Taylor Swift

Like who? No point trying to predict it any more, I doubt any of them really give a fuck deep down. Well done.

No, I expect you to ignore it. Like we all ignore what every new signing says when they get here. Do you think Ben Arfa's going to be all lovey dovey if Barca come in for him 18 months from now? Do you think Enrique will be adamant that he's staying when Real want to make him their new LB this summer? These players have PR people with them almost everyday, coaching them on what to say and what not to say. The honest players like Robbie Savage are the exception, not the rule. Every other play just spouts cliches, and Carroll's no different. The abundance of #9 cliches that he spouted in his time here should be a massive fucking clue to what kind of answers he gives to the media.

Man, some of you really take all these press conferences seriously, don't you? Rooney must still love Man Utd, then, given that he's proclaimed his love for them about a thousand times after he signed a new contract. Let's just ignore how nonchalant he's looked on the pitch this whole season, even after signing a new 200k/week contract.

And he's speaking to the official site of his new team. Do you think he's going to be crying his eyes out, mumbling about his boyhood club and losing the opportunity to follow Shearer's footsteps?

Yous are all acting like 16 year old girls who have just been dumped. Get over it. He's not worth £35m. Our owner wanted the money, he was tempted to go, done deal. He didn't force the deal, we didn't force him to stay. How can you spew so much vitriol towards him?

:lol: :lol:

Those are standard answers. He's not going to alienate his new fans to please his old fans. That would be utterly insane.

Ashley obviously gives a shit. Why else would he hire a new PR head? The mud-slinging has begun way earlier than I expected

It's not as simple as that, madras. As I have said, you don't win a fight with the owner of the club. There's only one outcome. I think it's actually likely that Ashley has some leverage over Carroll. What, I don't think we'll ever know, but let's say the club has covered for Carroll more than a few times when he gets himself into trouble (certainly within the realm of possibility) and Ashley is calling in those favors now. Or maybe it's more hostile and it's a 'say you put in a transfer request' or else scenario. If it's the latter then we should expect some mud slinging to start very soon. But anyway, my point is that it's not as simple for Carroll to say 'I'm not doing it, your call'. There are a myriad of reasons that he could have been forced or nudged into it. No player stays when a bid is accepted. You've been told your surplus to requirements so you leave. Now you might say that I'm giving Carroll lots of slack here but honestly, I'm only doing it because we know the way ashley operates. I don't know Carroll but we know Ashley, so my instinct said something fishy is going on last night and I think I was right. I'll wait for the likes of the bonk and neesy to come and say that I have an imaginative mind or whatever but if the texts are real, I was right and I believe that when more information comes to light, I'll be fully vindicated in doubting the official story. Im also not excusing Carroll, because in the end he still signed the contract with Liverpool. But it's similar to KK. Sure, he resigned. But he was almost forced. Of course he handed in his resignation so technically he resigned but he didn't really want to. With carroll, it's quite analogous. Of course he handed in a transfer request, left for Liverpool and had his wages tripled but he didnt really want to in the same way KK didn't want to resign. That's my take of the past day's event and I think that more and more people will agree that this was what transpired.

He put in the transfer request to complete ashlry's game. At that point there was no doubt that he would leave. He was being forced to. It's impossible to try and stay at this point. Do you really think he wants to pick a fight with the owner of the club? Theres only one winner in that contest. Ashley could have simply released a bunch of bad shit about Carroll to poison his relationship with the fans, and with hoe easily so many people fell for the version last night, people would have fallen for that too. So at that point, he was a goner. His agent probably advised him to do it, seeing as he would he paid more and be moving to a better club. I'm not disputing this part. He obviously wouldn't have left if west brom had made the ridiculous bid. But the issue is that he didn't force the deal. Ashley arranged it all, cornered Carroll but still gave him a very nice exit. You're an idiot if you try to fight and not take the nice exit.

Of course he's happy at Liverpool now. He's being paid much more and he'll play in a better team. I'm not disputing that. I'm disputing the sequence of events that the club has put out. I'm disputing the fact that Carroll forced this through. I'm sure he's happy about the move now but thats affected by how he was treated by the owner of our club.

He would have known about the money ages ago. He would have heard it when he was away for int duty. Do you think his agent doesn't read the papers? Do you think footballers are oblivious to what other footballers are being paid? He knew. If he really wanted more money, he would have handed in a transfer request two weeks ago and forced his way to city or Chelsea or spurs. He didn't. That should tell you something. And as for the issue of him actually signing the contract and therefore deserving most of the blame, it's a matter of pride and ego. When someone tells you they no longer need you, you fuck off. Simple as. Especially when you're confident in your ability to succeed at any club. He's not chained to the club. He doesnt need the club to survive and succeed. You're mistaking love and care for dependency. Of course he went after Ashley had arranged everything. I would, and I would say fuck you to Ashley and be even more determined to succeed at my new club. It's an ego and a pride thing.

If I wasnt on my mobile and wanted to channel my inner Stu, I would quote what I said last night after news came of the transfer request being accepted. It's all just a bit of PR. Have some sense about you and you can see through it. If you don't, you end up looking like a retard, changing your opinion one minute to the next. Liverpool make bid - ashlry's going to sell. He's a cunt. Bid reportedly rejected - oh Ashley is a hero. Transfer requested - carroll's a cunt. Ashley did all he could. Look at that sequence of events and it has to seem fishy to you. It's too obvious. It's too smooth. Ask yourself why Carroll would wait so long to hand in a transfer request. Why not do it ten days ago? There's fuck all reason to wait. In fact, the more he waited, the more clubs sorted out their transfers and the smaller amount of clubs would be left in the running.

neesy's refusal to acknowledge the very high probability that ashley had planned it all is astounding.

45% is less than 57%, which is the percentage of people who voted last night who blamed Carroll. The tide is turning.

JH still holding onto the official line as if his life depended on it Youre holding on to the titanic, man. It's sinking.

How come you're still showing a lot of skepticism about the texts and not showing a shred of doubt about the official line, when history should be suggesting the exact opposite behavior.

neesy*

I hope the likes of needy and JH won't be as naive as a 5 year old the next time shit like this happens at the club. Classic PR exercise and you just totally fell for it. (if those texts are real and they represent what actually transpired...)

There'll be repercussions if those texts are real because Carroll must have signed some agreement to keep all of this on the downlow.

So what was all that shit about my conspiracy theory being a bunch of imaginative bullshit? If those texts are real, shit went down EXACTLY the way I described it, and yet again, the official line from the club is proven to be as reliable as the bible. If those texts are true, of course. And you might say that this is just PR from Carroll and it may well be, but I know I'd rather trust Carroll than Ashley because it wouldnt be the first time Ashley has tried to lie about the official sequence of events.

Cali is spot on. I think the N'Zogbia bid wasn't serious as well.

We'll be a better team in 18 months if we don't sell any of our good players. Mark my words.

Mick, Ashley could easily have paid him what he was going to get. It is money well spent by Ashley, judging by the reaction on here. Damn good PR.