Hodgson: Why I chose Andy

Roy Hodgson named Andy Carroll in his 23-man squad for the forthcoming European Championships and insisted the young forward's presence and power marked him out as a unique addition to the England set-up. Carroll was in fine form towards the end of the Reds' 2011-12 campaign, netting crucial goals against Blackburn in the Barclays Premier League and then Everton in the FA Cup at Wembley. Today he was joined by Liverpool teammates Stewart Downing, Glen Johnson and newly-appointed England skipper Steven Gerrard in the squad that will travel to Poland and Ukraine in June. "Andy is a different type of player to the players in the squad," explained Hodgson. "He has that ability to hold the ball up; he has that ability in the air which is very useful and he also has that ability to make the runs in behind defenders and use his strength and his power." The England boss also revealed how a conversation with Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish helped him make his mind up about taking the 23-year-old to Euro 2012. "I spoke to Kenny at some length about him because I don't know him particularly well as a person," said Hodgson. "Kenny was absolutely convinced about the player's ability and his personality and his seriousness as a professional. When I heard that it meant I had no further reservations."