Overall, there was a lot to enjoy when Carroll came on. But before that, my god was Spearing ever bad. 2 bad mistakes in the buildup of both Chelsea goals, and just generally offering nothing. It was more of what we saw from him against Fulham mid-week; terrible giveaways and a lack of intelligence.
There weren't a lot of other options at midfield, and that's probably the biggest problem with the team this year. We have nobody to play the Lucas role nearly as effective as 21 himself, unless we pull Gerrard back and create another hole further up.
As others have said, Carroll was boss. Good or bad, he's always desperate to impose himself on a game. And he's been winning everything in the air lately, and doing a great job holding play for everyone else. If this team gets a few more quality players and a bit of direction, Carroll could be great. I'd love to see him keep this up next year.