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Roy Carroll
Personal information
Carroll playing for Northern Ireland in 2012
Full name	Roy Eric Carroll
Date of birth	(1977-09-30) 30 September 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth	Enniskillen, Northern Ireland
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Fivemiletown United
	Ballinamallard United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1995–1997	Hull City	46	(0)
1997–2001	Wigan Athletic	138	(0)
2001–2005	Manchester United	49	(0)
2005–2007	West Ham United	31	(0)
2007–2008	Rangers	0	(0)
2008–2009	Derby County	30	(0)
2009–2011	Odense BK	46	(0)
2011–2012	OFI	16	(0)
2012–2014	Olympiacos	19	(0)
2014–2016	Notts County	77	(0)
2016–2019	Linfield	88	(0)
2019-2021	FC Mindwell
2021	Dungannon Swifts	18	(0)
2023	Ballinamallard United	1	(0)
Total		569	(0)
National team
1998–1999	Northern Ireland U21	11	(0)
1997–2017	Northern Ireland	45	(0)
Teams managed
2011	Barnet (caretaker)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Roy Eric Carroll (born 30 September 1977) is a former professional footballer from Northern Ireland. He played as a goalkeeper. Roy is well-known for playing with Wigan Athletic, Manchester United, and Olympiacos.

With Manchester United, he won a Premier League title and the FA Cup. At Olympiacos, he won the Greek Superleague and the Greek Cup twice. Roy also played for the Northern Ireland national team 45 times between 1997 and 2017. He was part of their team for UEFA Euro 2016.

Roy Carroll also had a very short career as a manager. He led Barnet to a 2–1 victory in the 2011 Herts Senior Cup final. This means he won a trophy in his only game as a manager!

Roy Carroll's Early Life and Kindness

Roy Carroll grew up in Tamlaght, County Fermanagh. He started his football journey with local teams like Fivemiletown United and Ballinamallard United.

In November 2001, Roy received a special award called the Red Cross Humanitarian Award. He got it for being very kind to a child who had leukemia.

Roy Carroll's Club Football Career

Playing for Hull City

Roy Carroll joined Hull City in September 1995 as a young player still learning the game. He played 50 matches for the club. After two seasons, he was sold to help Hull City with their money problems.

Time at Wigan Athletic

In April 1997, Roy signed with Wigan Athletic for £350,000. This was a record amount for the club at that time. He had to wait seven months for his first game in November 1997. He played 170 matches for Wigan over four years.

Roy was a key player when Wigan went 26 league games without losing in 1999–2000. Other professional players voted him the best goalkeeper in the second division. This was amazing because he missed the last seven games due to an emergency appendix operation.

In the 2000–01 season, he helped his team reach the play-offs. In a semi-final game against Reading, he saved a penalty in the last minute. However, Reading scored from the rebound and won the game.

Years at Manchester United

In July 2001, Roy Carroll joined Premier League champions Manchester United. The transfer fee was about £2.5 million. He played his first game on 26 August 2001, which was a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa.

Roy had strong competition from Fabien Barthez at United. But he still won a Premier League winner's medal in the 2002–03 season. Later, Tim Howard joined the team, giving Roy more competition.

In May 2004, Roy won an FA Cup winner's medal. He came on as a substitute for Tim Howard in the final minutes.

The "Goal That Never Was"

Roy Carroll is famous for a moment in January 2005 against Tottenham Hotspur. A player named Pedro Mendes shot the ball from the halfway line. Roy dropped the ball, and it went clearly behind his goal-line before he scooped it back into play. The referee and his assistants did not see that the ball had crossed the line, so the goal was not given.

After this mistake, Roy was not chosen to play in a few matches. He also made another error in a game against Milan. He dropped a shot, and Hernán Crespo scored from it. Roy left Manchester United on 27 May 2005 when his contract ended. He wanted to be sure he would be the main goalkeeper, but the club could not promise him that.

Playing for West Ham United

Just three weeks after leaving Manchester United, Roy signed with West Ham. He started well, playing 19 games. However, a back injury in January 2006 needed surgery. This meant he missed the rest of the 2005–06 season, including the FA Cup Final.

He played only 17 games in the 2006–07 season. His last game for West Ham was on 3 February 2007. He left the club on 25 May 2007 because he wanted to play more regularly.

Short Time at Rangers

Roy Carroll signed a one-year contract with Rangers on 7 July 2007. He was mainly there to support Allan McGregor. He played only one game for Rangers. This was a League Cup match against East Fife on 26 September 2007.

