Andy Carroll is back from injury and scoring headers again, so it’s time for everyone to get carried away because he’s worth £35million and he’s definitely the next Alan Shearer.
Andy Carroll is one of English football’s great anomalies. If we cast our minds back to when he signed for Liverpool from Newcastle United, despite the enormity of the fee, many thought The Reds had singed England’s future number nine.
People forget how well Carroll started for Liverpool, scoring a brace against Man City before injury predictably struck. He played a part in Liverpool’s FA Cup run under Kenny Dalglish, scoring in the semi-final and final. This was enough to propel the forward into Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2012 squad, and Carroll played well, scoring one of the goals of the tournament in the process.
The nature of Carroll’s injury record has meant that his career success has come in short bursts or moments, rather than sustained over a long period of time. However, West Ham were aware of this when they broke their transfer record to sign him.
No matter how much criticism he receives, Carroll will always be sought after because he offers a team something different. There are very few strikers in world football who posses the attributes of Andy Carroll. When Carroll starts a match, more often than not the pre match spiel consists of how the opposition is going to stop Carroll, he wasn’t a £35million striker for nothing.
At present the competition is stiff for forwards in the England squad. Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and Daniel Sturridge are all guaranteed a seat on the plane/train to France next summer, if they all stay fit. Jamie Vardy of Leicester City is the top scorer in the Premier League at the moment, so unless he completely implodes, he will also be guaranteed a place in the squad. Theo Walcott of Arsenal also deserves a mention given his early season form.
England haven’t had this many options in attack since they last played a major tournament in France, World Cup 1998.
The odds are stacked against Carroll, although if he can continue to make an impact for West Ham then he will surely come into contention. For some reason, Carroll has a stigma attached to him; he isn’t taken seriously in English football. Maybe it’s the hair, or perhaps the FA are too concerned with replicating the likes of Spain and Germany on the pitch. The irony is that Carroll will strike more fear into defenders than any of the other aforementioned strikers.
One thing is for sure, with five minutes to go in the semi-final of EURO 2016, and with England trailing by a goal, I’d want Andy Carroll to come off the bench to save the day.
No other country at the EURO’s can boast of a weapon like Carroll, so why not make the most of him, he might just lead the Three Lions to glory.
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