ENGLAND boss Roy Hodgson has given the rest of Europe a hint of his intention to use Liverpool striker Andy Carroll as his main attacking threat in the upcoming European Championships.
The England squad was finalised today and Carroll has not only been named in it, he has been handed the number 9 shirt.
With Wayne Rooney suspended for England’s first two games against France and Sweden, it now looks as if Carroll will be asked to play a starring role for the Three Lions in Poland and Ukraine.
Carroll, who made Hodgson’s initial squad on the back of some excellent performances for the Reds – including a game changing appearance in the F.A. Cup final against Chelsea – in the second half of last season, started and played well in England’s first warm up match against Norway at the weekend.
It has been a long road for the 6ft 4” Geordie striker since his well publicised £35 million move from the North East to the North West, with many commentators on the game writing him off after a poor first six to eight months at Anfield. However, the Liverpool number 9 asserts that, despite the massive price-tag, he never had any doubts about his ability and that he always had the confidence to succeed.
“I always believed in myself but things weren’t going too well for me,” he said. “The price tag meant nothing to me. I just signed for a new club and it was hard to fit in straight away.”
“I came into Liverpool when injured and it was hard for me to get my fitness back but I didn’t think about the price at all. I don’t think about those sorts of things. I know what I’m about and, as soon as I got my fitness up, I’ve started to show it.
“Towards the end of the season, I got a run of games and did well – and now I’m here. Training and playing gets your confidence up, certainly after a good game, and I carried on from there.
“I feel a lot fitter now than I did at the start and halfway through the season. I’m feeling good, feeling fresh. From the end of the season, I felt good, felt like I was moving a lot better and getting involved in games more than earlier in the season.”
Carroll admits he is overjoyed to be involved in England’s Euro 2012 campaign and, with the chance to show what he can do on the biggest stage, he is eager to grab it with both hands.
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“It’s a great honour to be involved with England. This is what I want to be involved in during my career. Now I’ve got a chance to show what I’m about. I thought I did well. We’ve got a big squad and loads of quality players but I gave it my best shot and we’ll see what happens.”
“The season is over for everyone not involved in this (Euro 2012) and it’s great for me to carry it on and I want to do well if given the chance. The way Roy Hodgson has played at his clubs, he wants a big man up front and he has picked me, so that is great.”
The other Liverpool players to be included in the Roy Hodgson’s England Euro 2012 squad are: Glen Johnson No. 2, Steven Gerrard (c) No. 4 and Stewart Downing No. 19.
You can catch Neil on Twitter @Neil1980 or on his blog http://itsallinthegameblog.wordpress.com/
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With an attack like that I do not see where the goals are gonna come from.
England won’t get past the group stages anyway, so the above isnt even worth talking about.