What sort of reception will Carroll and Enrique get?

Judas Carroll? Or Judas Jose?
I’m not one for really bothering with former players if truth be told.

To me they are just commodities who come and go, almost at will. I don’t get why other people think differently either.

Anyway, I’ll stop digressing. As I said, I don’t usually look at former players at all, but this one seems to be all over the media so I’ll run with it and see what everyone else thinks about it.

The subject at hand is of course the weekend encounter with Liverpool and the first return to St James’ Park for the likes of Jose Enrique and Andy Carroll.

Much is being made of the reception these former favourites will get on their return to the club which effectively made them in England and gave Liverpool a reason to splash out a rather astonishing estimated £41 million on the pair. In fact Kenny Dalglish has already suggested that the pair may get a bit of stick upon their return.

Dalglish said in his pre-match press conference: “I’m not sure Andy will get abuse because what happened was outside his control. It’s up to them what they want to do. They pay their entrance money and, if they want to give him stick, they will give him stick. But I don’t think he ever did anything other than give of his best for Newcastle, and then they got £35m into the bargain as well. That’s not bad, is it?

“I think Andy will be excited about going back. It’s the club he supported as a boy, the club that introduced him and gave him his chance in professional football. So I think he will be excited about it as a local boy and will be looking forward to the game. José Enrique had a few years up there too, and he will be looking forward to it as well.”

I’m just wondering what kind of reception you guys have planned for our former number nine, and our former number three come to think of it.

Will it be a hostile one? Will it be a warm one? Will one player get a barracking while the other gets off lightly?

The cameras will be on Carroll and watching the reception he gets, but for me he isn’t the one that I’m most disappointed in. I’ve never bought this “forced out” baloney. Not in a million years can you force a player out of a club if they have a contract. If it could be done do you think we would STILL have Xisco and Alan Smith on our payroll?

Nope.

Carroll left his boyhood club for his own reasons. Whether that be money or or a better chance of Europe or a better shot at winning a trophy, who knows. He had his reasons and off he went,but most importantly he went quietly and we’ve not heard a peep out of him since. He hasn’t slagged off the club, the manager, the owners or anything like that.

Jose Enrique is a completely different kettle of fish however. The sneaky Spaniard played the game all along and knew he was off for months. It was evident in his performances for us, and the Blackpool away game sticks firmly in the mind when I look back on it.

He wanted to talk about a new deal in the summer so he told us. He wanted to wait until he knew we were safe before sitting down to discuss things, yet it seems he had no intention of doing so all along and he left for Liverpool after a rather public outburst on Twitter where he criticised the club, its policies, and its lack of ambition – a lack of ambition that sees his former club eight points clear of his current employers ahead of the game on Sunday.

You see when it comes to reactions from the crowd, not everything is as black and white as it seems and, from my perspective anyway, the media are barking up the wrong tree when it comes to looking for a reaction.

It’s not Carroll I’ll be barracking, it’s the slimy Spaniard!

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

194 thoughts on “What sort of reception will Carroll and Enrique get?

  1. Troy – when did I ever suggest he wasn’t a good striker? 😕
    I said he was an ariel threat with no pace and was overrated – which at £35m is hard to argue against I’d have thought like. I’ve never called him a bad striker but I don’t think he’s as good as Ba or Cisse.
    Let’s be right, Liverpool didn’t have any competition when it came to signing him.
    Carroll is good at what he does but unless you have wide men crossing the ball in for him your never going to get the absolute best from him.
    He only had 6 months playing in the EPL and was still unproven, I’d have said £10-15m for him at the time – £35m was bonkers.

