Andy Carroll Says He Didn't Get A 'Fair Chance' At Liverpool

'I Haven't Really Had A Fair Chance At Liverpool'

Andy Carroll has said he hasn't had a "fair chance" at Liverpool.

Currently on on loan at West Ham United, Carroll scored only 11 goals in 18 months with the Anfield club after he joined for a club record £35m in January 2011.

But the sacking of Kenny Dalglish and arrival of Brendan Rodgers inevitably pushed the 23-year-old towards the exit.

Carroll is yet to score for West Ham

"I haven't really had a fair chance at Liverpool," he told the Daily Mirror.

"I was really told that I should move on to keep playing regular football, and obviously then Sam wanted me here and told me I would be playing regular games.

"So, for me it was a no-brainer coming here and to play.

"Obviously, I didn't really get a chance there. A new manager came in and I wasn't part of his plans. For me to play football, that was my chance to do that. That is why I am here at Upton Park."

Rodgers' teams are built around possession-play whereas Dalglish's Liverpool adopted tactics which left Liverpool vulnerable against opponents as they finished eighth in the Premier League last season.

Carroll has played twice under Rodgers

And although Carroll's aerial prowess is tailor-made for direct football he is adamant he could have adapted at Anfield.

"I think I could fit into every system. I believe in what I can do," Carroll stressed.

"Obviously he [Rodgers] has his beliefs and he didn't think that. But for me, obviously, it was better to move on instead of waiting for my chance - which he told me might not come."

A sample of Carroll's relationship with Rodgers has been exposed in the Being: Liverpool documentary series. Cutting a forlorn figure in the dressing room when not selected in the starting line-up, Carroll was also advised by Rodgers to sit out training when Liverpool played in Edinburgh against Hearts because his hamstring felt tight.

Carroll and Rodgers discuss his fitness at Tynecastle

Rodgers warned if he played the England international could miss "three to four weeks". Coincidentally, Carrolled suffered a hamstring injury on his West Ham debut and was out for a month, despite having made substitute appearances for his parent club at West Brom and at home to Manchester City.

Carroll's loan to West Ham was signed off under the expectation Liverpool would sign a striker ahead of August's transfer deadline day. But their failure to bolster their strikeforce was last week compounded by Fabio Borini being ruled out for three months with a broken foot. Luis Suárez is now their only first-team striker, with Adam Morgan, prolific at youth level, an alternative.

The Being: Liverpool series also revealed Rodgers telling Jonjo Shelvey "We don't have enough players to score goals" ahead of the Hearts game on 23 August.

Close

What's Hot