This business with Andy Carroll cannot go on. Someone is going to get hurt.

And not hurt like Marvin Zeegelaar of Watford was, either. Not a bit of claret, tampons-up-the-hooter hurt. Sirens, blue flashing light, intensive care hurt. Gary Mabbutt hurt. Iain Hume hurt.

Leading with the arm has potentially ruinous consequences and Carroll does it far too often.

West Ham's Andy Carroll could cause serious damage if he continues to lead with his arm

That he could have left West Ham and their new manager, David Moyes, with 10 men after just six seconds of their match with Watford on Sunday was unprofessional. Catching Zeegelaar with such force he looked to have broken his nose was reckless.

But that isn't the half of it. The worst-case scenario of a severe blow to the head is life-changing, perhaps fatal. And that is what Carroll, and football, risks each time he leads with an arm.

In 2008, Hume, a striker with Barnsley, required emergency brain surgery having been elbowed in the head by Chris Morgan of Sheffield United.

It was an appalling blow and had the medical services not acted quickly Hume could have died.

Morgan was not jumping, had his feet planted and struck Hume before heading the ball away, not as part of the same motion.

There was no question of a leap, momentum or imbalance playing a part. Despite the FA's depressing inertia — they took no further action, meaning the yellow card shown to Morgan at the time was the extent of his punishment — the consequences should have served as a warning.

Clearly, they did not, because Carroll has been allowed to make assault part of his armoury this season.

Iain Hume required emergency brain surgery having been elbowed by Chris Morgan in 2008

Carroll's foul on Zeegelaar was not deemed as serious as an elbow, because his arm was straight. Equally, he was jumping for the ball, so referee Andre Marriner may have thought he was using the limb to gain height, for protection, or to achieve physical superiority.

He's a big bloke, too. Sometimes that can be made to seem a crime when challenging for the ball in the air. Gareth Bale had a cracking header disallowed for Real Madrid against Barcelona, simply for being taller than Jordi Alba. Yet Carroll is not breaking noses because he is 6ft 4in tall, but because his forearm arrives before he does. Sunday was his first league start since he was sent off against Burnley on October 14. It wasn't his first offence that day, either.

Either Moyes gets hold of this, or the officials must. A red card after six seconds would have ruined the spectacle of West Ham's visit to Watford, but Marriner has no duty there.

He does, however, have a duty of care to the players — and he failed in it on Sunday.

The best person to replace Tony Pulis? Er... Tony Pulis

So what kind of manager do West Brom need to succeed Tony Pulis? Someone with experience of Premier League relegation struggles, obviously. A manager with a track record of successful firefighting, who will organise a team of limited talents and hold his nerve under pressure — not one who will see the way out as a £100million January spending spree.

They need a pragmatist, a coach who will not place aesthetics or his personal reputation above the immediate needs of the club; someone who will not care what the critics think, and if that means winning ugly or scrapping for a point, then so be it.

The fans may be willing to sacrifice elite division status for a more open, entertaining style, but no owner agrees.

Right now, West Brom need a manager who will dig in and drill his players to do the same. And there is the dilemma for owner Guochuan Lai: the ideal man to replace Tony Pulis would appear to be Tony Pulis.

If they hadn't just sacked him, he would be a cert for the job.

If West Brom hadn't just sacked Tony Pulis, he would be the ideal man to take over at the club

Last names on the team sheet could settle Ashes

It was not the most auspicious start when England arrived in Australia for this Ashes tour. The interviewer bounded up to Alastair Cook at Perth airport. 'James…' he began.

And if the locals don't remember the man who batted for 36 hours and 11 minutes at an average of 127.6 on the 2010-11 tour, what chance have they got with the likes of Mark Stoneman and James Vince?

About as much recall as all but the tragics back home will have for Cameron Bancroft or Tim Paine, named in Australia's line-up.

Yet these are the figures that could turn this most historic of sporting encounters. It could all boil down to them: the journeymen, the first-timers, the last names on the team sheet, the players selectors would have agonised over long into the night before deciding.

How many conversations resulted in the decision to pick Australian wicketkeeper Paine, for instance, considering he was not the No 1 choice for Tasmania at the start of this season? How many times have England rewritten and revised their top order on paper this last year?

An Australian paper introduced 'unknown England', but there was no mention of Jake Ball

On Monday, The Australian newspaper attempted to introduce 'unknown England' to its public as it counted down to the first Test at the Gabba. There was not even a mention of Jake Ball, whose recovery from an ankle ligament injury means he is likely to play ahead of Craig Overton in England's seam attack.

It comes to something when what is unknown doesn't just stop at a list of unknowns, much like Donald Rumsfeld's summing-up of American policy in Iraq. 'There are known knowns,' he said. 'There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know.'

We hear you, Donald. England's Ashes XI is pretty much like that. And Australia's too.

For what if a player like Bancroft, on his Test debut having missed out when the tour of Bangladesh was cancelled, transpires to be the perfect foil for David Warner and Australia's openers turn the series?

What if the sprinkling of gun players cancel each other out, meaning the Tests are decided by a breakout star, a name few had imagined taking centre stage? Bancroft or Usman Khawaja; Vince or Dawid Malan? If one or two players rise to the occasion unexpectedly, in a series as tight as this, it could be the tipping point.

Dawid Malan is one of the unexpected players that could rise to the occasion Down Under

We all remember Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath and in the best teams the most gifted players are often the difference. But when superiority is less clearly defined? Ask Andrew Strauss about Peter Siddle's contribution to Australian supremacy, or the way Stuart Clark could tie up one end for six overs and build the tension. It isn't always about the household names.