    Bedtime now though mate, happy to continue tomorrow if you have further points to make though.
    Sleepwell all 😉

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  2. Sharpy-

    I’m enjoying your posts, mate. Always talkin’ sense like. AC clearly wouldn’t fit into our current team. Could any one really see HBA linking up well with big Andy? That would be the premier league joke of the century right there. I’m chuffed to bits to see the back of that lad and the front of 35mil. Wasn’t so much at the time, but now I’d have to say that that was the shrewdest bit of business I’ve yet seen from ANY club in the prem. Almost makes me wanna give Ashley a high five lol…

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  3. Troy-

    How’s u, mate? Long time no see! I trust you’ve been keepin’ the wheels of the reality train all nice and greased up? 😉

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  4. @Sharpey

    To judge Carroll against his price tag is ridiculous.
    No one is ever going to suggest he’s a £35m player. They were very circumstances which led to the inflated price tag.
    If Torres hadn’t been sold for £50m then Liverpool would not have paid that much, in fact, the Toon wouldn’t have sold him.

    Is he better than Ba and Cisse? So far, I would suggest Ba and Cisse may be more clinical in front of goal but Carroll brings more to team play.

    Don’t get over excited yet about Ba and Cisse. For me, there’s a big question mark over whether they are too similar. Very early days.

    I would take Carroll back at the drop of a hat for a realistic price. £10m.

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  5. @O’Hurley

    I normally hibernate for a few weeks in March. I dig a hole in the woods and cover myself in leaves and foliage with a few weeks supply of monster munch and wait for the weather to improve. It’s been that warm lately I’ve surfaced early and I’ve only eaten half my crisps.

    How’s you?

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  6. Carroll will be wearing a Liverpool shirt tomorrow, his choice and needs to deal with it, when he left it almost dropped us in the ***** which some fans seem to forget about.
    If booing him puts him off his game, then good, 3 points for us is far more important than hurting the feelings of a millionaire.

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  7. Troy you honestly need to read people’s posts before assuming what they said.

    I don’t blame either of the players for their moves, they got a huge pay increase and are playing for one of the worlds biggest clubs.

    But it’s disgusting the way both of them tried to spin it to blame the club when really both of them wanted out. You thinking anything else shows how you let your **** tinted glasses forever get in the way of the truth.

    You still haven’t answered the query: Why were we showing enough ambition to convince Cabaye, Tiote, Ben Arfa etc to move here? But not enough for Barton and Enrique… Don’t you think that shows them up as pretty daft?

    The way you try and condescend to me and toon pipes… when you think Carroll is better than Ba. Senile! 😆

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  8. @Witters, I bet troy doesn’t even acknowledge that post, don’t think he ever does when it goes against it false beliefs.

    Any fans that believe Carroll was forced out are the same gullible fans that believe Barton moved because the club weren’t showing enough ambition; so he went to QPR 🙄 Zamora > Ba sure.. $$$

    What confuses me is that a lot of people have a go at Nolan for the transfer, why is that? People say that he advised Carroll to leave, but that would mean Carroll asked for advice and wasn’t pushed out surely?

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  9. Good to see Harper is looking to get more into coaching in the Journal this morning.

    Would be great to have him as a player-coach next season

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  10. Morning people – another miserable saturday with nee toon game to follow 🙁

    Morning Troy – I’m not judging Carroll on his price tag, I’m judging him on his record in the EPL so far. Ba and Cisse are far more clinical and if they are to similar then great we have 2 clinical strikers (though I’m not too sure Ba will still be with us next season). Carroll is a centre forward and needs to be scoring goals first and foremost. Emile Heskey built a career on ” bringing so much more to the team” but I think Carroll is better than that.
    I remember the goal he scored against arsenal for us, the head that won the game. There was no one else getting that ball, he was strong and determined and would break his neck to get on the end of it for us.
    I don’t see that in him now at Liverpool, which is another reason I don’t think he forced the sale.

    We do agree on one thing though Troy, I would also have him back at a sensible fee 😯 😉

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  11. Anyone else realize that if Everton beat WBA, and we beat the bindippers tomorrow, liverpool will be 8th!

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  12. I don’t really see it the same way around as in the article. Judas was led astray by his scouse mate and a shyster agent but at the end of the day he walked of his own free will for money and bling. Screw him.
    It was sad to see Jose go but he played out his contract to the last year and lived through all the worst of the early Ashley years. After all the howling over how stupid, imoral and deceitful the club had been, are we really going to slag a guy off because he’d had enough and wanted out?

