West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady blasted Newcastle United attacker Andy Carroll over his previous spell at the Hammers.
The Hammers chief when explaining that Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil is someone who causes confusion over what they are and what they can be, claimed West Ham have had players like that previously, before picking out Carroll as an example.
Brady questioned Carroll’s attitude as she joked about the variety of reasons he had for all sorts of non-appearances, before admitting that while he tried on the pitch, he appeared to be trying harder off it.
“We have had plenty at West Ham. One of them, a behemoth from ages past — actually it was only last season — Andy Carroll returned to the London Stadium stomping around in his Newcastle strip,” wrote Brady in her column for The Sun.
“He was seen in ours just over a hundred times, many as a sub, in seven years.
“Early in his career, he was noted for confrontation, including with a colleague or two. With us, there was a glossary of reasons for all sorts of non-appearances and perhaps unfairly the joke was he used to go to his grandma’s funerals quite regularly.
“While he always tried on the pitch, he appeared to be trying harder off it.”
OPINION
West Ham never saw the best of Carroll enough, there’s no denying that. The 30-year-old arrived at the London Stadium, initially on loan from Liverpool, in August 2012 and despite only leaving in the summer upon his contract expiring, Carroll featured just 142 times for the club. The experienced veteran had campaigns where he barely featured due to injury, last season he had ankle surgery and made only 12 Premier League outings, but it seems Brady believes a poor attitude held Carroll back, rather than his inavoidable injury problems. With Carroll’s new club having beat West Ham last weekend, the forward made a brief cameo appearance, the Hammers and the forward have moved on from their time together, so while is Brady throwing him under-the-bus? While it makes sense that she wants to name an example to help people understand the point she’s making on Ozil, it actually just seems like she’s bringing up ancient history and stirring the pot for no reason.
