Andy Carroll Reveals Disappointment with Former Liverpool Teammate

After bravely revealing he was a victim of sexual assault, former striker Andy Carroll has now shared his impressions of a former teammate. The player in question is Joe Cole, with whom Carroll played at both Liverpool and later West Ham. This anecdote is part of the towering forward's autobiography, “Owning It.”

Carroll, now 37, is still active in football, currently playing for Dagenham & Redbridge in the English sixth tier.

“The Liverpool dressing room felt far less cohesive than Newcastle’s – sometimes you just don’t have the right mix of personalities, and some of the lads didn’t even speak to me,” Carroll writes. “Our spots in the changing room were arranged by shirt number, so I had Gerrard (8) on one side and Joe Cole (10) on the other. Gerrard would ask me what I’d been up to, but Joe was practically mute.

As a kid, I admired him and thought he’d show some interest in me, especially since he was also considered a future star as a teenager. But he wouldn’t even say ‘Good morning.’ I thought to myself, ‘Mate, I’m new here, it’s not easy, at least give me something!’”

“But here’s the interesting part: when Joe and I were later together at West Ham, he was a completely different person. He’d be dancing around the changing room, hugging me, and high-fiving me. One evening when we were out, I asked him, ‘I thought you were a bit of an arse at Liverpool. You sat next to me for months and didn’t say a word. Now you’re acting like my best mate. What happened?’

Joe explained that he felt very down at Liverpool, knowing the club didn't want him, and therefore he didn't want to be there. He had convinced himself: ‘Just come in, keep a low profile, do your job, and leave.’ He apologized to me, and something that had seemed very strange at the time suddenly made perfect sense.”