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  13. Whumpie….”are we really going to slag a guy off because he’d had enough and wanted out?”…hypocritical it maybe, but **** right 😉 😆

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  14. @trumpet

    I will reply shortly but I’m watching young Chip Stavers play footy at the mo and my sausage fingers are frozen.

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  15. @Trumpet

    Late reply but better than never.

    When a club gets offered £35m for your services and the club tell you they want to accept it then I’m very sure that Carroll looked Pardew in the eyes and told them he wanted to leave.

    I’m just as sure that he told them earlier, prior to the £35m bid being accepted, that he wanted to stay but wanted to discuss a pay increase .
    He was told that they wouldn’t entertain it.

    I call that being cornered and thats exactly how Carroll describes it.

    You really are do look at life thru a pinhole don’t you. 😛

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  16. … Firstly “You still haven’t answered the query: Why were we showing enough ambition to convince Cabaye, Tiote, Ben Arfa etc to move here? But not enough for Barton and Enrique… Don’t you think that shows them up as pretty daft?”

    Secondly, think we’re going to forever differ on what we believe happened. The story portrayed as it happens was:
    Bids of 25 and 30 million are offered and rejected
    Andy Carroll hands in a transfer request.
    Bid of 35 million accepted.
    Carroll “forced” (in his own words) to accept contract offer.

    If you believe that I think you are blinded by your past hate of the board. Too many questions arise from Carroll’s story.
    Why the transfer request?
    If the board were intent on ‘cashing in’ they would’ve have jumped at the chance at 30 million.
    Don’t you think if they wanted to sell they wouldn’t have risked turning down those huge sums?! The CLUB were backed into a corner (a bloody amazing one at that), of a player handing in a transfer request, so you have a player wanting out, or 35 million.

    I would love to hear how you speculative version of events went, it’s going to be hilarious to read you explain how the club forced Carroll to hand in a transfer request. Ahh yes, they did it so they wouldn’t get blamed by the fans for him moving, because our board care so much about what fans think when taking their decisons 😆

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  17. @Trumpet

    Absolute rubbish. The transfer request did not go in until the bid was accepted. Everyone knows that but you.

    So the rest of your theory is irrelavent because you miss the most important issue.

    As far as the other players being brought to the club and the experienced ones leaving, simply tells you that the experienced ones had fallen victim to the many lies the club had spouted one too many times.

    It’s far easier to persuade someone who doesn’t know past history.

    You really are clueless beyond belief. 😆

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  18. Why would a transfer request be put in if the offer was already accepted?!
    http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12874_6714754,00.html

    There is my source. Where is yours?

    Name me a lie that Barton or Enrique were subjected to? As you completely overlook each time; Barton/Enrique/Nolan all said the club weren’t showing ambition. Why were the new players happy with the ambition… errrm because it’s the old players that were lying!

    Bored of your trolling now.

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  19. @Trumpet

    Derek [Llambias] asked me to hand in a transfer request, so I was pushed into a corner and had no choice. I wasn’t wanted by them and they made it clear they wanted the money. 😆

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  20. @Trumpet

    You prefer to believe proven liars over a player who wanted to play for the Toon but was forced out.

    I don’t recall Carroll being accused of lying to the fans by an independent tribunal. 😉

    Keep viewing life thru a pin hole Trumpet. 😛

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  21. Ah yes the old “once a liar always a liar” mantra, I view each case independently.

    Haha your “source” is the player himself. Priceless.
    I believe the sky sports reports. So you concede that the bid was accepted after the transfer request ❓ Good good, that already makes your post @ 174 void.

    Next, why would Llambias force Carroll to put in a transfer request ❓

    If you can come up with a single viable explanation I will be surprised.

    Final argument to put the nail in your laughable arguments for him being forced out.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTo6bEGDA9M
    Ahh bless, he looks devastated.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1352920/Kevin-Nolan-backs-Andy-Carroll-reach-35m-switch.html

    Why would he ask Nolan for his advice if he had no choice!!!!!!!! ❓

    Time for common sense yet Troy? Why would they risk rejecting 30 million if they wanted to sell him ❓

    C’mon Trolly, just give it up now, you never have even a semblance of decent argument in you, just taunts and random remarks.

