Andy Carroll clarified what really happened in one of the most infamous scandals of his career.
Andy Carroll looks on
Andy Carroll has brought to light the truth on the shocking claims that emerged whilst at Newcastle (Image: Getty)
When Andy Carroll took the Premier League by storm in 2010, his stunning performances for Newcastle United were matched only by a string of wild headlines relating to his antics away from the football pitch. While stories of his lifestyle would sometimes overshadow his footballing career, the former England striker was once expected to be the next great striker for club and country. A throwback to what a number nine used to traditionally look like, Carroll's strength and aerial ability saw him dominate the top-flight in the 2010/11 season. He scored 11 goals in just 19 games before earning a £35million move to Liverpool on transfer deadline day in January. Yet as Carroll’s stock soared on the pitch, sensational rumours shadowed him away from St James' Park - most notoriously, allegations involving a chaotic 14-hour bender alongside club captain Kevin Nolan.
Andy Carroll celebrates with Kevin Nolan
Andy Carroll was thrown into controversy with Kevin Nolan (Image: PA)
Carroll addressed the serious allegations in his new autobiography 'Owning It', revealing that a visit to a nightclub with Nolan after thrashing Sunderland 5-1 resulted in the Dagenham and Redbridge striker and assistant coach requesting his former captain host a Halloween gathering at his property.
Present at Nolan's residence were some of his extended family and Carroll's female companions, with the nightclub funding security personnel to safeguard the party. Carroll wrote: "After a fun night, I crashed out downstairs in the cinema room, and when I woke up the next day, the only story of note was about one of Kev's crew copping off with one of the girls. Hardly mind-blowing.
"We were playing Arsenal away the following Sunday, and on the way to training on the Friday, Kev glanced at his phone, looked like he'd seen a ghost, pulled over, got out of the car and started banging his head on the roof. What's the matter?' I said. "Look at this, he replied, and tossed his phone at me."
Newcastle United's Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll
Carroll admitted Nolan was extremely stressed after learning the story was set to run (Image: PA)
Nolan informed Carroll that an article was about to be published concerning their house party, with allegations that cocaine was present, leaving the Bolton icon a nervous wreck. "His agent had sent him the News of the World story, set for publication two days later," Carroll added. "As well as alleging that I 'romped' with two girls (why do people always 'romp' in tabloid stories?), they also claimed that there was cocaine 'strewn' across a table.
"There were pictures of it, and of the girls coming down the stairs, making it look like they were setting off on the walk of shame. Kev then told me that his wife's brand-new iPhone had been pinched. Kev was out of his mind with stress, and I'm not surprised. He had more to lose than me, being married with kids and the club captain, and I'm really ashamed that I put him through that.
"The girls were my friends really, I'd nagged Kev to let us all back to his, and I'd hate it if someone put me in a situation like that now." Carroll expressed frustration over the media's previous coverage of the incident, acknowledging that allegations of participating in a threesome weren't particularly troubling to him; rather, it was the language journalists employed to characterise the situation - one he has denied even occurred.
Andy Carroll celebrates
Carroll took a swipe at the media in his book (Image: Getty)
He continued: "The nonsense they wrote about me in relation to the story above fitted perfectly with all the other nonsense they'd written about me, including a report about me falling off a stool in a casino after ordering thirty Jagerbombs at 6.30am - before 'perking up like a meerkat'.
"What are these journalists on? I've fallen off plenty of stools in my time, but not that night. And 'a meerkat'? It was so ridiculously specific, yet so made up. I wasn't too fussed about the sex stuff. Since when did threesomes count as 'orgies of depravity'? And if I had taken part in a threesome - which I hadn't - a more accurate headline would have been: 'SINGLE FOOTBALLER HAS CONSENSUAL SEX WITH TWO WOMEN, although that wouldn't have sold as many papers.
"However, I was really annoyed about the drugs allegation." Carroll dismissed claims that cocaine was present at Nolan's residence and attributed responsibility for the story emerging to one of the security personnel. "When I was at school, if I found out that someone was taking drugs, I never hung around with them again," he added.
Kevin Nolan celebrates with Andy Carroll
The pair were also team-mates at West Ham (Image: Getty)
"And I didn't know a single footballer who took drugs (apart from sleeping pills, but I'll come back to that later). Loads of lads at Newcastle liked a drink, but cocaine was seen as a mug's game. On top of that, the picture of the cocaine in the paper was taken in the club Tiger Tiger - you could see the name on the table!
"And guess where one of the security guards worked? That's right, Tiger Tiger. He'd also taken the picture of the girls, before selling the whole fairy tale to the News of the World." Despite the controversy, Carroll featured in the starting line-up against Arsenal in November 2010 and netted the decisive goal in a 1-0 triumph, as he acknowledged the faith shown in him by his then-manager, Chris Hughton.
He declared: "Thank God for Chris Hughton, who believed my version of the story rather than the paper's and picked me to start at the Emirates. It was News of the World publication day, and thousands of Arsenal fans had their copies open during the warm-up."