Glen Johnson has told former Liverpool boss and newly-appointed England manager Roy Hodgson to take Andy Carroll to Euro 2012, because John Terry is “petrified” of him.
PA PhotosAndy Carroll stood tall for Liverpool
• Carroll grateful for Dalglish support
Johnson was involved in both of Liverpool’s recent clashes with Chelsea, the first of which saw them beaten 2-1 in the FA Cup final before the Reds exacted some revenge with a 4-1 win in the league.
In the cup final Carroll started on the bench, but he drastically altered Liverpool’s presence in the game when arriving as a second-half substitute. The England striker halved the deficit and then saw another strike controversially denied with replays unclear as to whether his header crossed the line.
On Tuesday, Carroll started the league encounter at Anfield and produced an impressive display, creating the third Liverpool goal for Daniel Agger. Terry failed to shackle his compatriot all night, and Johnson insists Hodgson must take the in-form striker to the Euros.
“I definitely think Andy has put himself in contention for the England squad,” Johnson said. “In the last few weeks, big Andy has been fantastic. He is unplayable.
“Chelsea have two big centre-halves and he has thrown them around. Andy looks like he is quicker and is working a lot harder.
“You could see John Terry was petrified at times. Andy is a big lump but he’s good on the ball and works very hard. He will scare a lot of defenders. Plus you can’t put a price on confidence – and his is obviously growing.”
Hodgson has declared he will name his preliminary England squad on May 16. Carroll admits he hopes to be involved, and he paid tribute to Dalglish for standing by him in the face of much criticism this season.
“Kenny has shown a lot of faith in me,” Carroll said. “I haven’t had the greatest season but he has stuck by me and defended me and encouraged me a lot.”
