What I learnt from my meeting with Geordie wild-child Andy Carroll

By Brian McNally

Published 23:01 27/11/10

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Newcastle and England striker Andy Carroll is a fearsome sight both on and off the football pitch.

Unfortunately, the big Magpies number nine has been embroiled in more than his fair share of controversy over the last couple of years.

A police caution and a conviction for assault have cemented his reputation as the new bother boy at St. James’ Park , while some lurid headlines have underlined  his reputation as a party animal.

It was with some trepidation that I went to interview the 6ft 4in striker at a Newcastle hotel yesterday after a quick trawl through his recent newspaper cuttings.

But it is my pleasure to report that I emerged unscathed from our meeting  and I left convinced that big Andy seems to be learning the error of his ways.

Having seen his fellow Gateshead Geordie Paul Gascoigne wreck his life through a lack of self-control it was encouraging to hear Carroll, still only 21, pledge to show more responsibility and maturity.

He had made mistakes, plenty of them. But I got the sense that he is ready to atone for those errors and put his off-the-field life in order.

Newcastle and England legend Alan Shearer is the man he needs to model himself on.

And, if he does, that Andy Carroll will live his dream of becoming a Geordie legend.

You can read Brian McNally’s interview with Andy Carroll in the Sunday Mirror.

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