Pardew - Carroll wanted new deal

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is adamant that Andy Carroll was not forced to leave the club for Liverpool and that he only did so after seeing his demands for a new deal fall on deaf ears.

The England striker's £35million-plus transfer to the Anfield club was one of the shocks of deadline day. Pardew claims that Carroll asked Newcastle for a new deal, despite only signing one in October, and asked to leave once that request was turned down.

Pardew said: "We didn't force anybody to leave. He had a contract here for five years, and at some point it would get renewed, but for him to sign in October and it get renewed in January - where would it stop?"

He added: "Personally, I'm disappointed. He's a lovely lad, and I really like him, but it was his decision, and you can't change that.

"We turned down a big offer, and they came back with a second big offer. We were having a discussion about what we were going to do with that offer when Andy requested to see me.

"I went to see Andy, and face to face we had a conversation about him wanting a new contract, even though he signed on in October, and (he said) if he didn't get that contract, he wanted to go.

"I asked him what he wanted, and I went to the board. We had a discussion about what the ramifications would be for the whole club.

"We decided that we needed the conversation confirmed, and he put in a transfer request, which he did.

"But no club is about one player. We're absolutely gutted that he's gone. It's disappointing, but we're not in a financial position like Liverpool."