Sam Allardyce was thrilled to witness a performance from Andy Carroll which he rated among the striker’s most accomplished in the colours of West Ham. Carroll scored two towering headers against Swansea City to propel his side towards their third win in eight days and up to third place in the Premier League table.
“I’d have to say it’s very close,” said Allardyce, who went on to imply that even better could be round the corner as Carroll is still improving in terms of match fitness. The manager considered taking off his marauding No9 but resisted. “We thought: ‘No, we’ll leave him on and enjoy what’s been a very good eight days for us.’ ”
With another aerial challenge Carroll assisted West Ham’s third goal that Diafra Sakho dispatched with aplomb. The former England striker, who had not scored since March, was overjoyed. “I’ve played a couple of games and I’m back but until you score you don’t feel like you are definitely back. Now I’ve scored I am definitely back.”
In terms of his playing style Carroll looks as if he represents the spirit of a striking ideal from years gone by and Allardyce was at pains to point out that the values he represents should not be overlooked in modern football. “It’s got lost in the game somewhat today,” he said. “People don’t seem to talk about the technical ability you need to meet a ball that’s in the air at the right time and guide it into the right place.”
With Carroll finding his best form, Sakho effervescent on his return from injury and Enner Valencia working his way back to fitness, Allardyce is hopeful he has the firepower to sustain West Ham’s run. That he was able to replace Valencia, who was not at his best, with Sakho – who dazzled – at half-time augurs well. “We get players back from injury and sometimes it’s like they’ve never been away but Valencia wasn’t as good as we know he can be so we brought our leading goalscorer on,” Allardyce said.
“Enner will be back, no doubt about that. He’ll be disappointed. But fact of the matter is there is competition for places, everyone has to continue to play at their best or someone will take their place. We have really good options on the front line.”
Allardyce hinted Valencia will soon be open to negotiations about renewing his contract, which expires at the end of the campaign. “This season was a difficult start. Nobody knew more than me that, if the first 10 games didn’t go well, it would probably be the end. Sooner or later we’ll sit round the table and talk about it.”