This is not, let's face it, a classic Ashes match-up. There are precious few great players in either team, and one of the best is sitting at home awaiting a call from his lawyers.

Down here, they see Ben Stokes' arrival as imminent, part of another cunning Pommie plot, but the reality is even if the Crown Prosecution Service do not detain him this winter, in all likelihood the ECB will.

So the Ashes is down at least one marquee name, and maybe more by the end given the fitness issues that have plagued some of Australia's frontline bowlers. All are available for the first Test but quite what condition they will be in as the tour moves deep into December is another matter. The supporting cast, players not yet on the team sheet even, could still have a huge role.

England and Australia's best bowlers look well matched. One conceives of games in which Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood get big wickets early, and the same goes for James Anderson and Stuart Broad, certainly when favoured by the conditions in the day-night second Test in Adelaide.

What if Tim Paine is a rival for Jonny Bairstow with the bat? The unknowns are fascinating

That applies equally to Warner and Steve Smith against Cook and Joe Root.

All possess the quality to take the game away from the opposition, all have the potential for big scores in the right conditions.

So what is left? The nuances, the many tiny battles that take place away from the primary focus.

Can Moeen Ali match Nathan Lyon as a spinner? Can Chris Woakes and the rest of England's tail be as resilient as Australia down the order? Khawaja averages 63 in home Tests, Peter Handscomb 53 in 10 Tests — can Vince or Stoneman match or outstrip their scoring?

Might Malan be better suited to Australian wickets than imagined? What if the unheralded Paine is a rival for Jonny Bairstow with the bat?

That alone could change the entire dynamic of the series. Pat Cummins was Australia's fast-bowling prodigy, making his Test debut at 18, in what was his fourth first-class match. He is 24 now, and has played just five Tests due to a succession of injuries including a stress fracture in his back.

There was more than five years and three months between his first and second Test appearances.

Cummins is genuinely fast and could be as much of a threat to England as Mitchell Johnson was on the last tour. But can he stay fit? Again, we cannot know.

It is the imponderables rather than the quality that contains the fascination on this tour. The intrigue is in the sub plots, in the possibility that a game-changer will emerge, as Michael Vaughan did on the 2002-03 Ashes tour, as Stokes did even in heavy defeat the last time.

Mark Stoneman could be the star if he finally solves England's second-opener conundrum

This series could be transformed by an individual whose name means little now, but could have been elevated to heroic status come Sydney in January. Stoneman, perhaps, if he finally solves England's second-opener conundrum. This could be his moment.

Then again, it could be anyone's moment. That is the joy of this series.

It's the unknown unknowns that could make this Ashes campaign the tightest test of all.

Stars buy into Gareth's plan

All club managers will have sympathy for Jose Mourinho's frustration over Phil Jones. It seems extreme for a player to have injections to play a non-competitive international, particularly when that player then suffers an injury. And six jabs are a lot, even if, as the FA explained, they were all part of one procedure.

Unless England's medical staff chased Jones round the room with the needles, however, an important point is being missed.

The Manchester United man must have wanted the treatment, in order to play.

In an era when the commitment of England players is constantly questioned, this reflects well on Jones, and also on the spirit Gareth Southgate is starting to build within the group.

Jones wanted to turn out for him; indeed, he was willing to go the extra distance to do so. Never forget that Southgate worked with Terry Venables, who was also not shy of standing his ground with club managers. Venables was smart, and on occasions ignored friendly international dates in favour of a few days' training.

England's players seem to want to turn out for Gareth Southgate; he is building team spirit

He found the managers were more co-operative if he set up a three-day camp, rather than another fixture.

Yet, on other occasions, he was bullish. Venables would tell the players to report or risk the consequences. 'If you don't turn up, I won't blame your manager, I'll blame you,' he insisted. 'Turn up, and if there's going to be a row, I'll have that row for you.'

Southgate, it would seem, has that fight in him.

And there's nothing better to focus the mind of a player than competition for places. Increasingly, Southgate is getting that, too.

One imagines the second split between Andy Murray and his coach Ivan Lendl became inevitable the moment a serious hip injury kicked in. Increasingly, Murray's body is failing him and he will not be able to respond to the intensity of Lendl's short bursts of rigorous training work.

Equally, while Lendl has many qualities, it is safe to presume a kindly, indulgent bedside manner is not among them. He wants a project, not a patient.

Poch shouldn't belittle the cups

Mauricio Pochettino's attitude to domestic cup competitions is easily explained. If the fans are not interested, he reasons, neither am I. He has a point. Tottenham attracted just 23,826 to Wembley for their EFL Cup tie with Barnsley — and 36,168 for the visit of West Ham in the next round.

Yet last season's FA Cup ties at White Hart Lane drew equivalent crowds to Premier League fixtures and over 86,000 watched the Wembley semi-final with Chelsea. It is wonderful to set the bar high, but, ultimately, Tottenham need a trophy and there is much more chance of getting it in the FA Cup than overturning an 11-point, 22-goal deficit on Manchester City.

Some of the most successful dynasties in modern English football started with the small step of a domestic cup. George Graham, Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Howard Kendall, all won a cup competition as a springboard to a league title.

It is not the only path to success. Arsene Wenger, Carlo Ancelotti and Antonio Conte first won the title, and this may continue to be a pattern at elite clubs. Yet cup wins are not to be sniffed at — and certainly not at Tottenham where Pochettino's team still need to develop the ability to win at an elite rival. Cup winners often have to do that, too.