The moment Andy Carroll destroyed his Reading FC legacy: View | OneFootball

Andy Carroll looked to be an excellent signing when he joined Reading on a short-term deal back in November 2021.

Having plenty of Premier League experience under his belt, the only thing that potentially looked set to ruin his time at the Select Car Leasing Stadium was his injury record.

But he made an instant impact for the Berkshire side, scoring on his debut away at Swansea City and helping Veljko Paunovic's side to secure a 3-2 win in South Wales.

His first spell at the SCL Stadium proved to be short and sweet, with the player scoring two goals in eight appearances before moving to West Bromwich Albion in January on the expiration of his deal.

With Valerien Ismael being sacked shortly after Carroll's arrival at The Hawthorns, that put a spanner in the works and having been released by Steve Bruce at Newcastle United back in the summer of 2021, he wouldn't have been happy to reunite with the Manchester United legend at the Midlands club.

The experienced forward did make 15 appearances for Albion during his time with the Baggies, but was released during the summer of 2022 and moved back to the SCL Stadium back in September 2022.

Signing another short-term deal, he became a key part of Paul Ince's plans and managed to remain fit for much of his second spell in Berkshire, but his success was limited at the club.

He certainly divided opinions among the fanbase and in fairness to him, he registered a decent number of goals last season.

That isn't a shabby record, but many supporters believed the team would perform better without him up top, with Lucas Joao available as an alternative option.

Andy Carroll's Reading FC incident v Luton Town

In April 2023, the Royals were in major relegation danger after being docked six points for a breach of financial regulations.

But coming into the game against Luton Town, they still had four games left to go and had a real chance of staying up.

The Hatters were doing well at the time and they ended up being promoted at the end of last term, but Rob Edwards' side were there for the taking.

The Royals had drawn 0-0 against eventual champions Burnley in their previous game which was a real morale-booster - and gave them real hope that they could stay up following their first game under caretaker boss Noel Hunt.

Early on in the second half, the Berkshire side went 1-0 up against the Hatters at the SCL Stadium through a Carroll header.

And the former England international looked to have guided his team to a win against Edwards' men when he scored a second from another corner, but it was ruled out because the striker had used his hand to guide the ball into the net.

Already on a yellow card, the referee had little choice but to dismiss the striker, whose mistake ended up costing the Royals.

Luton Town dismissal ruined a positive Reading FC legacy for Andy Carroll

Luton equalised late on in the game and that always seemed inevitable once the hosts were reduced to ten men. Post-match, Carroll was heavily criticised for his moment of madness, even though there was a debate regarding whether he intentionally meant to handle the ball or not.

And after the game, the Royals remained in 22nd place and one point behind Queens Park Rangers, who were struggling massively under Gareth Ainsworth at the time.

Reading may have been relegated by five points in the end, with the six-point deduction effectively relegating them, but Carroll's handball was seen as a key moment in the season by many. The supporters' mood transformed from pure elation to despair in a matter of seconds.

Because he had been unnecessarily sent off at Manchester United earlier in the season, he was forced to serve a two-match suspension with just three games to go, and he didn't appear for the remainder of the campaign.

He did play against Peterborough United and Port Vale during the early stages of this season, but he put in a very poor performance against the latter and even missed a penalty at Vale Park.

Many Royals fans were keen to see the back of him after that and they got their wish, with the player failing to appear for the Royals again before joining French side Amiens.

But the damage to any potential positive legacy for the striker was arguably done during the Luton incident, which was totally avoidable.