Carroll: I've been getting goals for Newcastle since I was 12 years old
Published 05:00 20/02/10 By Dave Allard
Andy Carroll claims he was involved in his first Newcastle United goal at the age of 12 - and he has TV evidence to prove it.
The goals are flowing now for the Newcastle striker, who has scored six times in their last seven games.
But his first major contribution came when he was a ball boy for Premier League games at St James’ Park.
“There was one game when I went home and told everybody that I’d set up a goal,” he said. “I threw the ball in quickly and they scored.”
His parents in Gateshead were delighted. “They used to record the matches and watch them back to see just a few seconds of me,” said Carroll.
Others in the family were not so pleased to see the schoolboy in a black and white No.9 shirt that he may eventually wear on St James’ Park.
“My nana wanted me to the be new Niall Quinn,” he said. “But it was Alan Shearer who I always modelled myself on. I think everyone did.”
Now 21, Carroll is seeking to score for the fifth game in succession in today’s St James’ Park clash with Preston, where he spent six months on loan two years ago.
His form has brought him England under-21 caps, yet Carroll said: “I am not the finished article, although I feel I’m getting better with every game and training session.
“I am playing regularly and the other players are helping to carry me along. They are showing me how to progress.”
Carroll’s goals have sparked Premier League interest in a player who knows his chances of first team football would have been limited if Newcastle had survived in the top flight.
He said:“If we were still in the Premier League, Michael Owen might still be here.
“Oba Martins and Mark Viduka might have stayed and with Shola Ameobi here I would have been fifth choice - assuming they didn’t bring anyone else in.
“I wouldn't have got a look-in, so obviously relegation has done well for me.”
Manager Chris Hughton, whose team have scored nine goals in their last two home games, said: “Andy is playing regularly right now and is someone who is capable of scoring goals.
"As a striker, you go through good and bad periods and, at the moment, it's a very good period for him. I'm quite sure he would say he's very thankful of the service to him.
"I wouldn't say he's prolific just yet. At the moment, he's a lad in very good form. When you're in a run like that, you want to be playing all the time, every minute of the game.
“He'll want to be scoring goals, so we have to make sure we're providing him with the ammunition to do that."
