Fabio Capello should not ignore Andy Carroll's aerial ability for the France friendly, says Andy Gray.
Carroll's aerial threat should guarantee him England spot, says Andy
Fabio Capello would be foolish not to pick Andy Carroll in his England squad for next week's friendly against France.
Some people seem to think he shouldn't be selected because of his off-the-field antics but that's complete and utter nonsense. He's a young boy, just 21 years of age, who makes mistakes. Let him without sin cast the first stone.
No - this is a wonderful opportunity for Capello to take a look at an in-form player against an evolving French side; Carroll's in form and is as big a handful as his return of seven league goals suggests.
Improved
His ability in the air is one reason we've seen the highest proportion of headed goals in the Premier League since 2000/01 - 65 out of a total of 314 goals have been headers, 54 of which have come from crosses.
The art of heading is something we talk about a lot at Sky but it's something I'm delighted to see has improved quite substantially. I hope that's because people are now paying a little more attention to it than they have over the last decade.
It's strange that people have neglected this area of the game because statisticians will tell you that more goals are scored from crosses than any other area of the pitch.
Therefore it stands to reason that if you do cross the ball then you are going to improve your side's chances of getting a goal.
It seems something has changed this season, whether it is the way teams are playing or the type of player we now have in the league.
Take Arsenal, for example. I think they will score more headers in the league this season than they ever have purely because they have a player like Marouane Chamakh in the side and are set up to deliver more crosses. If it's not Chamakh, it will be Nicklas Bendtner or Robin van Persie who will get on the end of them.
Powerful
Apart from his good form, Carroll's chances of playing for England are boosted by the simple fact that Capello doesn't have an awful lot to choose from in the striking department at the moment.
With Emile Heskey retired from international football, Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Bobby Zamora and Darren Bent injured and Peter Crouch without a goal in the Premier League this season Capello is scratching around somewhat.
I'm 100 percent certain that Carroll is a better header of the ball than Crouch; the one thing I've always said about Crouchie is that he's not the most powerful in the air for his size.
Carroll is a much more consistent header of the ball, whether that's laying it off to other people or heading towards goal. He also has more power, is less easily brushed off the ball and he's younger too. Throw in the fact that he's confident and in-form so I'd be hugely surprised if he didn't get the nod before Crouch. It's a friendly, so why not?
I think Capello will have Kevin Davies in the squad again - it would be very strange to bring him in for 15-20 minutes against Montenegro only to discard him, particularly when Davies gave such a good performance in front of him against Tottenham recently.
Chance
International managers are always complaining that they don't get enough time to look at different players which is why they keep picking the same squads.
This is the time to have a good look around. What is Capello going to learn by playing Gareth Barry? Nothing. He already knows everything he needs to know about him.
Why not give Jack Wilshere a chance in the side alongside someone like Steven Gerrard and say 'come on then, let's see what you're made of'?
It's a wonderful chance to say to the young players who have started the season really well, 'this is your turn, you've earned it; I'm impressed so let's get you involved so you can get a taste of what it feels like'.
Gabriel Agbonlahor needs to force his way into that group now he's fit again; he needs to show that he can perform at the next level, in my opinion.
Getting 10-15 Premier League goals for Villa is ok - he now needs to show that he can score 20+ a season regularly and mount a strong, sustained challenge for an England spot. I'm not sure he's done that yet.
The other one I've noticed is Ashley Young, who has started the season playing just behind Villa's frontman. If Capello has noticed that too, what's stopping him playing Young just behind Carroll on Wednesday? If there is a time to try that partnership out, it's now.
Don't forget you can get the first details of the England squad to face France this Saturday on Sky Sports News after 6pm.
