Can't believe I put Welbeck as a choice as I never rated him but last night showed with the right service he can put them away. In fact I think Rickie and Danny linked up well.
No one else springs to mind..... But this season someone else may improve and throw their hat in the ring, don't know who though.
Carroll is good at what he does. But then again Trees, lamp-posts and girraffes are good at being tall. He is big and physical that is a massive part of his game. If he was 5'11" he would be an average L1 player. Carroll at his best is reasonable, but nowhere near lambert. His vision, timing. Even if you take away his strike rate he plays a vital role. Can anyone really see Carroll setting up those 2 goals? Especially that perfectly weighted long pass.
Would love to see J-Rod lining up for England alongside Rickie. Unfortunately he is a way off yet, needs to be banging in 15+ a season really. Have high hopes for him, more goals like his one at barnsley, more power in his shot and he may be in contention. Prob not in time to line up with SRL.
I'm actually starting to be impressed with Welbeck. He wasn't great last season but he's started this season very well. And he is showing he can finish on a regular basis at last.
He made quite a few really intelligent runs in that match. At high tempo, having Rickie drop off with others flooding past him really opens things up, and Welbeck did an excellent job of finding the spaces. Granted, Moldova leaves more such spaces than most, but those two looked remarkably in sync given how little experience they have working together.
Carroll finished the season well and is good internationally as the opposition don't know how to deal with big players, hence Crouch's good record. Lambert, however, has better technical ability and vision. The only thing Carroll is better at is being less slow! Lambert should be first choice anyway if Rooney doesn't start most games for Man Utd and if Lambert picks up his form again.
How many of these strikers would get in Spain's 2014 squad? Villa Torres Negredo Soldado Llorente Pedro Tello etc.
Yeah, I think that pretty much sums it up. Although some observers have noted that England have a better shape without Rooney, he'll be the first name to be picked, rightly or wrongly. Welbeck and Sturridge pick themselves also, they have to go on grounds of form and ability. To us Saints fans Rickie is way ahead of the more limited Carroll, but it may not look that way to the neutral eye. Andy Carroll will cause problems to any defence, and his ball playing ability is a lot better than he's often given credit for. All Rickie can do is keep scoring goals for England while he gets the chance, and make the choice hard for Roy.
I really hope this proves to be the case. I read somewhere that Carroll will be fit to return for West Ham against us. If he does return then hopefully Lovren will deal with him and Rickie can continue to prove he is so much better in so many areas of the game. The other thing (and I don't want to tempt fate) is how injury prone Carroll is in comparison to Lambert. Definitely something that needs consideration when deciding which players to take to a WC.
No way Carroll could have made that pass or Welbecks goal. Rickie has a better all round game. Hopefuly that should be the clincher!
