Tom Carroll

[EQP]

Hasn't got the skillset to play in the cm2 of Pochs system and doesn't seem to have enough goal threat to be a number 10. I like the kid but I can understand why we might cash in.

I could be mistaken but didn't he play as a number 10 in one of the the pre-season games? I like TC and think he could work well as an attacking mid for us. He might be the only player we have that can play an accurate through ball and has a great work rate ( which would work well in pochs pressing etc ).

---Mason --- Nabil----

----Carroll- ---
​

What we have there is a trio of players who are familiar with each other from the youth team, which can only mean good things for us in terms of chemistry and seem less interchanging.

 

[EQP]

My problem with Carroll has always been that he is too passive. He has admittedly never fully received a proper run in the team, but this problem has existed wherever I have seen him play whether thats out on loan or with England unders. We all know he has a really nice technique, clearly has some vision and a lovely weight on his passing, but if you compare him with Bentaleb there is a noticeable difference. Bentaleb has shown in patches that his passing and his ability to take the ball in tight spots isn't too far behind Carroll, but he totally smokes Carroll when it comes to harrying opposition, putting tackles in, and generally trying to make things happen. Likewise Mason. It's why, in both instances, these players have grabbed their chance in the first team like a bull by the horns and made an impression with the manager and fans alike. For me, even after just a handful of games in the first team last year, Bentaleb had totally passed by Carroll in the pecking order. Yes, he was overplayed for a spell, but acquitted himself well throughout most it and I could not have imagined Carroll being able to do the same through a list of games against top teams in pressure situations

Carroll is too prone to letting games pass by him - the terms/situation of the game dictate to Carroll whether he is involved or not and never the other way around. He can also be far too static off the ball and be content to sit almost 100% of the time instead of continuing runs or looking to play 1-2s and move into new spaces that appear.

I'd love for Carroll to do well and make it with us as I feel there is definitely something there, but you get the sense that that he may have been fatally usurped by others that made a sudden progression. If he can improve at Swansea and work on the passivity and keep improving defensively then who knows ?

Players mature and improve at different rates and for me Carroll has done well in his growth. Look at Nabil, the main catalyst for his marked improvement was Sherwood bringing him in and showing him faith. I'd argue that if Carroll wasn't on loan at QPR when TS took over he would've enjoyed plenty of game time for us. But if Poch and Mitchell deem him surplus/ won't offer enough for the system etc i wouldn't be that sore about it.

 

[Indacupfortottenham]

Would rather see players like Capoue and Paulinho moved on than Carroll. They've had their chance Carroll deserves his.

He may not turn into a Xavi, or a Modric, but I think he deserves a proper shot with us before we sell him.

 

[yawa]

Seems some Swansea fans arent that keen either.

Have to say on what I have seen of him, I could not justify a fee anywhere near that is quoted. I see nothing in his play that justifies that fee, or that he will develop sufficiently to justify it. A big no to that for me.

Absolutely NOT!! How stubborn, how short-sighted, how stupid can Monk be???? We need a hard tackling, physical midfielder (or 2) and if Monk still can't see that after the Chelsea drubbing, he's a complete idiot! Carroll was useless against Chelsea and will be useless against any physical side. He might get better but we can't wait to find out and certainly not spend £5 million to do it. Madness!!

5m for Carroll? LMAO, Spurs can go eat a dick. He's mediocre at best, and he isn't the player we need. We need a rough, tenacious DM, and he's precisely the opposite of that.

 

[JonnySpurs]

Nice player but for me the obvious comparison is with Mason rather than Bentaleb. I see Nabil as more of a holding player than box to box, whereas Mason is the more attacking of the two and would therefore be direct competition for Carroll. Mason has proved this season that not only can he shoot and pass well, he is lively, strong and happy to mix it and win back possession. I can't see Carroll doing that to the same level so frankly, cashing in on him makes sense.

Could be a nice little playmaker for another team but doesn't fit Poch's system imo.

 

[Mediocrates]

For Swansea he has the same role that Bentaleb has for us, which is primarily collect the ball from the defenders and play out from the back. This notion that he doesnt tackle is jut plain wrong, he had more tackles than any other Swansea player when they played Chelsea.

If he was in our team right now im certain he would be playing to the same level as the other youth players that have come through. In fact i go so far as to say, from the current generation, he is the most gifted player the academy has produced. Entirely my own opinion that of course and im aware others will disagree.

I quite like Carroll, I think he is a nice little footballer. However, using this game as evidence can surely only sway towards a negative. The fact that Chelsea scored 4 in the first half at the Liberty, and generally went straight through the middle, suggests to me that the Britton-Caroll axis was one of the main reasons why this happened. If anything, it works as evidence as to why we should look to perhaps move him on. He got blown away.

 

[Luka Van der Bale]

I quite like Carroll, I think he is a nice little footballer. However, using this game as evidence can surely only sway towards a negative. The fact that Chelsea scored 4 in the first half at the Liberty, and generally went straight through the middle, suggests to me that the Britton-Caroll axis was one of the main reasons why this happened. If anything, it works as evidence as to why we should look to perhaps move him on. He got blown away.

He was paired in central midfield with Gylfi for this one.

