Information about Roy Carroll

Roy Carroll
Personal information
Full name	Roy Eric Carroll
Date of birth	September 30 1977 (1977--) (age 30)
Place of birth	Enniskillen, Northern Ireland
Height	{}
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Rangers
Number	25
Youth clubs
	Ballinamallard United
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1995-1997 1997-2001 2001-2005 2005-2007 2007-	Hull City Wigan Athletic Manchester United West Ham United Rangers	046 (0) 136 (0) 049 (0) 031 (0) 000 (0)
National team2
1998-1999 1997-	Northern Ireland U-21 Northern Ireland	011 (0) 019 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:59, 17 October 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 14:59, 17 October 2007 (UTC) . * Appearances (Goals)

Roy Eric Carroll (born September 30 1977 in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh) is a Northern Irish footballer currently playing for Rangers in the Scottish Premier League.

Background

Carroll was brought up in Tamlaght, County Fermanagh, and began his career with local sides Fivemiletown United and Ballinamallard United. He moved to England and played for Hull City, Wigan Athletic, Manchester United and West Ham United. In November 2001, Carroll received a Red Cross Humanitarian Award for his kindness to a child with leukaemia.^[1][2] In November 2006, he entered rehabilitation for gambling and alcohol-related addiction.^[3] 'Stress' was cited by the Carroll family.^[4]

Club career

Hull City

Carroll joined Hull City in September 1995 as a trainee and went on to make 49 appearances in all competitions^[5] before he was sold to pay off mounting debts.^[5]

Wigan Athletic

He signed for Wigan Athletic in April 1997 for £350,000, a club record signing,^[6] for who he made 170 appearances in all competitions in four years.^[6] He played a key role in Wigan's unbeaten run of 26 league games in 1999/2000 and was voted the best goalkeeper in the second division by his fellow professionals.^[5]

Manchester United

He was signed by Wigan's neighbours Manchester United in July 2001 for an undisclosed fee believed to be £2.5 million.^[7] Carroll faced stiff competition against Fabien Barthez at United but won a Premiership winners' medal in the 2002-03 season. By the 2003-04 season Tim Howard was signed and Roy had yet more competition. He won an FA Cup winners' medal in May 2004 when he came on as substitute for Howard in the 84th minute.^[8] On February 19 2005, in an FA Cup match against Everton, Carroll was struck on the back of the head by any of various projectiles including coins and mobile phones, in a match high on security for team-mate and Everton returnee Wayne Rooney which Manchester United won 2-0. Carroll gained his greatest infamy for the "goal that never was" against Tottenham Hotspur; a speculative shot from the half-way line by Pedro Mendes that Carroll dropped well behind his goal-line then scooped back into play.^[9] The referee and his linesmen were unable to verify that the ball had gone over the line.^[10] Though Carroll got away with that particular gaffe, his error led to him being dropped for a few matches. He made a second blunder in a 0-1 defeat by A.C. Milan, where he spilled a shot into the path of Hernán Crespo, who then scored.^[11] He was released by Manchester United on May 27 2005 after his contract expired;^[12] he refused to sign a new deal after the club failed to assure him that he would be first choice for the next season.

West Ham United

Three weeks after leaving Old Trafford, Carroll signed for West Ham.^[13] Carroll enjoyed a successful start to his West Ham career, making 19 appearances. However, a back injury sustained in a game against Fulham on January 23 2006 left him needing surgery,^[14] and he was sidelined for the remainder of the 2005-06 season. On May 25, 2007, West Ham stated that he had been released after asking for a transfer to achieve regular first team football.^[15] He made just 17 appearances in the 2006-07 season, due to the arrival of Robert Green, and his final game for the Hammers took place in February.

Rangers

Carroll signed for Rangers on a one-year contract on July 7, 2007.^[16], initially as cover for Allan McGregor but also to challenge for a starting place. He made his Rangers debut against East Fife on 26 September 2007.

International career

Carroll gained his first of 19 international caps on 21 May 1997 in a game against Thailand. For many years Carroll has fought a lost battle to be Northern Ireland's first choice keeper to the experienced Maik Taylor. On his 19th cap, Carroll was the starting keeper for Northern Ireland but was substituted through injury before half-time for Taylor to come in.

Honours

• FA Premier League: 2002/2003
• FA Cup: 2004

References

External links

• Roy Carroll career stats at Soccerbase
• Roy Carroll at Yahoo! Sport
• Roy Carroll at bbc.co.uk
• Roy Carroll at irishfa.com
• Roy Carroll at manutd.com
• Fermanagh NISC

Rangers F.C. (current squad)
1 McGregor • 2 Hutton • 3 Weir • 4 Buffel • 5 Papac • 6 Ferguson • 7 Hemdani • 8 Thomson • 9 Boyd • 10 Novo • 11 Adam • 12 Ehiogu • 14 Faye • 15 Gow • 16 G. Smith • 17 Burke • 18 Naismith • 19 Darcheville • 20 Beasley • 21 Broadfoot • 22 Webster • 24 Cullar • 25 Carroll • 26 S. Smith • 27 McCulloch • 28 Whittaker • 29 Cousin • Manager: W. Smith