Andy Carroll’s claims that Newcastle forced him to make a Liverpool transfer have turned the Magpies into money hunters. However, Alan Pardew has tried to clear up issues by denying Carroll’s statements.
Just as Liverpool fans celebrate the coming of ‘King Carroll’, the player himself has revealed that it wasn’t his personal choice to land at Anfield. The 22-year-old striker, who is now the most expensive British player, made a few revelations as he told The Sun:
“The managing director, Derek Llambias, asked me to hand in a transfer request. So, I was pushed into a corner and I had no choice.
“I wasn’t wanted by them and they made it clear that they wanted the money. I flew down in Mike Ashley’s helicopter.
“I didn’t want to leave. I’m gutted that I wasn’t wanted at my home team, after everything I’ve done and the progress I’ve made.
“I didn’t want to leave at all. Make sure they know that I didn’t want to leave. The players, staff and fans were fantastic.”
Now how true is Andy Carroll’s version of the story? According to boss Alan Pardew, the player is totally wrong as Newcastle United never plotted to have him out of the club.
“We didn’t force anybody to leave. I disagree with that point. He had a contract here for 5 years and at some point, it would get renewed.
“But for him to sign in October and get it renewed in January – where would it stop? Personally, I’m disappointed.
“He [Andy Carroll] is a lovely lad and I really like him. But, it was his decision and you cannot change that.
“We were having a discussion about what we were going to do with that [Liverpool’s £35M bid] offer when Andy requested to see me.
“I went to see Andy and, face to face, we had a conversation about him wanting a new contract – even though he signed on in October.
“He said that if he didn’t get that contract, he wanted to go. I asked him what he wanted and went to the board. We had a discussion about what the ramifications would be for the whole club.
“We took the view – with him signing a contract in October – that this would cause us all sorts of problems. We decided that we needed the conversation confirmed and have him put a transfer request, which he did.
“He spoke to his agent, and between them, they put the request in. We decided with the size of the offer, and what it meant to us, that we would accept it.
“But no club is about one player. We are absolutely gutted that he is gone. It’s disappointing, but we are not in a financial position like Liverpool.”
What should the public think after hearing Alan Pardew’s version of this Liverpool transfer story? Is Andy Carroll just playing a smart game to control the pressure from the criticism he instantly received at the news of this £35M price tag?
“The managing director, Derek Llambias, asked me to hand in a transfer request. So, I was pushed into a corner and I had no choice.
“I wasn’t wanted by them and they made it clear that they wanted the money. I flew down in Mike Ashley’s helicopter.
“I didn’t want to leave. I’m gutted that I wasn’t wanted at my home team, after everything I’ve done and the progress I’ve made.
“I didn’t want to leave at all. Make sure they know that I didn’t want to leave. The players, staff and fans were fantastic.”
Now how true is Andy Carroll’s version of the story? According to boss Alan Pardew, the player is totally wrong as Newcastle United never plotted to have him out of the club.
“We didn’t force anybody to leave. I disagree with that point. He had a contract here for 5 years and at some point, it would get renewed.
“But for him to sign in October and get it renewed in January – where would it stop? Personally, I’m disappointed.
“He [Andy Carroll] is a lovely lad and I really like him. But, it was his decision and you cannot change that.
“We were having a discussion about what we were going to do with that [Liverpool’s £35M bid] offer when Andy requested to see me.
“I went to see Andy and, face to face, we had a conversation about him wanting a new contract – even though he signed on in October.
“He said that if he didn’t get that contract, he wanted to go. I asked him what he wanted and went to the board. We had a discussion about what the ramifications would be for the whole club.
“We took the view – with him signing a contract in October – that this would cause us all sorts of problems. We decided that we needed the conversation confirmed and have him put a transfer request, which he did.
“He spoke to his agent, and between them, they put the request in. We decided with the size of the offer, and what it meant to us, that we would accept it.
“But no club is about one player. We are absolutely gutted that he is gone. It’s disappointing, but we are not in a financial position like Liverpool.”
What should the public think after hearing Alan Pardew’s version of this Liverpool transfer story? Is Andy Carroll just playing a smart game to control the pressure from the criticism he instantly received at the news of this £35M price tag?
