I Love Andy Carroll

Andrew Thomas “Andy” Carroll who was born on 6 January 1989 in Gateshead, England, is an English footballer who holds the position of a tight striker for Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team. The month October of 2008-09 saw him making his first appearance for Newcastle as he came as a substitute for Shola Ameobi, at home to Manchester City. The game saw him scoring his first goal for Newcastle,a s he played his first ever home game with a header against West Ham United in a 2-2 draw in the year 2009. This was followed by his signing a new three-and-a-half-year contract in theory, which bonded him with Newcastle until 2013.

As the team of Newcastle relegated and the first team strikers namely Michael Owen, Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins departed; Carroll was paired with Shola at the beginning of the new attack season. On 16 September 2009, he made his first league goal in the Championship against Blackpool with a header. By the year 2010 arrived, he had already started to play almost all games in a new strike partnership with Peter Løvenkrands and the partnership has gained more than half of the total goals achieved by the club in 2010. All these gradual yet certain successes led him to finish the season by becoming the top scorer of Newcastle, with 19 goals in all competitions and 17 in the league. His pride and determination was labeled and recognized further when he was given squad number 9 for the season 2010-11. Number 9 holds great significance for Newcastle United supporters, as the likes of Jackie Milburn, Malcom Macdonald and Alan Shearer had worn this number. And the number once again has shown its magic as Carroll scored his first ever hat-trick goals against Aston Villa and led the team to win the Premier league on 22 August 2010.

On 3 October 2010, Carroll was bestowed with the honor and prestige of holding the captaincy of Newcastle after coming on as a substitute for Kevin Nolan against Manchester City. The club then made him sign a five year contract in paper, to keep him with the club till 2015. With each passing day, his victories started to get added up with the previous ones and he again, with a low 25-yard drive, scored Newcastle’s third in a 3-1 win over Liverpool at St. James’ Park in 2010. Carroll’s resilience, iron-nerved determination and steady but sure development have led him to such glory, success and recognition that are not the cup of tea for every football players. His way of running ahead and forward with every match and every win, made fans compare him with Alan Shearer, Chelsea’s striker Didlier Drogba and Everton striker Duncan Ferguson, due to his skill, confidence and reliability.  Due to his powerful shots, strength and excellent heading, he is regarded as the classic No. 9 Center forward. His performance, sheer success and excellent playing tactics have made the famous Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan state that “he is probably in the top three headers of a ball I have ever seen in football”.

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