    You STILL have yet to answer how the players we signed saw ambition but others didn’t ❓ We’d signed 5 players (and Tiote/Ben Arfa the previous summer), that managed to see the ambition.

    Didn’t you used to be someone that hawked on about the “wage cap”? So why would these players come to a club with a wage cap with no ambition 😆

    I’ve asked a number of questions Troy, for once it would be nice if you answered them rather than whooping and going off on irrelevant tangents. I’ve even used the little emotican so you don’t miss them, there’s FIVE i’m waiting for answers for…

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  22. ST why would Llambias force Carroll to put in a transfer request
    Maybe to make them look as if they had no choice ❓ but to accept it and sell him 😉
    As for the 5 player apart from Tiote and Benny who are the other 3

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  23. Still a few other questions you’ve chosen to miss 😐

    So those hungry for PR board members of ours thought “oh, wouldn’t want to ruin our good reputation with the fans, better make sure we make Andy Carroll put in a transfer request”
    Ahh makes sense now…

    So they managed to make big, strong geordie Carroll put in a transfer request against his will? Why didn’t they force ‘walkover’ Chrissy H resign rather than sack him if they were so concerned with how they were going to be perceived?
    Doesn’t really add up does it…

    Erm, Abeid/Cabaye/Ba/Marveaux/Obertan were all signed before Enrique and Barton left.

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  24. @Trumpet

    You choose to ignore that Ashley and Lambias were accused to lying to the tribunal and in effect the fans and the players. I believe it’s very important and when I hear Carroll giving his account then I prefer to believe him.

    I really wish you would read my previous posts instead of accusing me of not answering questions. I have already stated that the players were lied to and false promises were made and therefore did not trust them. Bonuses were withheld, the Carroll money was not reinvested and targets were not bought.
    It is far easier to convince players who don’t know the history of the clubs recent past to join us.

    Why did they turn down £30m if they wanted to sell him. They knew Liverpool wanted a striker to replace Torres and had £15m burning a hole in their pocket. They knew they were going to prize it out of them.

    Wow. Why would he ask Nolan for advice if he had no choice? Wow. Do you really not consider that he is making the decision of a lifetime.
    He is being told that the club want to accept the £35m and weren’t interested in negotiating any kind of wage increase. I think at 20 years old, I would be asking the club captain and best friend as well.

    You may struggle with that concept Trumpet as you would struggle to find a best friend I would imagine. 😛

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  25. Abied Marv and Obertan arnt really top signing, as for Cabaye and Ba like the others came after Carroll and Jose had allready made his mind up to go so it doesn’t really stand up as showing ambition.
    Yeah we can say we think their showing ambition but its a bit late to show Carroll and Jose ? no

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  26. @Big Dave

    Ba was considered a crock as well and was desperate to get a club. I wouldn’t imagine it took much to convince him to join us.

    Trumpets blowing raspberries again. 😆

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  27. 😆 Clutching much?
    Torres fee was agreed after Carroll was sold.

    I didn’t choose to ignore it. It is irrelevant to Carroll lying.
    What targets weren’t bought?

    It’s funny that these “false promises” were only mentioned by players that have left the club for better things, sorry bigger wages. Troy you are like Barton, constantly talking a lot of hot air but when push comes to shove, you have nothing to back up anything you are saying.
    Where are your sources? Only a few hours ago you stated that the transfer request was after the offer was accepted 🙄 Like Barton with his “soon enough the truth will come out” tweets, all talk no substance.

    If he had no choice in the transfer how could he ask someone for advice! Christ. Utter drivel.

    @Dave
    Ahh surprised you didn’t show up earlier to give Troy’s ring a good seeing to!
    1) Not enough ambition for Carroll? We get promoted and sign Tiote and HBA.
    2) Carroll leaves us in the lurch with less than a day to replace, transfer window opens and we start signing players, why isn’t this good enough for Enrique? (Clue: $$$) How can you make up your mind on a clubs ambition without even getting to the transfer window?!
    3) Do you think we are a “selling club”? 😆 🙄
    4) Do you think the 4 players that left us last year are all on much bigger wages than they were here by any chance? For two guys with a combined age of 100 you must be the most naiive on here! 😆

    Enjoy your contradictions lads, careful you don’t float away in your hot air balloons.