Moving to Derby County

Carroll playing for Derby County in 2008

On 9 January 2008, Roy was set to move to Premier League team Derby County. The deal took some time because Rangers needed to find a new goalkeeper first. Roy even offered to pay a fee to help Rangers sign a replacement.

He signed a three-year contract with Derby on 21 January 2008. He played his first game on 2 February 2008. Roy could not help the club avoid being moved down to a lower league after just one season.

In the 2008–09 season, Roy started as Derby's main goalkeeper. But after being sent off in a game, he played less often. He was part of the Derby team that reached the Football League Cup semi-final. They lost to his old team, Manchester United. Roy's contract with Derby was cancelled in August 2009. This allowed him to move to a Danish team.

Playing in Denmark with Odense Boldklub

Roy signed a three-year contract with Danish Superliga team Odense BK on 17 August 2009. He played his first game on the same day and kept a clean sheet (meaning he didn't let any goals in).

After playing only 14 league games, he was named the 2009 Superliga Goalkeeper of the Year. This was voted by other goalkeepers in the league. In November 2010, Roy decided to leave Odense BK to be closer to his family in Britain. His contract ended on 31 January 2011.

Brief Managerial Role

In March 2011, Roy had a trial at Sheffield United. He then joined Barnet in League Two for a trial as a player-coach. When Barnet's manager left, Roy was asked to manage the team for one game. This was the Herts Senior Cup final against Stevenage. Barnet won 2–1, meaning Roy won a trophy in his only game as a football manager!

Time in Greece with OFI and Olympiacos

In August 2011, Roy signed a two-year contract with Greek team OFI. He played 16 times for the club and became very well-liked in Greece.

In January 2012, Roy signed with Greek Superleague champions Olympiacos. His first game was in the Europa League. He came on as a substitute, saved a penalty with his very first touch for Olympiacos, and his team won 1–0. In the next game, he played amazingly, making many saves even with a hamstring injury. Fans called his performance "legendary."

Roy became the main goalkeeper for Olympiacos in 2012–13. He played in his first Champions League game since 2005. He was happy living in Greece and hoped to stay longer. In his first 20 games for Olympiacos, his team won 18 games and drew two. They only let in ten goals and kept twelve clean sheets. Olympiacos won the league and cup twice while he was there.

Return to England with Notts County

After leaving Olympiacos, Roy Carroll signed a one-year contract with Football League One team Notts County on 4 August 2014. In November 2014, less than 24 hours after playing for Northern Ireland, he kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 win for Notts County.

Playing for Linfield

Roy joined Linfield in 2016. He suffered a serious knee injury in January 2019. He left the club in May 2019 but still wanted to keep playing football.

Later Career and Retirement

After playing briefly for a junior team, Roy returned to the Irish League. He signed for Dungannon Swifts in January 2021. He left the club at the end of the 2020–21 season to focus on coaching.

On 2 January 2023, Roy made a surprise return to his old youth club, Ballinamallard United. They had many injured players. His return lasted only 35 minutes because he got a hamstring injury. He said after the game that he was now officially retired from playing football.

Roy Carroll's International Career

Roy Carroll played his first full international game for Northern Ireland on 21 May 1997 against Thailand. For many years, he competed with Maik Taylor to be Northern Ireland's main goalkeeper.

By September 2006, Roy had played 19 games for his country. One of these was a famous 3–2 win against Spain. However, Roy had to leave the game after only 12 minutes due to a groin injury.

After six years away from the national team, Roy returned in June 2012. He played as a substitute against the Netherlands. He made his competitive return in September 2012 in a World Cup qualifier against Russia. In May 2013, Roy was named the Northern Ireland International Personality of the Year.

In May 2016, he was chosen to be part of Northern Ireland's team for UEFA Euro 2016.

Roy Carroll's Football Achievements

As a Player

Wigan Athletic

Football League Trophy: 1998–99

Manchester United

Premier League: 2002–03
FA Cup: 2003–04
FA Community Shield: 2003

Olympiacos

Super League Greece: 2012–13
Greek Football Cup: 2011–12, 2012–13

Linfield

NIFL Premiership: 2016–17, 2018–19
Irish Cup: 2016–17
County Antrim Shield: 2016–17
NIFL Charity Shield: 2017

Individual Awards

PFA Team of the Year: 1999–2000 Second Division
Danish Goalkeeper of the Year: 2009
Northern Ireland International Personality of the Year: 2013
Linfield Player of the Year: 2016–17

As a Manager

Barnet

Herts Senior Cup: 2010–11