It was supposed to be Andy Carroll's second chance in a week to stake his claim for a place on the plane to the EUROs. But instead, it all went a little flat for the former Liverpool man during Wednesday night's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.

Despite grabbing an assist for James Tomkins' goal, Carroll largely struggled to leave an impression on the match. Man United had clearly studied the events of the West Ham vs. Arsenal tie, and they set up to deal with Carroll, using Marouane Fellaini as a human shield. In the battle of the big men, the Belgian came out on top and that will be a worry for both Hammers and England fans as the season comes to a close.

West Ham looked a little flat-footed at times and a little tired in the middle of the park. Man United controlled proceedings through Michael Carrick, who was playing quietly in the background but pulling strings at the same time.

Slaven Bilic's side waited until they were 2-0 down to start playing against United - similar to what happened against Arsenal, except this time, they didn't leave enough time to get back in the game.

Against Arsenal, West Ham were allowed the space to provide cross after cross, which is what Carroll wants. But against Man United on Wednesday night they were closed down far quicker in the middle of the park, meaning the ball wasn't getting to the West Ham wide-men as quickly as Carroll would have liked. It was a cracking game plan, but also led many to question whether Carroll is one-dimensional in his play.

There are plenty of big men who are talented footballers as well as good marksmen. When Carroll was at Newcastle we saw skill beyond his years alongside his scale, but since his disappointing transfer to Liverpool and his demise at West Ham, we haven't really seen the Carroll of old. He divides opinion completely. Speak to Hammers fans and they will say that their relationship with their record signing is love/hate.

When West Ham have him on the pitch they almost try and force the ball through him and into the goal. It's predictable and teams can see that as soon as you have that target man on the pitch. However if Enner Valencia or Diafra Sakho are leading the line for West Ham, they don't have to play that way, and if a headed goal is scored, it isn't as surprising because it's come as a result of open play.

So with Carroll shining so much in one game and failing quite spectacularly in another, should he be on the plane? If he does feature for England, Roy Hodgson will have to set up in a specific way - getting crosses in and providing width through the full-backs. But against Europe's best, is this the tactic Hodgson should be implementing to get wins?

Another argument if Carroll does go is who should leave the team in exchange? Carroll doesn't seem to be as valuable as in the past and it would be unfair to leave Jamie Vardy or Harry Kane at home to take him to France.

He impressed against a poor Arsenal side, but when up against a more competent opponent, Carroll was flat and predictable - not what England need.

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