OK, they weren't in the same financial bracket as Carroll, but Hall and Fat Fred ALWAYS had ears on alert when big money was offered for star Newcastle players.
There was uproar from supporters when Andy Cole, David Ginola and Jonathan Woodgate were sold for big money.
Freddy Shepherd: “They’ve sold the future of the club, Carroll will go on to play for England for the next 10 years. I’ll be very disappointed if they don’t reinvest. Why would they sell him otherwise?
“That lad could’ve taken the team forward much like Alan Shearer.
"We could’ve sold Shearer, I got an offer from Liverpool for big money, but I refused it, because I didn’t want him to leave Newcastle.
“Nobody could have pushed him (Carroll) into anything, he could have just said he didn’t want to go. When he says he was ‘pushed’, he could have just said no.
“There’s always two sides of a story. Both sides are trying to blame each other. I think they want shelter from the storm.”