“Hey Andy, nice guts!”
AFTER notching half the goals in Newcastle’s impressive 6-0 mauling of Aston Villa yesterday, current No.9 Andy Carroll has been attracting glowing praise from many quarters, not least from former Toon hero Alan Shearer – who, by all accounts, had a little money riding on the rangy striker’s goal-scoring exploits.
Shearer has hailed Carroll for being unfazed by taking on the mantle of the famous Geordie squad number, which has become weighted in significance after being sported by a host of the club’s most prolific goalscorers over the years such as Jackie Milburn, Malcolm ‘Supermac’ Macdonald, Andy Cole and, of course, Shearer himself;
“I was delighted that Andy had, if you like, the guts the take the No. 9 shirt because we know that players over the years have shied away from it. It is a big responsibility because it is a huge shirt.
Plus there have been some big, big names that have worn the shirt and some great players at that. I am not talking about myself there. I am talking about the Milburns, the Macdonalds and the (Les) Ferdinands and other players like that.”
Calls for Carroll to be included in the next England squad are also increasing prevalent (as is the knee-jerk nature that riddles the modern game) after his impressive opening Premier League showings against Villa and Manchester United so, considering the dearth of viable alternatives, is there any good reason for him not to get a run-out?