Blog: Patience crucial with Andy

In the space of just 24 hours on the final day of January this year, Andy Carroll went from being the great black and white hope of Newcastle United to British football's most expensive player. If the transformation was instant, the ramifications are still being felt.

In one respect, the splurge on Carroll was Liverpool's most significant foray into the transfer market in modern times because it signalled that the club could once again compete at the top end of the market and that ambition had returned to Anfield after it was all but obliterated in the final throes of the Hicks and Gillett regime.

Fenway Sports Group could have sat back and taken stock of the situation after Fernando Torres got his wish and moved to Chelsea, they could have banked the proceeds of his transfer until the summer and left Kenny Dalglish to see out the rest of the season with Luis Suarez, Dirk Kuyt and David Ngog as his main attacking options. But they chose to bring forward a move for Carroll that they had been planning to make once the current campaign had ended, making a statement of intent in the process and presenting Dalglish with a player whom the Liverpool caretaker manager believes has all the qualities needed to become one of the very best in his position.

The key word with regard to Carroll, though, is potential. One of the biggest problems of being the subject of a record breaking transfer is it instantly raises expectations, often to disproportionate levels. But no matter how much Liverpool paid for Carroll and regardless of his obvious talent, nothing can change the fact that he is still a young player who remains relatively inexperienced at the top level. Having been born during the season before Liverpool won their last league title, Carroll only turned 22 earlier this year and is still eligible to play for England U21s.

Perhaps a more pertinent measure of his stage of development is provided by the number of games he has played in the Premier League - at this stage that figure stands at just two dozen. To put that in perspective, should Carroll feature against his former club at Anfield tomorrow he will play alongside Jamie Carragher, who will clock up his 665^th appearance for Liverpool in all competitions. Carragher has been there, done it and has all the experience a player could ever wish for, Carroll has only just began taking his first tentative steps in the big league and as such he should be afforded the time he needs to grow into it. The price Liverpool paid for his services has no bearing whatsoever on how quickly that process takes place.

If he needs any advice during his settling in period then he could do a lot worse than look to the example of another Geordie hero who set Anfield alight - Peter Beardsley. In the summer of 1987 Kenny Dalglish paid a then British record fee to sign Beardsley for Liverpool and in the first half of his first season at the club, the forward initially struggled to find his feet. Fortunately for him, John Barnes was shining and John Aldridge was at his prolific best in a team that swept all before them, so Beardsley's individual battle to find peak form was never a problem. He was allowed to just get on with his job even though by the turn of the year he had scored only four league goals for his new club. In Beardsley's own words, he "could not hit a barn door".

"It was a difficult time for me personally," Beardsley would later recall. "But it was covered up because the team was doing so well at the time, and the media focus was nowhere near as strong as it is today." But by time the end of the campaign had come around, his goal tally had risen to 18, he had a league title winners medal and was considered one of the best players in arguably the finest Liverpool team of all time. Patience had been rewarded.

As Beardsley pointed out, modern football and patience do not go together as readily as they once did but this does not mean that Carroll will not be given all the time he needs to prove his worth to Liverpool. In Dalglish, he has a manager who has been in this situation on numerous occasions before and he will be given all the backing he could ever wish for as he endeavours to live up to a transfer fee that he played no part in setting.

The early signs are positive, even though injuries have disrupted Carroll's initial involvement in Liverpool's first team. His very first touch provided a telling indication of what he can do as Carroll soared above the Manchester United defence to win a towering header on his debut for his new club. That was from a ball that had just been tossed into the box, not a cross, and it is that ability to turn the most basic of knocks forward into potential assists which helps set him apart. This quality was again illustrated when he scored his first headed goal for Liverpool as Raul Meireles flighted a ball into the Manchester City box which invited Carroll to get across his man and easily defeat Joe Hart with the power and precision of his connection.

The most positive thing of all is there is a great deal more to Carroll's game than his obvious aerial prowess. His hold up play is excellent and gives Liverpool's attack a focal point to build around, his left foot is packed with prodigious power and his touch is so good that it will inevitably be described as being "good for a big man". More than any other club, Newcastle United are aware of Carroll's qualities and tomorrow they will attempt to negate them. But they will also do that should their former hero be at or near his best then he is nigh on unstoppable. That is why Liverpool paid big money to sign him and why he should be given all the time and patience he needs to live up to his status as British football's most expensive player.