Former Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll has experienced a nightmare full debut for his new club in the sixth-tier of English football.
Andy Carroll in action for Dag & Red.
Former Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll (right) now plays for non-league Dagenham & Redbridge.
(Image: Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images))
Ex-Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll endured a nightmare full debut for his latest club Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday afternoon.
Carroll was once a star academy graduate of Newcastle's. He enjoyed his best goal-scoring spell between 2009 and 2011, hitting 17 Championship goals and then another 11 in the first half of the 2010/11 Premier League campaign.
That prompted Liverpool to pay a £35m sum to sign the No.9 - which was a club-record transfer for the Merseyside club at that time. Famously, the move did not work out and by 2013 Carroll had been sold to West Ham United for a third of the price.
Now 36, Carroll's varied career has taken him through the English football pyramid - and even across the English Channel to France. He called an end to his time there with Bordeaux before the new season began, while he has settled with Dagenham & Redbridge in the National League South.
However, the ex-Magpies man has endured a challenging start to his time with the sixth-tier side.
It began with a hamstring injury which meant Carroll was ruled out of the opening weeks of their season. He was finally able to make his first outing as a substitute last week in a 5-2 drubbing at the hands of Worthing.
If that seems bad, a straight red card on his first start for the Daggers was another blow. Carroll was even wearing the captain's armband when he was penalised with the sending off for a foul committed when jumping for the ball.
That came on the stroke of half-time during an FA Cup second round qualifying tie with Bedford Town. At the time Dagenham & Redbridge were winning by one goal, but let their lead slip at a numerical disadvantage.
It means they have to add a replay to their schedule on Tuesday night, which Carroll will subsequently miss.
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