Former Liverpool and Newcastle United striker says he was wanted by Scotland
Former England international Andy Carroll says has revealed why he eventually turned down the chance to represent Scotland despite accepting a call-up as a teenager at Newcastle United.
Carroll, 37, currently plays for English sixth-tier outfit Dagenham & Redbridge, but was once the most expensive striker in English football when signed for Liverpool in a £35million deal from Newcastle United in January 2011.
Despite being born in Gateshead and playing for England at various youth levels, the Geordie forward qualified to represent Scotland via his grandparents. He went on to represent the Three Lions nine times, scoring twice, but admits his dream of representing his country of birth almost didn’t happen after he agreed to switch his allegiance to Scotland following a conversation with former manager Alex McLeish when he was breaking into the first team at St James’ Park.
Speaking in his new autobiography, ‘Owning it: In my own words’, he said: “I don’t know how they found out my dad’s mam was Scottish. But when I was still a teenager, I was asked to play for Scotland during the qualifying for the 2008 European Championships, when Alex McLeish was manager. Being young and naïve, I said yes, before actually giving it some proper thought. The idea of international football thrilled me, but I didn’t feel Scottish in any way. I hadn’t grown up dreaming of scoring in a World Cup final for Scotland.
“I had dreamt about doing it for England. And 100 caps for Scotland wouldn’t have meant anything compared to one cap for England. So just as I was about to get on the train to take me up to Glasgow, I rang Alex and told him I wasn’t coming after all.”
After scoring 11 goals for Newcastle following their promotion to the English Premier League in the 2010/11 season, Carroll was handed a dream call-up by England manager Fabio Capello, and made his debut shortly afterwards in a 2-1 friendly defeat to France at Wembley. He scored his first international goal just four months later, opening the scoring in a 1-1 draw with Ghana.
Included in England’s squad for the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine, he scored his second international goal during an entertaining 3-2 win over Sweden in the competition's group stages. However, his final cap came just four months later as a late substitute during a 5-0 World Cup qualifying win over San Marino.
Following the tournament, Carroll joined West Ham United, originally on loan, where he scored 34 goals for the London club across a seven-year period before returning to Newcastle on a Bosman free transfer in the summer of 2019. He’d score just once in his second spell with his boyhood club, though, and signed for Reading upon his release.
He had a short spell at West Bromwich Albion before moving to France to sign for second-tier side Amiens, and later Bordeaux after their demotion to the fifth tier. In total, he amassed over £50million in transfer fees during his time in the top flight of English football.
He returned to British shores last summer with Dagenham and Redbridge, with Carroll also announced as a minority shareholder in the club on the same day as they were purchased by Qatari private investors, while he also took the interim manager’s role last season following the sacking of Lee Bradbury in March.
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