Carroll could now cost his old club £70m

Posted Saturday, May 04, 2013 by The Sun

BACK TO HAUNT ... Andy Carroll could push his boyhood club close to the relegation edge

ANDY CARROLL can push boyhood club Newcastle closer to relegation today.

The Toon trousered £35million when they sold the Geordie striker to Liverpool in January 2011.

But on-loan West Ham star Carroll could end up costing Newcastle £70MILLION if he helps the Hammers win at Upton Park this afternoon.

That is how much Alan Pardew’s side will lose if they drop down to the Championship.
Newcastle are 17th, just five points above the final relegation spot after last weekend’s 6-0 thumping by Liverpool at St James’ Park. That defeat means Toon have taken just four league points from the last 18.

And with 18th-placed Wigan having a game in hand, Pards’ side are in real danger of being relegated.

Carroll’s West Ham team-mate and mentor Kevin Nolan admitted the 24-year-old Geordie hero will feel bad if his old club do go down.

Skipper Nolan, 30, said: “He’s a hometown boy and everyone wanted a piece of him in Newcastle, it’s amazing.

“He was a massive player in a small fish-bowl.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Newcastle is a small fish bowl, but anyone who has been there knows everyone just loves their football and the whole city is about football.

“Andy couldn’t get away with doing anything. Even if he went to a restaurant for a meal everyone was on him.

“Now he is in London he can go out and have a cup of tea without 70 people moaning.

“I’m not saying it’s disrespectful but I just think he has matured and learned from his mistakes.

“London and Liverpool have been good for him.

“Hopefully, it will make him better — I think he is.”

Nolan has been like an older brother to Carroll after the pair were Toon team-mates.

When Carroll was arrested and bailed over an alleged assault in Tyneside in October 2009, pal Nolan put him after the striker was told he could not live in a hotel and needed a permanent address.