His new side, Dagenham & Redbridge, fell 5-1 to Crawley Town in Carroll’s non-competitive debut
Among the more surprising recent moves is certainly that of former-Liverpool player Andy Carroll to Non-League Dagenham & Redbridge mid-July.
Carroll moved to Liverpool on a £35 million deal from Newcastle in 2010, and his career on Merseyside is largely seen as a disappointment: indeed, his name is mostly heard in sarcastic songs from rivals. While at Liverpool Carroll did win a League Cup in the 2011/12 season, and the Englishman famously scored a late winner against Everton in the semi-final against Everton — a goal that perhaps would be more memorable had the Reds not lost the final to Chelsea.
Carroll started his career in Newcastle’s academy with Liverpool his first permanent move away from Tyneside. Following his disappointing time with the Reds and a subsequent move to West Ham United, he became something of a journeyman footballer, playing for six different clubs between 2019 and the 2024/25 season.
Having played in the lower tiers of French football since 2023, the 36-year-old recently made a shock move to National League South side Dagenham & Redbridge on a free transfer.
Following his transfer Carroll told Sky Sports the move illustrates his pure love of the game:
“It doesn’t matter the level, or anything, as long as I get on the pitch and play football, that’s all that matters.
“Coming here and showing people I am just playing for the love of football rather than the money and the level is something I wanted to do. This is something which could be fantastic.
“We have a project to get them out of non-league and back up the leagues.”
Though his new side has struggled thus far in their pre-season campaign, fans have seemingly enjoyed Carroll’s presence, with the striker often found signing memorabilia for fans around his time on the pitch.