 

[Darrkespur]

I like Carroll and in the Swansea games I've been to/watched this season, he's been decent, but not great. he's perfect for their CM3 system though, and ideal as a long term replacement for Leon Britton, who is arguably their most important player but getting on a bit. I think it's a good move for them.

That said, I think it's a good move for us too. Although I like him as a player, we have Mason and Bentaleb in the same-ish position at similar ages. I don't think it's wise to have a central midfield with three very young players - we need experience in there too -- and Stambouli isn't actually that much older. I think realistically we can only keep two young learners in the squad in midfield without sacrificing too much experience - and Carroll is definitely the weakest of the three, so for his sake I'd rather he leave and get the opportunities he needs to develop. Kane, Bentaleb and Mason have proven they are good enough for our first team to get them enough game time to progress, but I think due to his physique and attitude Carroll isn't quite good enough for us now, so like with Caulker it's better he plays more at a team lower in the league more at his level than sit on the bench for us.

 

[Lufti]

I think he should be given a chance with us. Bet we would have accepted £5m for Harry Kane this time last season and look where he is now. Probably would have accepted even less for Ryan Mason who is a year older than Carroll and now a lynchpin in our midfield. I thought after the start of this season we would have learned to put more faith in our young players.

That's one way of looking at it, but another way to see it is - surely now that we're giving youngsters so much of a chance, if we're willing to let Carroll go then he can't really be that good..? Carroll played quite a few games here and then in cups, and especially in the Europa League but never really took hold of a game and made it his own. If you look at Mason, Kane and Bentaleb, when they've been given chances in the first team they've really taken them, going back to when Sherwood gave the latter two a run last season.

I wouldn't mind either way if we kept or sold Carroll, but I trust our management enough to know that if they don't rate him enough to try and keep him then he's not what he need (though that's not to say they aren't capable of mistakes). Besides, aside from one or two good games, he's hardly making waves at Swansea is he?

 

[WiganSpur]

When AVB played him he was excellent for us, but the main thing is we don't play 4-3-3 anymore. That's the system for him.

 

[Lufti]

For Swansea he has the same role that Bentaleb has for us, which is primarily collect the ball from the defenders and play out from the back. This notion that he doesnt tackle is jut plain wrong, he had more tackles than any other Swansea player when they played Chelsea.

If he was in our team right now im certain he would be playing to the same level as the other youth players that have come through. In fact i go so far as to say, from the current generation, he is the most gifted player the academy has produced. Entirely my own opinion that of course and im aware others will disagree.

Have a word. He's 22 and Bentaleb, at 2 years younger, is far out performing him. I've heard Winks is meant to be the 'best thing we've ever produced', although of course they'll all have to top Ledley who was arguably one of the best in his position in the whole world.

 

[mil1lion]

We need to build his strength up a bit, he does look like he's putting on a bit of muscle. Still more development on that side but we're doing a good job on Mason in that regard. I would like to see him as an alternative to Mason next season. We certainly shouldn't give up on him yet. I like his tempo, always seems to be looking for a pass and looks for the forward pass. He just lacks that something a bit special but it could come in time.

 

[Riandor]

He was paired in central midfield with Gylfi for this one.

I like Siggi and Carroll, but feck me... Siggi in a mid 2 was disastrous for us, so no idea why Swansea thought it would work against Chelsea of all teams.

 

[Mediocrates]

He was paired in central midfield with Gylfi for this one.

Was just about to come back and edit this. I'd completely forgot about that, extremely unfriendly of Monk to do that and they were always going to be overrun. Sherwood worthy selections. I still can't see where he fits in to Poch's system, but I'd love him to prove me wrong.

 

[JaySpur]

We absoilutely, positively MUST NOT sell Caroll...

...as I'll have to change my avatar if we do

 

[JamieSpursCommunityUser]

I quite like Carroll, I think he is a nice little footballer. However, using this game as evidence can surely only sway towards a negative. The fact that Chelsea scored 4 in the first half at the Liberty, and generally went straight through the middle, suggests to me that the Britton-Caroll axis was one of the main reasons why this happened. If anything, it works as evidence as to why we should look to perhaps move him on. He got blown away.

Monk paired Carroll with Sigg as the two DMs, with their Benfica loan striker playing no.10.

It was a massive error by Monk, and they were totally over run.

Would be like pairing Modric with VDV or Krankjar, then saying Modric can't play in CM (I think that was the conventional wisdom when he was partnering Jenas).

Pair Britton or Joe Allen with Sigg as Defensive Midfielders and they'd still get over run.

 

[yojambo]

Have a word. He's 22 and Bentaleb, at 2 years younger, is far out performing him. I've heard Winks is meant to be the 'best thing we've ever produced', although of course they'll all have to top Ledley who was arguably one of the best in his position in the whole world.

I did say current generation. And it's just my opinion of course.

 

[Lufti]

I did say current generation. And it's just my opinion of course.

True, I missed that

 

[mill]

Seems some Swansea fans arent that keen either.

Yet there's plenty of quotes in his loan thread from Swansea fans who are keen and want to keep him, rate him better than Joe Allen

 

[muppetman]

I'd be disappointed to see him leave, however if he now has a taste for first team football and we can't or won't offer that then I guess it makes sense.

Also, it helps towards the Academy paying its own way and being more successful which can only be good - and a positive sign for the current crop that it is possible.