Andy Carroll

For other people named Andrew Carroll, see Andrew Carroll (disambiguation).

Andy Carroll

File:Andy Carroll Hull City v. Newcastle United 1.png Carroll playing for Newcastle United
Personal information
Full name	Andrew Thomas Carroll
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Newcastle United
Number	24
Youth career
2005–2006	Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–	Newcastle United	54	(17)
2007–2008	→ Preston North End (loan)	11	(1)
International career‡
2007–2008	England U19	8	(4)
2009–	England U21	5	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:51, 23 March 2010 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:16, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Andrew Thomas "Andy" Carroll (born 6 January 1989) is an English footballer who plays for Newcastle United as a striker.

Carroll attended Brighton Avenue Primary School and Joseph Swan School.

Club career

Early career

Born in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, Carroll was a prolific scorer in the reserve team was given his first team debut in a UEFA Cup tie against Palermo on 2 November 2006, when he appeared as a late substitute and became the youngest ever player to represent Newcastle in Europe at the age of 17 years and 300 days.

He made his FA Cup debut in the home defeat to Birmingham City, appearing as substitute for the last 10 minutes.

On 25 February 2007, Carroll made his Premier League debut for Newcastle, coming on as a substitute in the 87th minute in the 1–0 defeat to Wigan Athletic, almost scoring in the process, only a good save from Wigan goalkeeper John Filan prevented him from scoring his first goal in a Newcastle shirt.

In 2007, he won the 'Wor Jackie Milburn Trophy', given each year to the rising star of North East football.

On 29 July, Carroll scored his first senior goal in a 2-0 friendly win over Juventus, with a left foot shot. After the match, Carroll received praise from legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who tipped Carroll to have a big future.

Loan period at Preston North End

On 14 August, Carroll signed a six month loan deal with Preston North End and made his debut for them in the League Cup against Morecambe on the same day.

Carroll was sent off playing for Preston against Scunthorpe United on 19 September. He finally scored his first Championship goal, and his first English league goal for Preston in the game against Leicester City on 6 November. He returned to Newcastle in January after a rather unsuccessful time.

Return to Newcastle

After spending the rest of the season in the reserves and on the bench for Newcastle, Carroll was linked with recently relegated Derby County on 11 June 2008.

He made his first appearance for Newcastle in the 2008–09 season on 20 October, coming on as a substitute for Shola Ameobi at home to Manchester City. He also featured in Newcastle's 2–1 Boxing Day defeat to Wigan, being brought down late in the game to win a penalty from which Danny Guthrie scored and later being booked for diving after going down from another challenge in stoppage time. Carroll scored his first competitive goal for Newcastle on his first ever home start with a header against West Ham United as part of a 2–2 draw on 10 January 2009.

On 12 March it was announced that Carroll had signed a new three and a half year contract, keeping him with Newcastle until 2013. He scored a crucial equaliser in Newcastle's 1–1 draw with Stoke in April 2009. This goal wasn't enough and Newcastle were relegated on the final day of the season, Sunday 24 May 2009. This marked a return to the second tier of English football after a 16-year stay.

Following the departures of first team strikers Michael Owen, Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins in the aftermath of Newcastle's relegation, Carroll paired with Shola Ameobi in attack for Newcastle in the start of the season. He scored in the preason matches against Darlington and Dundee United. His first league goal came against Blackpool with a flying header, celebrating his first goal of the season by sucking his thumb, dedicating it to his new-born daughter. He won the man of the match award in the following game against Sheffield United on 2 November.

By 2010, Carroll was already an established striker in the squad, not missing a game since the turn of the year. With Shola Ameobi out injured, Carroll was to form a new strike partnership with Peter Lovenkrands. This partnership that has seen the club showcase its best attacking displays of the season. The pair has accounted for 23 of the club's 37 goals in 2010, Carroll scoring 12 of them. In one particular game against Cardiff City, Carroll scored two and forced an own goal en route to a 5-1 thrashing. His excellent performance in the game made his manager Chris Hughton tip him to take over the club's legendary No.9 shirt, previously worn by the likes of Alan Shearer, Andy Cole and Malcolm Macdonald amongst others. He currently is Newcastle's top scorer of the season, with 16 goals in all competitions.

International career

On 11 September 2007, Carroll made his England under-19 debut against Belarus, scoring in the 4–0 victory.

On 12 March 2009, Carroll, fresh from signing a new contract at Newcastle, was called up to the England U-20 Squad for a match against Italy.

Carroll received his first call up to the England under-21 team on 5 August 2009. He made his debut at this level on the 11 August 2009 against Holland, coming on as a second half substitute. On his second cap with the under-21 team, on 9 October 2009 against Macedonia, he scored two goals and assisted another as England romped to a 6–3 win.

His performances for Newcastle have made England manager Fabio Capello consider calling him up to the England squad. Although Carroll's chances to make the England for the 2010 FIFA World Cup are slim, Capello is said to be looking for new players to bolster the England squad for the upcoming European Championships in 2012.

Despite turning down the chance to join the U-21 team years ago, Carroll is reportedly considering a switch of allegiances to Scotland. He qualifies for Scotland due to having a Scottish grandmother. Scotland manager Craig Levein, as well as Newcastle first team coach and former Scotland international Colin Calderwood, are said to be persuading Carroll to make the switch.

Style of play

He is compared to Newcastle legend Alan Shearer He is referred to as a classic No.9 centre forward, owing to his strength, powerful shot, and excellent heading ability. Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon considers Carroll as a "paintbrush striker", who applies the finishing touches to attacking moves. Buffon also hailed Carroll's awareness and ability to find players.

Controversy

Carroll has been involved in many off the pitch incidents in his career. On 14 September 2008, Carroll was arrested by police called to the Pudding Chare in Newcastle responding to a report that a woman had been assaulted, and later accepted a police caution for assault. In 7 December 2009, He was arrested in the aftermath of a nightclub brawl, accused of smashing glass in a man's face. He was charged with assault and is currently on bail awaiting a Crown Court Trial.

Carroll, along with Scott Sinclair & Ryan Bertrand, was also sent home from the England U-19 squad after breaking curfew on 14 October during preparation for a match against Romania.

Carroll was also involved in some training ground bust-ups. He got into a training ground fight with French teammate Charles N'Zogbia over a late tackle on Carroll's counterpart. Then-Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear decided not to punish the two saying "It was just handbags, and it's been blown out of all proportion," and "I can't stop players being passionate, and wouldn't want to. I won't be taking any action". On 23 March 2010, it was reported that Andy Carroll had apprently broken fellow Newcastle United teammate Steven Taylor's jaw in a fight at the club's training ground.

On 24th March 2010 the Mail Online had a photograph of Carroll who was seen in Manchester attending a pop concert, Carroll was photographed with bandages to both hands.

Career statistics

Club

Template:Football player statistics 1 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |2006–07||rowspan="2"|Newcastle United||rowspan="2"|Premier League||4||0||1||0||0||0||2||0||7||0 |- |2007–08||4||0||2||0||0||0||0||0||6||0 |- |2007–08||Preston North End (Loan)||Championship||11||1||0||0||1||0||0||0||12||1 |- |2008–09||rowspan="2"|Newcastle United||Premier League||14||3||2||0||0||0||0||0||16||3 |- |2009–10 ||Championship||32||14||3||2||0||0||0||0||35||16 Template:Football player statistics 365||18||8||2||1||0||2||0||76||20 Template:Football player statistics 565||18||8||2||1||0||2||0||76||20 |}

Stats accurate as of 22:51, 23 March 2010.

External links

• Andy Carroll profile at the Newcastle United website
• Andy Carroll at Soccerbase