Why Andy Carroll must play for England

Fabio Capello famously launched his England managerial career with the promise that he would pick only the most in-form players. Regrettably, he has strayed from his pledge on numerous occasions, and his failure to look past the doomed ‘golden generation’ for this summer’s World Cup squad significantly impacted the team’s poor performances.

Now it is time to rebuild and rejuvenate. Young, hungry players need to be injected into the system to build a platform for the future and to keep competition for places fierce. Tonight’s friendly against France is a perfect opportunity of Fabio Capello to assess how his youth players can perform against worthy (though by no means unbeatable) opposition.

Andrew Thomas Carroll, who only scored his first senior goal three years ago (against the mighty Juventus nonetheless), is unquestionably one of the rising stars of English football. He is the joint top scorer in the Premier League this season and at the tender age of 21 has become the talismanic heir to Alan Shearer’s legendary number 9 shirt. Yet Carroll remains a divisive figure. His exploits off the pitch have garnered as much media attention as his performances on it and his England call up has been marred by a fiery debate on the morality of selecting a convicted criminal to play for a national team.


Football should be entirely about what happens on the pitch. A manager’s decision over who should play and who should not have to be be based on anything other than a player’s ability to play football. Sadly, in the real world, such simplicity is rare. The question therefore is how a player, in this case Carroll, is affected by events off the pitch while performing on it. Mental strength is important as physical skill in this regard – footballers must be able to control their emotions and deal with tremendous pressure. Andy Carroll ticks both these boxes. Although he has been involved in trouble off the pitch, Carroll’s on field record is nigh on unimpeachable. He has seen red only once in 97 professional matches, and never whilst playing for Newcastle United.

The grace with which Carroll has performed for Newcastle United during a period of turmoil in his personal life (Carroll scored against West Ham only three days after he was the victim of an arson attack that destroyed his car) is testament to his mental strength. Questions were raised over whether the 21-year old was ready to make the step up from the Championship – those questions have now been answered.

Capello promised to pick the in form players. Carroll has so far scored 7 goals in 13 Premier League appearances, bagged a hat-trick against Aston Villa (check out the video below) and is the joint top scorer in the league. With the likes of Wayne Rooney injured there could not possibly be a better time to give youth a chance. Carroll is talented, passionate, mentally strong and now proven at Premier League level. He is more than ready to answer the latest crowd of naysayers and make his mark on the international scene.