Andy Carroll - He's back

[Stranded]

According to a story in The Athletic this morning, Big AC is only on £1k/week, which is quite frankly astounding.

I guess his hope is that we may sell Swift, Rafael, Puscas or A.N.Other and be in a position to offer better wages in January. Or if he plays well enough, he may move to a different club.

But I think it illustrates what Covid has done to the market. I think Dann and Carroll would have had no issues getting a decent Championship wage a few years ago, but not any more. In many ways the timing has helped us, as all our rivals are also skint while we're under the embargo from the EFL.

What it mainly shows is that he wants to play and isn't that fussed about wages or anything else really - we offer him that chance and in a location that works for him.

[Hound]

According to a story in The Athletic this morning, Big AC is only on £1k/week, which is quite frankly astounding.

I guess his hope is that we may sell Swift, Rafael, Puscas or A.N.Other and be in a position to offer better wages in January. Or if he plays well enough, he may move to a different club.

But I think it illustrates what Covid has done to the market. I think Dann and Carroll would have had no issues getting a decent Championship wage a few years ago, but not any more. In many ways the timing has helped us, as all our rivals are also skint while we're under the embargo from the EFL.

What it mainly shows is that he wants to play and isn't that fussed about wages or anything else really - we offer him that chance and in a location that works for him.

I do wonder just how much the location works. Don't know where he lives in Essex but I imagine its still quite a trek

its the one concern really - if somewhere a bit closer came in - maybe Luton/Watford or even Norwich depending where he is, then he might be happier going there. Just a good job its a pretty barren area for decent clubs bar the top Prem ones like Arsenal/Spurs/West Ham

[Hendo]

I guess his hope is that we may sell Swift, Rafael, Puscas or A.N.Other and be in a position to offer better wages in January. Or if he plays well enough, he may move to a different club.

But I think it illustrates what Covid has done to the market. I think Dann and Carroll would have had no issues getting a decent Championship wage a few years ago, but not any more. In many ways the timing has helped us, as all our rivals are also skint while we're under the embargo from the EFL.

What it mainly shows is that he wants to play and isn't that fussed about wages or anything else really - we offer him that chance and in a location that works for him.

I do wonder just how much the location works. Don't know where he lives in Essex but I imagine its still quite a trek

its the one concern really - if somewhere a bit closer came in - maybe Luton/Watford or even Norwich depending where he is, then he might be happier going there. Just a good job its a pretty barren area for decent clubs bar the top Prem ones like Arsenal/Spurs/West Ham

Lets say he lives in Brentwood, because well it is a distinct possibility, the commute times are:

Brentwood -> Reading - 1hr 31min
Brentwood -> Luton - 1hr 2min
Brentwood -> Watford - 37min
Brentwood -> Norwich - 2hrs

So really the only one with a real noticeable reduction in commute would be Watford, however I don't think Carroll is the type of player they would want to go for, seeing as they got rid of Troy Deeney in the summer.

Luton - can't see why he would suddenly leave Reading to go and join Luton, bit of a sideways step and they aren't going to be able to offer him wages that much more than we are (even with our business plan).

Norwich could be a possibility I guess, but 2hrs is a bit of a shlep, plus the A11 is a oxf*rd pain in the arse at the best of times.

[Stranded]

I guess his hope is that we may sell Swift, Rafael, Puscas or A.N.Other and be in a position to offer better wages in January. Or if he plays well enough, he may move to a different club.

But I think it illustrates what Covid has done to the market. I think Dann and Carroll would have had no issues getting a decent Championship wage a few years ago, but not any more. In many ways the timing has helped us, as all our rivals are also skint while we're under the embargo from the EFL.

What it mainly shows is that he wants to play and isn't that fussed about wages or anything else really - we offer him that chance and in a location that works for him.

I do wonder just how much the location works. Don't know where he lives in Essex but I imagine its still quite a trek

its the one concern really - if somewhere a bit closer came in - maybe Luton/Watford or even Norwich depending where he is, then he might be happier going there. Just a good job its a pretty barren area for decent clubs bar the top Prem ones like Arsenal/Spurs/West Ham

it obviously works enough at the moment - may mean an early start but training is normally done by what lunchtime, so he is probably driving back when the motorway is at it's quietest, so even with a 2 hour commute, he'll be home by the time his kids finish school - which I have no doubt is important for him. It may be that it even stays in Reading some nights if needed.

It will certainly help that he already knows Dann (may even live close to him?) and maybe a couple of others pretty well and the facilities will be among the best in the Champ. I am expecting him to move on in Jan but we are in a pretty strong position to keep him esp. if we start to get some momentum ( )

[Hound]

suspect we might be able to do some sort of train with the team twice a week, personal fitness with your PT (who has obvs done a great job) 2 days a week or something like that as well.

