Liverpool striker Andy Carroll had surely his most impressive performance to date this season in the FA Cup Final, despite the Anfield club losing. Does he have something to offer in the Ukraine?
“He changed the way we played. We were a lot better with him in the team, we were a lot more direct, we created more, we were more of a threat.
“I think his form the last two or three months has been fantastic and he is certainly pushing for a place back in the England squad in my opinion.”
Steven Gerrard may be a big fan of Andy Carroll, but his performances over the past three months have been mixed, not consistent.
His 35 minute showing in the FA Cup Final was certainly his best of the lot. He displayed quick feet, an eye for getting in the right areas, and some great team play, providing numerous knockdowns for Liverpool’s central midfielders.
Given Chelsea’s defensive problems, forced into playing Jose Bosingwa at centre-back, surely it was a big tactical error from Kenny Dalglish not to start the frontman?
That is a decision for Liverpool fans to ponder, meanwhile Steven Gerrard calling for Carroll to go to Euro 2012 is one Roy Hodgson must agonise over.
We asked on HITC Sport after Carroll’s semi-final winner, what it would take for Carroll to throw himself into the reckoning.
He failed to hit the net in his two starts since against West Brom and Fulham, and now has just two more chances to convince- against Chelsea tonight and Swansea this weekend.
Overall this season his form has been disappointing, but against Chelsea he showed exactly what he can bring to the England set up, a completely different option off the bench.
Surely though England can only take one striker of this sort- with Peter Crouch and Grant Holt competing for the spot.
To take Carroll- who has had only a handful of good games over Grant Holt who has had far more than he ever would have expected.
It would give ammunition to those who credibly argue that it is in fact the badge of the club shirt which determines a player’s international selection rather than the performances.
Let’s look at the records of both Carroll at Holt this season. The Liverpool man has nine goals in 42 appearances, of which 26 were starts.
Grant Holt on the other hand has 15 goals in 36 appearances, 24 starts. A far superior strike rate despite being surrounded by players of less talent, which was shown in Liverpool’s 3-0 demolition of Norwich a fortnight ago, a match in which Holt played only 14 minutes and Carroll missed completely.
What Carroll does offer over Holt are three things. He has international experience- limited yes, but it still counts, including a goal against Ghana and a start against Euro 2012 opponents France.
He also has youth on his side; surely it is better for England long-term to take a 23-year-old to a major championships than a 31-year-old most would consider a journeyman?
Carroll also has a relationship with Steven Gerrard, who knows how he plays, an understanding which could provide an edge for England and one which threatened to take the Cup Final to extra-time on Saturday.
But why couldn’t Holt, an intelligent player, strike up a similar or even better relationship with Gerrard in the England training camps and tournament preparation?
The 31-year-old has earned his moment, a former tyre fitter who has risen through the football league via Workington and Barrow.
What better message to send to grass roots football in this country than picking a man who has plyed his trade the hard way and risen to the top, even if his bustling style is the antithesis of Spain’s lithe tiki-taka passing machines.
Carroll will have chances in the future if he proves himself, for Holt, it is pretty much now or never, and that is a decision Roy Hodgson will have to make, to take one of them or even neither.
Who should England take to Euro 2012?
image: © dannymol
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
