Daily Mail Online

Andy Gray: Carroll is raw, but we
could be looking at the next Shearer

9 November 2010

Andy Carroll could be the centre forward England have been searching for since Alan Shearer retired. They have tried Peter Crouch and Emile Heskey but they haven't been good enough.

Carroll might be able to terrify the top defenders in the world one day. He is a very good header of the ball. He's assured, comfortable and, unlike a lot of players, he can control the ball properly with his head.

(pictured) Head boy: Carroll scores the only goal of the game at the Emirates to hand Newcastle a shock win

Plenty of strikers fail to hit the target or find a team-mate but he knows exactly what he is doing. It is not an easy skill to master.

He's particularly good at running from deep, climbing and attacking the ball and that is not something we've seen for a while. I watched the likes of Shearer, Teddy Sheringham and Les Ferdinand do that regularly but the introduction of the foreigner has changed that. Thierry Henry barely scored a header in English football.

Carroll is fast, too.Not lightning quick like Michael Owen or Henry, but fast enough. It's just that his long stride pattern makes him look slower than he is.

(pictured) England future: Capello is expected to name the Newcastle striker in his next squad

But he's nowhere near the finished article yet. He needs experience and could improve positionally. When balls come into the box, I'd like to see him come to the near post more. At the moment, he hangs at the back post and the defender knows where he is going to be. Mixing it up would be good.

He needs to get 20-25 goals per season to prove he is in the top bracket. His temperament on the field has not let him down. And I'm not going to judge him for what is happening off it. I behaved abominably at times. But he has to learn from it. I've seen careers ruined by private lives spiralling out of control because players get drawn in by the adulation and trappings of being a footballer.

I've seen better at his age but he has the potential to be a fantastic player and if Newcastle were prepared to sell him, there would be a queue of managers from big clubs at the door, maybe even a couple of foreign clubs.