Alan Pardew has described Andy Carroll as “unplayable” as his team prepare to confront his former forward, with the Crystal Palace manager still hopeful he can coax similar qualities from Connor Wickham at Selhurst Park.
West Ham will travel across the capital on Saturday with the England forward available and eager to feature having been restricted by injury to 20 minutes of Premier League football since February. Carroll played briefly under Pardew at Newcastle United, scoring in the manager’s first two games before being sold – much to the coach’s frustration – to Liverpool in January 2011.
Sam Allardyce has suggested the striker “treats life too casually” in his autobiography, which has been serialised in the Sun this week, though Pardew offered only praise of his talent. “Andy was playing long before I got to Newcastle and was a good player, but he’s an outstanding No9 and has only really been restricted by the injuries he’s suffered,” he said. “He gives you a powerful presence at the top of the pitch, and at set plays. His technical ability is underrated in my opinion, and I’ve always found him to be a real winner on the pitch.
“When you have that kind of determination and aggression, there aren’t many strikers with the same aggression as him on crosses. He will slam into a centre-half to try and score: not in an illegal way, but he gets bumps and bruises and it’s his bravery that gets him into trouble at times. There aren’t many strikers who are completely unplayable, and he’s one of them. He carries a presence up there.
“At Newcastle I never had that problem with him. I thought he worked very hard for the cause. He is from Newcastle so there was no hiding place for him, but he has also suffered injuries at West Ham. Maybe Sam never saw him get up to speed. It always seemed to be one after the other, so I can understand why Sam said that. By the same token, I do think if he can get 15 games under his belt, there’s no problem with his work-rate. I’m pleased he’s back. I hope he gets a free run from injury because he’s a fine player, but he’s got a lot to do to get into the team because [Diafra] Sakho is a very good player.”
Pardew spent around £6m to bring Wickham to Palace from Sunderland over the summer. The England Under-21s striker is awaiting a first goal for his new club, having impressed particularly in the victory at Chelsea in September. That remains his last appearance to date after persistent ankle trouble though the former Ipswich forward, along with Joel Ward and Marouane Chamakh, should be fit enough to return for the League Cup tie at Manchester City on 28 October.
“I see a lot of similarities between Connor and Andy,” added Pardew. “I don’t think Connor will ever be quite as powerful in the air as Andy – if the delivery is perfect for him, Andy’s the one you’d want going to attack it – but he’s got a bit more pace and technical play that can equal Andy. I’m hoping he gets to the same level as Andy when he comes back. He was really good in his last game at Chelsea when we won.
“It had been a long time for him not playing through the middle, and it was always about a process with him. I think he’s done well here. It’s just unfortunate he’s had this injury. We missed him initially, though we’ve got round that now. Dwight Gayle is doing well, so he’s got to earn his right to get back in.”
