Andy Carroll's remarkable 40-yard lob has fans saying 'class is permanent'

Former Newcastle and West Ham striker Andy Carroll swapped England for France in August, joining second tier side Amiens from crisis-hit Reading

Andy Carroll rolled back the years with a phenomenal 40-yard finish for his latest club.

The former Newcastle and West Ham striker swapped England for France in August, joining second tier side Amiens from crisis-hit Reading. Having scored in Amiens’ previous game, Carroll found the net again against Annecy with an audacious long-range strike.

After picking up the ball near the centre circle, the 34-year-old showed, first, great vision to spot the keeper off his line and, secondly, incredible skill to find the net with a vicious dipping strike. While the match ended 1-1, the goal left fans of his former clubs in raptures.

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“Form is temporary, class is permanent,” said one. A Newcastle supporter declared: “Yesterday, Andy Carroll did this…”

The goal took some fans, who hadn’t realised Carroll had moved to France, by surprise. “Wait, since when was Andy Carroll playing in Ligue Un?” said one. Another asked: “When did he move to the Ligue 1 [laughing face emoji]?”

Carroll is actually playing in Ligue 2. Explaining the reasons behind his move, he told the Daily Mail: “I wanted a challenge. A challenge in a completely different country. A fresh start. I spoke to my agent and said, ‘Get me a club abroad’.

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“I came here and it was the one. It’s a one and half hour drive to Calais and I can get the shuttle back to Epping [the family home]. Here I can take my kids to the zoo here and they’re not saying, ‘Come on dad’ because people are asking for photos or autographs.

“There’s a little pub around the corner where me and a couple of the boys went to watch Newcastle beat PSG the other week. What a game! No one said a word to me.”