Source: Liverpool_Echo
Everton FC’s Phil Jagielka relishing tussle with rising star Andy Carroll
Phil Jagielka 300[LNB]CENTRE-FORWARD has long been the position which Evertonians have romanticised the most - from Dixie Dean to Graeme Sharp it is where heroes have flourished.[LNB]The long heritage of superior number nines to have graced Goodison Park have few equals throughout the country, except in the black and white of Saturday's opponents Newcastle.[LNB]Indeed the Geordie Nation worship their strikers almost as much as the blue half of Merseyside[LNB]From Jackie Milburn, Malcolm McDonald to Alan Shearer they have a history which cannot be sniffed at either, and the two clubs even shared the enigmatic talents of Duncan Ferguson.[LNB] But the young gun currently winning the plaudits for the Magpies arrives at Goodison on the crest of wave tomorrow.[LNB]Andy Carroll has had the critics frothing at the mouths with his combination of physique, prowess and instinct to find the back of the net.[LNB]No mean prospect for an Everton defence which was steady until last weekend when it shipped three goals, albeit against the might of Alex Ferguson's Manchester United.[LNB]The centre-pin of that Toffees back four, Phil Jagielka, knows he is in for a contest when 6ft 3in Carroll rolls up his sleeves and attempts to unsettle the home defence.[LNB]'I'm looking forward to the tussle. It's going to be hard - I think he's a bit bigger than me and he's done fantastically well,' says Jagielka.[LNB]'He came on the scene a couple of years ago when Newcastle didn't do the best in the Premier League, but then he set the Championship alight and helped them to gain promotion.[LNB]'Since then he's carried on where he left off looking like a threat and scoring goals. He'll be a big handful but that's our job.[LNB]'There are handfuls in lots of the squads in the Premier League so it's nothing new for us, it's just something we need to keep an eye out for.'[LNB]Jagielka is on high spirits as he speaks during a special coaching session at Archbishop Beck Catholic High School, where he is visiting to wish the school's impressive Under-12 side luck for their forthcoming appearance in the Danone Nations Cup in South Africa.[LNB]The 28-year-old former Sheffield United man was relaxed and relished the chance to put the young stars of the future through their paces, and admitted he is far from happy at Everton's mixed start to the season.
