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Last week Steve Bruce said Andy Carroll was up to training 2 days per week but now he’s rubbished that

4 years ago
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Andy Carroll was seen as a bizarre signing by many Newcastle fans.

The club losing their only two goalscorers in the summer and replacing them with a 22 year old inexperienced Brazilian whose best ever league season was eight goals in Austria, as well as Andy Carroll.

A striker who hasn’t scored in the past 19 months and has only been able to start three league games these past 22 months.

Andy Carroll arrived at Newcastle injured, has still not started a game three months later and in 89 minutes off the bench has contributed nothing. That isn’t being negative about the Geordie striker, it is just the facts so far.

Yet still we hear relentlessly from Steve Bruce about the positives of signing him. Pure nonsense. Wait until he achieves something and then talk him up.

Steve Bruce is also getting ever more erratic with his comments overall.

After the draw with Wolves and an ultra-defensive second-half display that led to the inevitable equaliser, the head coach blamed his players. Incredibly, he claimed he had told them to go out and attack after the break but they had ignored his instructions and instead defended so deep. Fans not buying it because Steve Bruce and his coaches didn’t tell the team to change things from the touchline and no substitutions were made to change anything until 85 minutes gone.

Now Steve Bruce is at it again.

The head coach telling the Chronicle last week: ‘Andy has got his schedule now. He trains for two days. On Tuesday we had a big physical day where his stats were great, thankfully there is no reaction to his ankle the next day. He trained again on Thursday and he comes to the fore.’

Now today, Steve Bruce has told BBC Newcastle: ‘There’s this nonsense that he can only train a couple of days. That’s not going to be the case. We have got a special programme for him where he does something every day you know.’

Well sorry Steve…but you did start it.

None of us imagined Andy Carroll was lying on the sofa watching daytime TV apart from the two days but quite clearly the striker isn’t capable of training at the same level as the rest of the team.

Never the most mobile anyway, in his sub appearances so far Carroll has looked very sluggish. The idea of him starting a game any time soon is ludicrous in my opinion but with Steve Bruce, nothing would surprise me.

Steve Bruce talking to BBC Newcastle – 1 November 2019::

“He (Andy Carroll) is very very competitive and of his type, there was nobody better.

“And we all understand, through injury, he didn’t have the best of times there (West Ham).

“As I have said frequently now to everybody who asks about Andy, the big thing is just to try to keep him fit.

“There’s this nonsense that he can only train a couple of days.

“That’s not going to be the case.

“We have got a special programme for him where he does something every day you know.

“But we have to manage him in a different way.

“And let us hope it bears fruit for us because…listen, a fit, firing Andy Carroll…

“Bringing him on for half an hour in the Man U game, lifted the stadium to a different level.”

Steve Bruce talking to the Chronicle about Andy Carroll – 23 October 2019:

“Andy has got his schedule now.

“He trains for two days.

“On Tuesday we had a big physical day where his stats were great, thankfully there is no reaction to his ankle the next day.

“He trained again on Thursday and he comes to the fore.

“Hopefully in the next week or two weeks he will be in a position where we can start him.

“We must remember about Joelinton – he was signed as a 22-year-old.

“He is not much older than Sean Longstaff who is regarded as a young un.

“So Jo can learn from Andy.

“They are similar in their ways and it will be great to get a really fit Andy Carroll.

“He’s had three or four weeks were he’s played.

“We all seen against Man United last week that he is getting close to what he can really be.

“He is a certain type.

“When he left here for Liverpool in 2011 they paid £35m, what would a fully fit Andy be worth today?

“Nearly 10 years ago he was going for £35m so we all know what a very good player he is.

“We just have to keep him on the pitch – So far, touch wood, so good.”

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