[Coppells Lost Coat]

If the 1k a week is true, i would love to know how the negotiations went to get that contract signed....even after it was well established we were desperate for a CF and we had £8.5k going - maybe it could be a prove your fitness and injury free then we would review his situation Jan. Or it could be Carroll saying he will give the commute 8 weeks to see how it goes, if he is happy to continue here - Then we will revisit his contract and get him to commit to end of season on 8.5k.

Maybe he didn't fancy being in the Prem with all those eyes on him and pressure and he probably felt too good for L1. At least in the Champ he can sort of go unnoticed if he gets injured or on poor form and maybe build back up some reputation. As the list posted above suggests, slim pickings of clubs in that neck of the woods that could match his criteria.
If he isn't motivated by money but a happy home life then good on him.

[Barney]

Hats off to Andy Carroll all round.

The guy wants to play football. We, sensibly, took a gamble. The bloke must be a pain to play against. He clearly enjoys his footy.
Loved the celebration v the taffs on Saturday.

Hope we can keep him until the end of the season. Happy all round

[Hendo]

Was at the U23 game tonight with Halilovic <3

[Zip]

Was at the U23 game tonight with Halilovic <3

There is no doubt he is enjoying being at the club. It’s been refreshing

[windermereROYAL]

Both staying at the hotel aren`t they? nice to see though.

[skipper]

Was at the U23 game tonight with Halilovic <3

There is no doubt he is enjoying being at the club. It’s been refreshing

Glad he's won the fans round, after so many were doubters.

I'm taken to him immediately, he's a super guy.

[Pepe the Horseman]

I would've accepted him being a bit of a nob off the pitch if he was doing the business on the pitch. Turns out he's a top bloke and still a great player. I love him and Halilovic so much. It's all going to end in heartbreak but I don't care.

[Brogue]

I hope Ian enjoys eating his hat. What hat do you think Ian would wear?

[Zip]

I hope Ian enjoys eating his hat. What hat do you think Ian would wear?

I got it wrong too. Carroll has been a breath of fresh air.

[morganb]

I hope Ian enjoys eating his hat. What hat do you think Ian would wear?

Pith helmet

[72 bus]

Jamari Clark needs to watch listen and learn while Andy is here, him being around is massive for our young strikers.

"Carroll explained how the rowing celebration, and his corner-flag oar came about - explaining it was something the Boss said that led to the team's light-hearted display.

He continued: "We had a meeting, Pauno said we're all in the same boat and that was it - I waved the lads over and says we're all in the same boat, let's go!"

[URZZZZ]

Made a huge difference. Ball went up and stuck more often that it didn’t, brings others into play, gave the midfielders more freedom to express themselves

Overall it really did highlight how much we’ve lacked a decent striker this season. You can paint the picture any way you want but Puscas just hasn’t offered anything close to what we needed, almost unforgivable we stuck with him for so long. Haven’t scored for approximately 450 minutes whilst Puscas has led the line by himself (mid October)

[Hound]

I hope Ian enjoys eating his hat. What hat do you think Ian would wear?

It'll be Ejaria's fault somehow

[Millsy]

I'm probably late to the party but it was interesting to hear Carroll's explanation for the rowing celebration.

Pauno told them after the points deduction they're all in the same boat so he was just playing on that.

Also... I never watched Robin Friday but my understanding is he was a long-haired tough lad who was way above our level but didn't care too much about money and just wanted a good time playing. Is Carroll similar in some way? Longhaired chap, reportedly on 1k a week, doesn't care much about money clearly and just wants to play and shine even in a struggling champsionship team? Fantastic guy to have around!

[RoyalBlue]

I'm probably late to the party but it was interesting to hear Carroll's explanation for the rowing celebration.

Pauno told them after the points deduction they're all in the same boat so he was just playing on that.

Also... I never watched Robin Friday but my understanding is he was a long-haired tough lad who was way above our level but didn't care too much about money and just wanted a good time playing. Is Carroll similar in some way? Longhaired chap, reportedly on 1k a week, doesn't care much about money clearly and just wants to play and shine even in a struggling champsionship team? Fantastic guy to have around!

The 'problem' with Robin Friday was that he he just wanted a good time - full stop. That was what kept him at the lower levels of the game, despite his tremendous ability. And that is why you wouldn't have seen him playing professional football at 32.

But yes, both clearly loved/love playing the game. Carroll is still able to play because he is clearly a very dedicated professional athlete, prepared to sacrifice other enjoyable aspects of life in order to continue playing.