Andy Carroll has come home at last, but was the club’s decision to announce his return to Newcastle United as a free agent following his release by West Ham a PR stunt or the true turn of events?
The suggestion of the Deadline Day deal being a marketing ploy has been put to the St James’ Park faithful members on Reddit following Carroll’s signing, with one fan posing his consideration on the basis of comments Steve Bruce made.
From the boss’ words while addressing the arrivals of Carroll and Amiens defender Emil Kraft, r/TrueEntropy drew the conclusion that Bruce was speaking on August 4, although the deals were not confirmed until the 8th, as he referred to Allan Saint-Maximin and Jetro Willems’ transfers, along with the pre-season friendly against Saint-Etienne.
The only reason r/TrueEntropy feels the club would do this, and then hold out on confirming the deals, was because the club must have thought it would be far better for marketing to announce the return of a Geordie to St James’ Park at the final moment of the window, than announce it ahead of the deadline and allow fans to speculate who could be arriving next.
Some of the Toon supporters replying to the suggestion have agreed with r/TrueEntropy’s idea, with one fan deeming it more than a coincidence that two players would be announced on Deadline Day when their deals were expected days before.
Others have gone in the opposite direction, and poured cold on the announcement being a PR tool, as they felt negotiations might have drawn out longer than the club had originally planned when they sat Bruce down to discuss their arrivals.
Here’s what these fans have had to say…
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