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  28. Troy its not my opinion but you could say that Cabaye mightn’t have seen us as a club showing ambition but just a prem shop window ❓

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  29. ST @Dave
    Ahh surprised you didn’t show up earlier to give Troy’s ring a good seeing to!
    what exactly is that supposed to mean ST ? please explain ❓
    Can you not have a debate without lowering yourself to school kid **** 😳

    As for ” For two guys with a combined age of 100 you must be the most naiive on here!”
    I see your still getting on like an arrogant smart *** that thinks thier always right 🙄

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  30. Maybe Carroll had a clause that would have entitled him to a percentage of any fee negotiated if he didn’t hand in a transfer request?
    Just a thought.
    It would explain why the club might put pressure on him (‘force’ is probably too strong a word really) to hand in a transfer request.

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  31. @Trumpet

    I’m loving this debate. It’s like watching the Mackems getting drubbed 5-1 all over again.

    You say;
    The Torres fee wasn’t agreed until after the Carroll transfer went thru.
    Wow! You really are eating berries from a thorny bush without having giraffe lips! 🙂
    Do you really believe that Liverpool would have paid £35m for Carroll without the reassurance of having agreed a fee for Torres? 🙂

    Regarding you not choosing to ignore Ashley and Lambias were proved to have lied to the tribunal, Kevin Keegan and the fans, shows a great deal of nativity by believing them over Carroll this time.
    No one is suggesting that they physically forced Carroll to leave, which is what I’m beginning to believe you think we believe happened. (just based on your previous naive ramblings).
    He has said, the management refused point blank that they would not discuss contract increases until the summer. Yet, Liverpool were offering him £80k per week. They told him they wanted to accept £35m but wanted him to put a transfer request in.
    Do you not see why clubs do that?
    Liverpool and Newcastle would have agreed the fee and it would have been in both both clubs interest that he submits a transfer request. That nullifies any signing on fee and comoensation clauses. At that stage, Carroll knew he wasnt wanted and had made his mind up to go and to prevent any legalalites and disputes over compensation from the Toon then he went. No doubt Liverpool would have agreed to pay the compensation on behalf of the Toon if Carroll submitted a request. It was in the interest of all 3 parties to do so.
    Do you understand football at all Trumpet? 🙂

    You mention false promises were revealed after the players left. What are they supposed to do? Blow their trumpets like you and fall foul of those who pay their wages yet lie to them. :-/

    It’s my role on here to stop you influencing the even more naive bloggers as you may corrupt their minds with complete drivel.

    I’m sure you will give up shortly as this is getting embarrassing for you now.
    🙂

    Is that the last post I can hear you playing on your trumpet? 😉

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  32. Troy actually that middle bit about compensation clauses etc was what I was gently alluding to. But smacking it home works just as well!!
    😆

    If Ashley wanted to he could have said ‘hand in a request or there’ll be no pay increase for the rest of your contract and you’ll spend most of the time in the reserves’.
    I’m not saying that’s what actually happened, but just pointing out that pretending Ashley was somehow a weak victim of circumstance or was not in a position to apply pressure on Carroll is ridiculous.
    I’m sure the truth lies somewhere between both versions of what happened.

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  33. As far as I’m aware the Torres deal was being finalised and the medical arranged at the time the deal for Carroll was agreed.
    So I’m pretty sure all the clubs knew what was being talked about as far as fees go in both deals.

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  34. I would like to join in the above shenanigans, but in all honesty, the truth, hows, why’s and wherefores will most likely never be known fully. So its all kinda pointless guys.
    The Bottom line is AC left one way or another and JE had already made up his mind he would go if he got a better offer.
    Fuckem both I say. Their loss in the end.
    As fans and supporters of NUFC, we just have to take it on the chin and go and buy another shirt. 👿
    The bullshit surrounding these types of deals have been going on for decades, get over it and move on.

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