Ominously for Newcastle's opponents in The Premier League today, West Ham United, striker Andy Carroll is due a goal for Newcastle as, incredibly the 6ft 4in striker with 81 career goals to his name for club & country is not one of the 17 different players who have notched for Newcastle in the top flight this season:

In fact, Carroll is so long overdue a goal in the black and whites stripes of his hometown club that the last one he scored for Newcastle arrived on Boxing Day, 2010 at St. James' Park against Man City - the final strike of an 11 goals in 19 Premier League games spree that led to his departure from The Magpies .

A lot has happened in the intervening decade - the £35M British transfer record move to Liverpool, the high & lows at Anfield, playing for England nine times and scoring at The Euros followed by the wilderness years at West Ham United & lost time battling against injury.

Yet every transfer window, The Prodigal Geordie Son was linked with a return back to his beloved Newcastle United and last summer, he finally got his wish when Steve Bruce, another Geordie newly living his dream as Newcastle Head Coach, opened the door to his return:

“It was just a conversation with Andy. He was desperate – a bit like myself, I suppose – to come back, and of course the big question mark of everybody is can we get him back quickly and can he stay fit?”

A year ago Carroll was released by West Ham United, deemed surplus to requirements by a club he played for just 14 times last season scoring once and the Geordie front man will be out to prove there's life and goals in the not-so-old legs yet.

Carroll, 31, showed his quality in the fleeting moments he had the ball against Man City a week ago when he was given a rare start in place of Joelinton but like the Brazilian he cut a frustrated and isolated figure playing a thankless task in a target man system.

If given the start that his knocking on Bruce's door might earn him against West Ham, he should have more joy and will have greater support in a more expansive system to make a difference and finally end his goal drought against his former club than against the outgoing Premier League Champions who swept the new Champions Liverpool aside 4-0 midweek with West Ham fans fearing the worst:

Speaking after the Aston Villa game when he'd set Dwight Gayle up for his first goal of the Premier League season just minutes after coming on, Bruce paid tribute to the part Carroll is playing for The Magpies:

“He comes on, makes a goal and that’s a few times now he’s influenced games for us, so to keep him here… and also in the dressing room, he’s not the young Andy Carroll anymore, he’s someone that people look up to, especially young people like the Longstaffs, and try to aspire to what Andy’s achieved.
“Even for the age of him and the problems he’s had, he still knocked on my door the other day and wanted to know why he wasn’t in the first XI, and was quietly pleased that he still had that hunger about him and he still wanted to be Newcastle’s number nine.”

As the elder statesman & resident local hero of the Newcastle dressing room, Carroll's role is now to lead by example as the ultimate team player as much as goalscorer and he has set up five goals this season and impressed off the pitch as a mature and powerful voice in and around the club to earn a new contract:

"I'm absolutely delighted. It's been a stop-start season for all of us and especially me.
"To sign that and know I am here next year is great. Hopefully I can kick on.
I'd like to think I am not just about scoring goals.
"A striker's job is to create chances and something I really enjoy doing."

Yet no doubt he would love to grab a goal against The Hammers, whose impressive 3-2 win against Chelsea lifted them out the relegation zone but whose position and Premier League status is still precarious with just 3 points separating them from the drop zone.

Newcastle will be hoping to kick on after that impressive 4-1 win against Bournemouth and mesmeric display from Allan Saint-Maximin & actually moved up to 12th without playing yesterday on goal difference as Crystal Palace lost to Leicester.

Another three points against West Ham would put Newcastle on 45 points, just two behind Sheffield United in that potential European spot offered by 8th place and an Andy Carroll winner could be celebrated properly in a Bigg Market newly opened again after lockdown. FHWTL.