Can West Ham ace still make England’s World Cup squad?

The date for the World Cup squad announcement has been set as the 12th May, and Roy Hodgson has suggested that he already knows who will be on the plane to represent England, for the most prestigious of footballing events.

The England manager has been quoted as saying: “I don’t judge players on their last minute form. Nothing that happens in the last four games, in terms of form, is going to affect me. If anyone new on the scene has emerged I’m judging him over several months.”

These words sound like the end of Andy Carroll’s hopes of being selected for England now, with the West Ham striker injured for much of the current season, and has only had a couple of months of solid football under his belt since injury and then suspension have passed.

His form has not been the greatest either in that time, with just two goals in his 13 appearances. Whilst being a menace to defences and setting up chances for team-mates in some games, especially at the start of his comeback, Carroll has looked largely ineffective in the last few matches he had played in, with defenders more often than not getting the measure of the frontman.

With just two matches of the current campaign remaining, it is hard to see how Carroll is going to push his way into the squad ahead of Rickie Lambert, of whom he is likely to be in direct competition with.

Certainly there is no question that Lambert deserves selection ahead of Carroll, based purely on performances this season, with Lambert playing consistently well all campaign, notching 11 goals and 10 assists in 35 appearances. This is opposed to the somewhat patchy form of Carroll during the handful of games he has played in.

That being said, I personally still think that Carroll should be given the nod over the Southampton striker. Selection for England shouldn’t be about who deserves a place in the squad, but rather who is going to contribute more to it, and I think Carroll would offer more than what Lambert would.

The reason for this is that there can be little doubt that whoever out of either Carroll or Lambert gets picked for that 4th slot will be unlikely to gain a starting berth. Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge will almost certainly be starting in the first match against Italy, which is fair enough considering the amount of goals each have scored this season. Danny Welbeck in all probability would be the direct replacement for either of those two.

So, that leaves the final place between two players who would surely be used in the ‘target man’ role in the team were they to be utilised. The only situation I could see either of them playing (barring injuries), is if England were chasing a game and struggling to break down a defence, which would necessitate a different option of crossing and hitting the ball long to a big striker who is strong in the air.

From what I have seen of Southampton and Lambert this season, is that Lambert doesn’t particularly play this way as such. He seems to me to, more often than not, drift around the pitch, sometimes picking the ball up from deep and looking for team-mates runs, or peeling away at the back post looking for a cute ball to be played to him to knock down for an on rushing player or go for goal himself. As good a player as he is, he doesn’t strike me as someone who will just stay up front and await high balls to challenge. The qualities of Lambert are probably largely performed better by the likes of Rooney.

You can contrast this with Andy Carroll, who is the archetypal target man. It is not just his heading ability that makes this the case, he is also exceptional at bringing the ball down on his chest too, and is much better on his feet than many give him credit for. On form, Carroll is an absolute nightmare for defenders to deal with, and is often unplayable for all but the very best centre-backs.

You would also imagine that by the time the World Cup begins, Carroll will be up to his full fitness and match sharpness, something which I feel he is still striving for after so long on the sidelines. Hopefully he would be at the peak of his powers at this point, as opposed to 32-year-old Lambert, who is likely to be tiring after a full campaign for Southampton.

Another advantage Carroll has over Lambert, is that many defenders who have never tasted Premier League football have probably never faced anything like the threat posed by the West Ham number 9, and could well struggle against his direct play and power as opposed to the more intricate style of Sturridge and Rooney. This was shown to an extent in the last Euros, where Carroll was lauded for his displays in the couple of appearances that he managed.

For those reasons I think Roy Hodgson should plump for Carroll in his final 23, although it is vital that the Geordie striker does show us something of his quality in the last Premier League game of the season for the Hammers.

So what do you think, Carroll or Lambert?