Andy Carroll: 5 Ways Liverpool Can Get the Best from the £35 Million Striker 

When Andy Carroll scored the opening goal in Liverpool's 3-0 win over Wolves on Tuesday, it marked exactly a year to the day since his surprise arrival at Anfield in the final hours of the 2011 January transfer window.

It was only his seventh goal for the club in 37 appearance, hardly the kind of return you would expect from a striker who cost £35 million.

There are, however, promising signs that he is finally settling into life on Merseyside. The 23-year-old has looked fitter recently than at any time since his arrival, which transpired while he was carrying an injury sustained while at former club Newcastle, and his strike against Wolves was his second in a month, which represents something of a streak in comparison to much of his previous time with the Reds.

Here are five ways for Kenny Dalglish and Co. to get the best from their record signing.

Nurture the Partnership with Steven Gerrard

It is surely no coincidence that Liverpool's form has taken an upward turn since their captain has come back to full fitness.

The abject loss at Bolton aside, the Reds have looked a much more potent unit with their talisman finally returned from injury.

Last month they beat both Manchester clubs with Gerrard back in the team, having previously drawn with both sides at Anfield and lost 3-0 at City in the league.

With Gerrard now firmly a fixture back in the team, it is essential that the skipper strikes up a formidable partnership with his England colleague.

While Carroll is a completely different player than Fernando Torres was at Anfield, he could also benefit from having the dynamic midfielder pushed further up the pitch. That way, Gerrard is more readily on hand to give Carroll a steady supply line, and the target man can reciprocate with lay-offs for the captain to fire home.

It worked well enough with Kevin Nolan at Newcastle, so with a superior foil the approach could pay dividends.

Make the Most of His Size

It's not the most fashionable thing in this day and age when Barcelona are redefining what can be achieved with technical, passing football and sides like Stoke City are roundly condemned as being "anti-football," but there is nothing wrong with making the most of the attributes at your disposal.

Liverpool certainly did that to great effect against Manchester United, when they stationed the 6'3" Carroll right in front of David de Gea at a corner. It may be rather complimentary to call such a move a tactic anywhere else other than Sunday league football, but it worked a treat as the Spanish goalkeeper's floundering led directly to Daniel Agger's opening goal.

The temptation for Pepe Reina to simply lump it up to the big man should not be Liverpool's plan A. However, with the keeper's aptitude for distribution and a deep-lying Charlie Adam able to do the same (especially once Lucas Leiva returns from injury to help screen the Scotsman) from midfield, there is no reason why Carroll cannot emulate his squad number by being a "good old fashioned" No. 9.

Be Shrewd with Use of Width

The temptation to make the most of Carroll's height and large frame by getting the ball wide as much as possible is obvious.

With Adam and Lucas sat in front of the back four and Gerrard pushed up, that should give the two men either side of the captain more space to constantly whip crosses into the box

However, at Newcastle most of Carroll's 11 Premier League goals in the first half of last season came when only using one orthodox winger, Jonas Gutierrez. The rest of the midfield would often comprise Nolan, Joey Barton and Cheick Tiote.

As such, the deployment of Stewart Downing or perhaps Dirk Kuyt would be sufficient, giving the attack balance which would allow Luis Suarez more roam and hurt defences in his own unpredictable but highly effective manner. 

Don't Rush Him Through Injuries

Carroll arrived at Liverpool while nursing a thigh injury. He did not make his debut until a full five weeks after completing his big-money move, and only made nine appearances for the club before the end of the 2010-11 campaign.

An over-reliance on Torres often led to former manager Rafael Benitez rushing him back from injury, something which eventually took its toll on the Spanish striker's long-term fitness and, ultimately, his confidence.

As mentioned previously, Carroll is only now looking anywhere near as fit and primed as he did when he took the Premier League by storm upon Newcastle's return to the top flight. With Suarez and the in-form Craig Bellamy also in the squad, there should be less pressure on Dalglish to field his £35 million man when he is not running at full capacity. 

Be Patient

Liverpool did not sign off on such a huge transfer fee on a player who had just turned 22 at the time for him to be a short-term solution.

Ignoring the ubiquitous yet redundant "net spend" argument, the kind of money spent on Carroll has to be seen as an investment in the future of the club. 

Unless Carroll delivers with unerring consistency over a number of years, they cannot hope to recoup anything close to their expenditure on him by selling him on.

Remember, we are talking about a player who has just 61 Premier League appearances under his belt, and a third of those coming as a substitute.

With the slew of additions made in the summer, Dalglish's first full season back at the helm was always going to be one of transition, and as such the remainder of the season should be as much about finding the best way to accommodate Carroll as trying to push for a European place. 

Dalglish's hero status at Anfield should afford him more time than most other managers would get to build a team that is truly his own. Carroll is surely a central pillar in that grand plan, and will not become that unless he is given the freedom to develop in front of a patient Kop at his own pace.