What Andy Carroll did in the helicopter before signing for Liverpool in 2011

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Andy Carroll remains Liverpool’s record transfer.

We bought the Englishman six years ago today, which actually suggests that we’ve not been especially competitive in the transfer market since.

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Having sold Fernando Torres to Chelsea for £50m, Liverpool desperately needed another forward, and splashed out £35m on Newcastle’s target-man.

His career at Liverpool didn’t work out at all in truth, for much the same reason Christian Benteke struggled. His attributes (aerial strength, hold-up play) didn’t suit Liverpool’s footballing style and we failed to get the best out of him, eventually making a £20m loss when selling him to West Ham.

But it seems Carroll was as ill-prepared for the move as we were, desperately googling his team-mates on the last-minute helicopter to Anfield!

“When I was leaving Newcastle for Liverpool, I was in the helicopter on the way down and I had to go to Google to find out who their players were, looking on the phone,” he said, reported by Goal.

“I was signing and I didn’t know who my team-mates would be!

“I knew Stevie and some of the others but not all of them. And I loved it at Newcastle. I wasn’t ready to leave. It came as a shock.

“I’d had a season ticket, it was my club and it was a shock to move. I was 22. I could never get a grip at Liverpool.”

Our decision to sign Carroll for such big money was a terrible one, but thankfully, we’d bought a certain Uruguayan named Luis Suarez for much less money a few days beforehand.

This striker is now recognised as the best in the world. It’s a just a mighty shame he’s tearing up trees for Barcelona and not Liverpool, of course!

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