Apparently just slapping EXCLUSIVE on the front of your headline means you're allowed to write whatever you want without any kind of actual source or indeed any morsel of truth behind it. That seems to go doubly for anything to do with Andy Carroll and Newcastle United - the love affair that the newspapers seem entirely obsessed with. The latest "story" linking Carroll with Newcastle has apparently ignored the fact that West Ham wouldn't sell him for £10m (out-pricing the Magpies, you'd have to suspect) and that his agent dismissed the move entirely, comes from the Daily Star. In truth, there's nothing to it - no substance, no imagination and no excuse other than to try and dupe Newcastle fans into getting excited at the prospect of a Geordie coming home. The paper seems to have put two and two together - Carroll's lack of form and West Ham's good form in the league that has seen both Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia doing well - and decided that the only answer could be a Newcastle reunion. They even concede that Carroll has said he wants to stay and fight at Upton Park, but inevitably that is only a trifling matter. It's just another example of lazy, opportunistic rumour-mongering, and unfortunately, we will be suckered into accepting it again because of the "trusted" nature of the source. But if you believe the Star, you probably deserve all of the disappointment that comes with realising it's no more truthful than a story linking Lionel Messi to Newcastle at the minute.
