Should Newcastle give Andy Carroll a second chance?

Back on the 31^st of January 2011, Newcastle’s sale of Andy Carroll for £35m was met with disappointment and dejection. But whilst it was viewed as a low point it turned out to be one of the best things to happen to the club in a long time. The exorbitant fee that the Magpie’s were able to wrestle out of the Red’s desperate hands (Liverpool had just lost Fernando Torres and needed a replacement) has been put to expert use and is one of the major reasons for Newcastle’s renaissance this season.

It’s funded moves for players like Demba Ba (his wages at least) Papiss Cisse, Yohan Cabaye and numerous others who are currently excelling in the Premier League.

Andy Carroll on the other hand has been a massive flop since his change in situation. He didn’t ask Liverpool to shell out £35m for his services, but the truth is in recent time he hasn’t even looked like a £10m player (and when you set Papiss Cisse as the benchmark for a £10m player Carroll’s failure is even more profound).

He’s had chance after chance to prove himself under Kenny Dalglish and has almost always been found wanting. It’s incredible to see a player who thrived at Newcastle completely crumble under the pressure of playing for an expectant Liverpool side. Whatever way you look at it 8 goals in 49 appearances just isn’t good enough for a striker, especially when you consider he hasn’t involved himself much in the Red’s build-up play either.

According to the Sunday Mirror: “Carroll has told friends he’d welcome a return to ­Tyneside but his current wages would break Newcastle’s pay scale and they would only be interested in a cut-price ­summer deal.”

Of course, no properly attributed quotes or real evidence is provided in support of this conclusion, but it does raise an interesting question. Would Toon fans take him back or would that be considered a backwards move for a forward thinking club?

Whilst price will be a major bone of contention (there’s no way that he’s worth anything over £12m in the transfer market any more) he may be worth a gamble. There’s a chance that he just doesn’t fit into the Liverpool system (despite the fact that it appears to have been built around him) and that he desperately needs a change of scenery). Could he re-find his form at a new club, or in this case a new old club?

What’s your take?

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