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Andy Carroll was supposed to be the signature that revived Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool.
In January 2011, he arrived in a torch of glory, signed by Newcastle under a 35 million pound sterling contract, while Dalglish was taking the reins of Roy Hodgson and trying to wake up a Liverpool giants less asleep, but fell into a coma under the disastrous era of Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
At his very first appearance in a Liverpool jersey, Carroll was alongside his new coach, Luis Suarez, while the Reds were on their double contract.
Fernando Torres, who had been sold to Chelsea for a club record of £ 50 million, was soon forgotten. The new owner of the Fenway Sports Group broke the Liverpool transfer record twice in a week.
Six years ago today, a small statement on the club's official website confirmed Carroll's definitive departure for West Ham. His career at Anfield ended in just over two years, one of which was put on loan at Hammers.
In many ways, Carroll represents the biggest stumble transfer of any Liverpool history. It took them six years to break the record of the amount they paid to Newcastle United for his services on a certain Mohamed Salah in June 2017.
It was, after all, an agreement that still shocks to this day. Carroll had been a regular scorer for the league with Newcastle, scoring 19 goals in 42 appearances as the Magpies were promoted to the Premier League in 2010.
On his return, he had an impressive start to the season, scoring 11 goals in 20 games, including a 25-yard offense in a 3-1 win against Liverpool in December.
But 35 million pounds represented a huge amount to pay for a player with a total of 41 games at the highest level, as well as for someone who had a reputation for enjoying an evening.
But Liverpool knew they had a problem in hand when Torres, the club's top scorer for four consecutive seasons, demanded to be sold.
The FSG had to make a statement and, aided by the new football director, Damien Comolli, rushed to the window of the winter.
If they had stopped spending with the acquisition of Ajax 's attacker, Suarez, the club' s business would have been leased.
But instead, they moved to Carroll, opening the auction at £ 25m. Newcastle smelled of blood. The Geordies refused an additional offer of £ 30m, before accepting the final offer of £ 35m.
(Image: Action Images / Paul Thomas)
Carroll, who had negotiated a new deal with his youth club, had little choice.
He then stated that he was "stuck in a corner" and that the offer of contract had been canceled. He even claimed that the owner, Mike Ashley, had his own private helicopter ready to drive him to interviews in Merseyside.
Liverpool would soon have his man, concluding the deal with only a few minutes to spare for one of the most dramatic deadlines in football history, and Carroll knew he still had some work to do. to justify these costs.
He admitted when he sat down to address the media a few days after his signature.
"It was a lot of money but I have to do what I have to do to prove that this money was worth it," he said.
"I'm here to score goals and create opportunities for the team and that's what I can do.
"I've scored goals in Newcastle and that's what I want to bring here – we'll have to wait and see (if the transfer fee was worth it)."
(Image: Photo of Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)
Unfortunately for Carroll and Liverpool, he would never really have won the prize.
But it was not a complete failure either. Ask any Liverpool fan who was at Wembley for the FA Cup semifinal in 2012.
Barely 22 years old at the time of his move, the ponytail forward admitted later in an interview with the Daily Mail that he was not quite ready for the transfer to Anfield.
Carroll lamented the lifestyle that held him back and confessed that he had even had to do a Google search of some of his teammates upon arriving in Merseyside.
The striker would later evaluate his time at the club by claiming that his career "never really happened" in Liverpool.
But he had his moments.
And maybe that's why Carroll is not considered the flop that others, apart from Anfield, might think he is.
In fact, the great striker was a popular figure during his short stay.
This is what happens when you score a winning goal against Everton at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals. An objective described by Jamie Carragher as "a value of £ 35 million per se".
And there were other highlights. In the spring, a thigh injury erased Carroll, who was relieved early in the game. After several sporadic appearances, he showed up appropriately at Anfield with a double goal against Manchester City.
This is the kind of performance that convinced many fans that Liverpool spent wisely.
And that was the kind of Carroll performance was able to put on, from time to time.
There was a goal at Goodison Park, another at West Brom and a catchy performance against Manchester United in a FA Cup win.
And who can forget Blackburn's late winner? It is for this purpose that Carroll was signed.
Carroll also led the charge as Liverpool tried to defend themselves against Chelsea in the FA Cup final, scoring once and seeing a close header saved by Petr Cech. How could his career have been different if this goal had hit the bottom of the net?
The striker was loaned to West Ham when Brendan Rodgers replaced Dalglish as Liverpool manager this summer. It was a ruthless decision, but the new leader finally decided that Carroll was not going to be a regular starter and that the club could not allow a player winning such salaries to sit on the bench.
It was the beginning of the end for Carroll, who made his move permanent the following summer.
Six years after his expensive departure, his loss reaching about 20 million pounds, Liverpool has learned important lessons from this agreement. Michael Edwards and his highly acclaimed recruiting team will ensure that players do not engage in gigantic offers without the necessary research.
If Carroll's signature was a necessary evil for the FSG to allow the club to evolve, so be it.
After all, he and the fans will still have Wembley 2012. £ 35 million? Good deal.
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