a lot of 90-minute games now. The first one was unexpected but I got through it fine and carried on getting through the games and feeling great.”
Against Leicester Carroll did well to regain his composure to give West Ham the lead shortly after squandering a chance from close range. “Great strikers don’t think about the one they’ve just missed,” he said. “They think about the next one coming – and that’s exactly what I did. It was a few minutes after when I got another chance and I put it away.”
Carroll said that he enjoys the tongue-in-cheek chants from West Ham’s fans about playing Barcelona next season. “Fans are great, aren’t they?” he said. “They gave us a big lift when they’re singing songs like that, you know. We’ve played a lot of good games, obviously the fans are excited and happy with the way we’re going, just as we are, and, like I say, everyone’s happy at the minute at the club.”
