Andy Carroll needs to shape up or be shipped out by West Ham United... the striker is squandering a unique talent

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Six seconds. That is all it took for Andy Carroll. Just over a month after leaving his side in the lurch by elbowing his way to an early shower at Burnley, Carroll risked doing it all over again six seconds into this game.

Referee Andre Marriner spared Carroll the same fate this time, but the striker was fortunate to escape a caution in the opening minute.

Poor old Marvin Zeegelaar, a 27-year-old Dutch defender making his Premier League bow, made acquaintance with Carroll's swinging elbow and the game took several minutes to restart. He returned to the field with cotton buds stuffed into his nose and will need to wait to see if it is broken. To his credit, he soldiered on.

Six seconds was all it took for Andy Carroll to catch Marvin Zeegelaar with a loose elbow

Zeegelaar had to play his Watford debut with cotton buds up his nose after being caught

Carroll was later booked for a petulant trip on Watford's attacking midfielder Richarlison

It was not a clever act. It was the kind of cheap hit that English football has mostly confined to nostalgic memories on VHS tapes and on another day, Zeegelaar might have suffered serious damage.

Carroll is now 28, and the penny may never drop. This is a player that Kenny Dalglish, a sound judge of striking talent, thought to be worth £35million.

At his most effective, Carroll is strong, athletic and powerful. His leap is mighty and his shot is hard. He should be at the peak of his powers and offering Gareth Southgate a unique threat at the World Cup.

Carroll is wasting his huge talent, and has very little chance of reaching the 2018 World Cup

Carroll cuts a dejected figure during West Ham's 2-0 loss at Vicarage Road on Sunday

Yet he is barely a footnote to the England manager's plans. He has notched only five goals in the calendar year and he so rarely brings together his qualities in a positive way. It is a tragic waste of a supreme physique and assured talent.

West Ham fans appear fed up of his immaturity. His recent comments criticising fans for leaving early went down like a bucket of cold sick, and here he was the recipient of sustained goading from the terraces.

For manager David Moyes, it is a complex challenge. Carroll's mere presence in the starting line-up is becoming more of a hindrance than a help to West Ham. Even withstanding the referee's early leniency, Carroll found his way into the book mid-way through the first-half and then was given a final warning.

David Moyes was sympathetic to Carroll afterwards, but the West Ham fans have lost patience

Moyes took a sympathetic view: 'Andy has done everything in training, tried to be correct in everything he's done.

'I thought every time he goes for a challenge the opposition crowd are going to make it difficult to affect the referee but I've not seen the challenges.

'Half-time was a decision because I wasn't sure if he was going to get sent off so I told him I would be taking him off.'

Yet before the game started, Moyes would not have factored in a likely dismissal for his striker.

It should not be part of the gameplan and it should not be a fear every time one of your highest-paid performers takes to the field. If Carroll were a toddler, a parent would be out of patience by now. Sadly, it may not be long before his employers take the same view.