There has still been no official announcement from the club, but Lee Ryder spoke on the Everything is Black and White podcast about Andy Carroll’s departure from Newcastle United.
After the Magpies’ 1-0 defeat at the hands of York City, Steve Bruce confirmed that the striker had left, despite reportedly being offered a new deal to remain with his boyhood club.
Are you pleased to see Carroll go?
Yes, he has offered nothing
No, he could still do the job
Bruce appears to have given Carroll his blessing to ‘go and play’, which is something he rarely did last season as he was handed just four starts in the Premier League and a total of just 18 appearances in the league.
Ryder explained the situation surrounding Carroll and how he wasn’t guaranteed first-team football.
“I think, without actually speaking to Andy Carroll in the aftermath of what’s been said today, I think at one point he would [have liked] to stay.
“I think last season when Newcastle were in sort of relegation trouble, I think he would have probably stuck with the club even if they had gone down.
“Steve Bruce, from his point of view, can he guarantee him first-team football? I don’t think he can. It’s one that’s been sort of bubbling along, really, over the summer and we’ve finally got some clarity on it from Steve Bruce.”
TIF Thoughts on Carroll’s departure…
After coming through the club’s academy and impressing during the first half of the 2010/11 Premier League season with the Magpies before moving to Liverpool, Carroll was nowhere near the levels required to be a regular starter under Steve Bruce at Newcastle – with just one goal in 43 games, it’s hard to argue otherwise.
Despite arriving as a free agent with injuries plaguing his career since he left Tyneside, the striker managed to stay relatively healthy, especially last season as he missed just one game due to injury, but following the arrival of Callum Wilson, it was always going to be a tough challenge to overthrow him as the main man, with Bruce just splashing out £20 million for the former Bournemouth man.
All things considered, leaving for pastures new is probably the best outcome for all parties.