By SHAUN CUSTIS
ANDY CARROLL was forced to quit Liverpool after boss Brendan Rodgers told him he would not be guaranteed a place on the bench — let alone in the team.
The £35million striker had been desperate to prove himself to the new Anfield manager after a slow start to his Kop career.
But the big Geordie soon realised that Rodgers was hell bent on kicking him out of the door.
Yet SunSport can reveal Carroll, 23, was so confident of proving Rodgers wrong that, when he joined West Ham on loan last week, the frontman himself insisted on a recall clause that he could return to the Reds in January.
Carroll had a barnstorming debut for the Hammers at the weekend in the 3-0 league win over Fulham.
It made him an instant cult hero at Upton Park despite the fact he went off with a hamstring injury, which has ruled him out of Friday’s World Cup qualifier for England in Moldova.
Meanwhile, Liverpool produced an insipid display in a 2-0 home defeat to Arsenal, which highlighted Carroll’s absence in glorious Technicolour.
While the hitman is revelling in linking up again with friends like West Ham skipper Kevin Nolan and boss Sam Allardyce, Carroll never wanted to quit Merseyside.
When he first heard that Rodgers — who built a reputation for free-flowing passing football while at Swansea — might not fancy him and his more primitive playing style, Carroll’s response was simple: “I’ll show him.”
He went to Euro 2012 and scored a cracker against Sweden before returning with a burning ambition to build on his England showing for Liverpool.
Rodgers made it clear he would be bringing in other players and that 6ft 3in Carroll would have to fight for his place. But the forward was not bothered — he was up for the battle.
What Carroll was not fully aware of was that Rodgers was not issuing a challenge to show he could fit in — he was not interested in keeping him, no matter what he did.
The Northern Irishman had already decided that Carroll would not be part of his plans and he had to find a way of getting rid of him.
As the transfer deadline approached, Carroll was still digging in, even when he was told by the club that Clint Dempsey was supposedly arriving from Fulham.
But it was then that a desperate Rodgers delivered the bombshell to Carroll that there would be plenty of big games when Carroll would not even be in his 18-man squad and that, if he wanted regular football, he would have to leave.
Carroll knew it was not what the Liverpool fans wanted. They had always been hugely supportive in the days when he struggled to justify his huge price tag.
In fact, some supporters turned up outside Carroll’s house, chanting his name and begging him to stay.
Carroll, though, had been forced into a corner and moved to West Ham.
However, he insisted on a rider being put into the deal that he could be recalled in January — not that Rodgers was bothered whether the clause was included or not.
Now, though, Liverpool are short of options after Dempsey joined Tottenham instead of Liverpool because Rodgers’ US bosses would not support him in the transfer market.
Carroll privately concedes he does not feel he could ever play for Rodgers again as the manager is so adamant he does not fit his blueprint.
The only way that could change is if Rodgers were to admit he had made a mistake. It would be a spectacular climbdown but Liverpool are in such a mess, he could be forced to eat humble pie.
It takes a brave man to admit he was wrong but it might be the making of Rodgers at Anfield.
