Hull City Carroll joined
Hull City in September 1995 as a trainee and went on to make 50 appearances for the club in all competitions but he was sold two seasons later to pay off Hull's mounting debts. Despite this, he would have to wait seven months to make his first appearance in November 1997 when he replaced
Lee Butler in a 2–1 defeat of Watford. He made 170 appearances in all competitions in four years.
Manchester United He was signed by defending
Premier League champions
Manchester United in July 2001 for an undisclosed fee believed to be £2.5 million. He made his debut in a 1–1 draw with
Aston Villa on 26 August 2001. The referee and his linesmen were unable to verify that the ball had gone over the line and the goal was not given. Though Carroll got away with that particular gaffe, his error led to him being dropped for a few matches. He made a second blunder in a 1–0 defeat by
Milan, where he spilled a shot into the path of
Hernán Crespo, who then scored. He was released by Manchester United on 27 May 2005 after his contract expired; he refused to sign a new deal after the club failed to assure him that he would be first choice for the next season.
West Ham United Three weeks after leaving
Old Trafford, Carroll signed for West Ham. Carroll enjoyed a successful start to his West Ham career, making 19 appearances. However, a back injury sustained in a game against
Fulham on 23 January 2006 left him needing surgery, and he was sidelined for the remainder of the
2005–06 season, including the FA Cup Final against Liverpool.
Shaka Hislop was his replacement. He made just 17 appearances in the 2006–07 season, due to personal problems relating to alcohol and gambling and the arrival of
Robert Green. His final game for the Hammers took place on 3 February 2007 against
Aston Villa. On 25 May 2007, West Ham stated that he had been released after asking for a transfer to achieve regular first team football.
Rangers Carroll signed for Rangers on a one-year contract on 7 July 2007, initially as cover for
Allan McGregor but also to challenge for a starting place. He made his only appearance for
Rangers against
East Fife in a
League Cup match on 26 September 2007.
Derby County On 9 January 2008, it was revealed that Carroll was in line for a move to
Premier League side
Derby County. Carroll was allowed permission to talk with Derby and personal terms were agreed, but the deal hinged on Rangers signing a replacement goalkeeper. After over a week with little progress, Derby County called off the move, but when Carroll offered to pay the loan fee so Rangers could sign Sunderland keeper
Darren Ward, the deal was revived. Carroll hoped to join Derby on loan for the rest of the
2007–08 season but the move was again held up by Rangers as they refused to release his registration until they found another keeper. After Rangers signed
Neil Alexander from
Ipswich Town, Carroll was free to sign for Derby, and a deal was completed on deadline day. He signed a three-year contract with the club on 21 January 2008, and made his debut in a Premier League match against Birmingham City on 2 February 2008. Carroll could not help the club avoid relegation to the Championship after just one season. Carroll started the 2008–09 season as the club's first choice goalkeeper, but after getting sent off in a 2–1 victory at
Norwich City he lost his place and was restricted to making appearances in cup competitions. He was part of the Derby side that reached the 2008–09
Football League Cup semi-final, where they lost 4–3 on aggregate to his former side Manchester United. After Paul Jewell resigned in December 2008, he was replaced by
Nigel Clough. Clough made it clear Carroll was not in his plans and, a week into the 2009–10 season, it was announced that Carroll's contract with The Rams would be cancelled to allow him to move to
Danish side
Odense BK.
Odense Boldklub Carroll signed a three-year contract with
Danish Superliga side
Odense BK on 17 August 2009. His debut was granted on the very same day and only hours after he had signed the deal, when he managed to keep a clean sheet in the 1–0 win against
FC Midtjylland. Having played just 14 Superliga games, he was named
2009 Superliga Goalkeeper of the Year in December 2009, in a vote amongst the league goalkeepers. In November 2010, Carroll announced his decision to leave Odense BK in order to return to Britain to be closer to his family. The club soon signed
Stefan Wessels as his replacement. Carroll's contract was mutually terminated on 31 January 2011 and he left Odense BK as a free agent, in search of a new club.
2011 trial spells Carroll had a trial at
Sheffield United in March 2011. However, during a reserve match against
Barnsley, he conceded two goals within ten minutes and was sent off after conceding a penalty. As a result, he was not offered a contract with the Blades. Later that same month, Carroll joined League Two strugglers
Barnet on a trial with a view to a role as player-coach. After the departure of
Martin Allen as manager in April 2011, and with caretaker manager
Giuliano Grazioli on a scouting mission, Carroll was appointed as manager for the
Herts Senior Cup final against
Stevenage, which Barnet won 2–1. Thus, Carroll won a trophy in his only game as a football manager. He reportedly left the club in protest in April 2011, as his former Northern Ireland manager
Lawrie Sanchez was set to take a managerial role in the club. In July 2011, Carroll joined
Preston North End on trial and played in a 7–1 friendly victory at
Kendal Town. However, despite a deal for Preston to sign Carroll being close, the club opted to sign
Iain Turner instead.
OFI In August 2011 Carroll signed a two-year contract with Greek Super League side
OFI. Despite struggling for fitness and form in pre-season, Carroll appeared 16 times for the club, putting in some impressive performances, which made him highly regarded in Greece. His first appearance was against
Rubin Kazan in Moscow in the first match for the round of 32, in the
Europa League, coming on as a late substitute after
Balázs Megyeri conceded a penalty and was given a red card. Carroll saved the penalty with the first touch of his Olympiacos career and his team went on to win 0–1. In the return leg, Carroll put in a performance considered legendary by the fans, after producing a string of saves in whilst carrying a visible hamstring injury. Carroll became the first-choice goalkeeper at the club in 2012–13 and featured in his first Champions League game since February 2005, when he played in a 2–1 win at
Montpellier on 24 October 2012, after displacing Megyeri who started the opening two European games. In Olympiacos' first ten league games, Carroll played a part in a team which conceded only five goals and kept six clean sheets as they won the opening nine games, drawing the other. In an interview with British press, Carroll said that he was happy with his life in Greece and hopeful on extending his contract at Olympiacos. In his first twenty games for Olympiacos in all competitions, he was part of the winning side in eighteen games, drawing the other two, conceded ten goals and kept twelve clean sheets, losing in his twenty-first appearance against
Schalke 04 0–1 on 21 November 2012. Carroll lost his place in the side to Megyeri in January, being relegated to cup appearances as Olympiacos won the double for a second consecutive season.
Notts County Following his departure from Greek Superleague champions, Olympiacos, Carroll signed a one-year contract with
Football League One side
Notts County on 4 August 2014. On 15 November 2014, less than 24 hours after playing an international for Northern Ireland in
Bucharest, Romania, Carroll kept a clean sheet as Notts County won 1–0 away at
Coventry City.
Linfield Carroll joined
Linfield in 2016. After suffering a serious knee injury in January 2019, he left the club in May 2019 but planned to continue his playing career.
Dungannon Swifts After a brief period playing for
Mid-Ulster Football League junior side FC Mindwell, Carroll returned to the Irish League to sign for
Dungannon Swifts in January 2021. At the end of the 2020–21 season, he left the club to move into coaching.
Ballinamallard United On 2 January 2023, Carroll was a shock inclusion on the Ballinamallard United team sheet for a match against
Annagh United, who were in the midst of an injury crisis. His return only lasted 35 minutes as he suffered a hamstring injury and had to be substituted with the team 1–0 down; they went on to lose 4–0. Carroll said after the game that he was now officially retired, having played his final game for the club where he had started his career. ==International career==