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Football

21st Jan 2018

Journalist’s Andy Carroll-Harry Kane comparison will leave you gobsmacked

Sorry, what?

Reuben Pinder

Sorry, what?

It doesn’t take a genius to work out Andy Carroll’s strengths and weaknesses.

Lethal in the air, he’s got a rocket of a left foot, he’s very strong and can even pull of spectacular acrobatics.

But he is also a limited footballer with serious fitness issues. He has played approximately 50% of West Ham’s matches since he has been at the East London club, missing the other half through various injuries.

While speaking on Sky Sports’ Sunday Supplement, journalist Neil Custis claimed that “without injuries, Andy Carroll would be… Harry Kane. He was that good when I first saw him at Newcastle”.

No doubt, Carroll is a talented footballer for whom injuries have been a problem when trying to hit a run of form, but that claim is quite a stretch.

Harry Kane has improved immeasurably over the past four seasons, squeezing out every ounce of his natural talent, turning himself into a world class striker. Some may argue he is even the best ‘number 9’ in the world right now.

Even if Carroll had avoided the injuries that have plagued his career, it is extremely unlikely that the target man would have reached the heights that Kane is hitting currently.

Viewers were, unsurprisingly, shocked by the comparison.