My Club: Kriss Akabusi

CARR DEALER ... West Ham are trying to sign Andy Carroll

Alan Pardew had a wonderful season with Newcastle last year. Do you have any regrets that he left West Ham?

Pardew plays a gutsy type of football. When he was with us, he got the players stoked up and we had a terrific cup run. But he can get found out as well. So it wouldn’t surprise me if Newcastle struggle this season but then it wouldn’t surprise me if they finish in the top three!

One former Toon player that you are in the market for is Andy Carroll. What are your thoughts on the Liverpool striker?

If he doesn’t want to come to us, I don’t want him either. He’s not good enough to worry about. I can understand Carroll in Sam’s team – he would be the big bustling forward that provides the knock-downs for the likes of Sam Baldock, Ricardo Vaz Te and Kevin Nolan. But I can think of a lot of better players for £80,000 a week.

I’m worried about paying someone that kind of money who doesn’t want to be there. It could unsettle the side with people like Mark Noble and James Tomkins, who are great workhorses, thinking, ‘How can this kid be on twice as much as I am?’

Where would you like to add to the squad this summer?

What West Ham really miss is the guy who scores 20 goals a year. Carlton Cole has lovely feet but you need someone who is going to score a goal every other game.

If it were me, I would go and get Kenwyne Jones for a couple of million and pay him £30,000 a week to play in the Kevin Davies role. Then you spend £50,000 a week on someone who will bag you 15-20 goals – someone like Jermain Defoe. Love him or loathe him, that boy is greedy and will score goals. For the money you’re paying for Carroll, you could get Jones and Defoe. The other strikers would chip in and it would be, ‘Well done West Ham, you’re safe by February’.

Did you ever fancy yourself as a footballer?

What school boy doesn’t?

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