England V Austria

[Reg Smeeton]

I like Owen but it was clear to see Crouch had a much better game and it would be harsh to drop him after that.

i'm beginning to think you're a wind up merchant

everyone- pundits, players, managers, fans- EVERYONE agreed crouch was utterly out of his depth

it is worth noting crouch didn't win the penalty ben, and furthermore, it was never a penalty anyway

 Bollox DMR....a lot of respected pundits and press agree with BWB and myself that the Crouchmeister is worthy of our esteem for example ...today's Guardian...  " he (Crouch) justified his status as first choice replacement with intelligent link up play and delicate touches."

[fatbury]

Peter Crouch

Take out the ouch and replace with ap ...  

[Ben Wah Balls]

but he'll definitely go to the WC.

I disagree or that is to say I hope you are wrong.

 Crouch is a useful player to have in the squad......easily good enough for international football.

 Its not like England are exactly blessed with quality alternatives.

Michael Owen
Wayne Rooney
Darius Vassell
Darren Bent
Jermain Defoe
Andy Johnson
Teddy Sheringham  
Alan Smith
Emile Heskey!!

Vassell, Johnson, Sheringham, Heskey and fucking Alan Smith aren't even close to being up to Crouch's standard. Sheringham because he's too old, the others are just not good enough.

England's best strikers at the moment are:

Rooney
Owen
Crouch
Defoe
Bent

Did you just say Teddy Sheringham isnt up to Peter Crouch's standard, fucking hell.

Still, now at 39 past his peak Teddy Sheringham is still 10 times the player Peter Crouch will EVER BE.

You cant even compare the two, Crouch has done exactly fuck all in his career, no matter were he has gone.

His best achievement is 16 goals for Southampton, great Andy Johnson managed 20+ which is more than 16 but he is a worse player so you say. Clearly....

Sheringham > Crouch

Dv, honestly you are talking utter nonsense there. Crouch scored 16 goals in 33 games at a team that went down bottom of the league. That was not his only good season though, he scored 21 goals in 2001/2002 as well and it should be remembered that he is still young.

So that's fuck all in his career no matter where he has gone. Well sorry but you are talking absolute shite there and don't have a clue what you're talking about.

The reason Johnson is no way near as good is he scored 11 penalties! That's eleven! Just 10 goals from open play, Crouch scored only one penalty and 15 goals from open play. Crouch is easily the better player, 10 times the player in fact as his contribution is not just as a finisher but as a creator.

If you actually read what I said, it was Sheringham isn't up to his standard because he is too old. I'm talking about now, Crouch is a better player now than Sheringham at 39.

Have a read of this quote from Big Sam.

http://www.lfconline.com/news/loadnews.asp?cid=TMNW&id=245347

If you've got a centre forward who is 6ft 7in and is going to win a high percentage of the balls played to him in the air, that's very hard for the opposition to counter.

"If that centre forward also happens to be good on the ground, good with his back to goal and intelligent in what he does with the ball, that's going to be even harder. I'm not saying I would start with him, but I am saying it's a great option.

"I just find it very ignorant when people dismiss a player like that because it shows that they have made up their mind about him and are not watching him closely enough to appreciate what he does.

"Possibly people simply do not like the look of him, because he's all legs and he's got this gangly frame, and I can imagine that remaining the case no matter how good he becomes, but I like him a lot as a player and I think you will find that a lot of people in the game feel the same way."

He is absolutely spot on there and you should take note.

[Ben Wah Balls]

Further to Dave talking bollocks here's a quote from Lampard:

England midfielder Frank Lampard says he can't understand why people have been sticking the knife into Peter Crouch for his performance at the weekend.

The Liverpool striker was jeered throughout England's game against Austria and although he didn't find the back of the net, he certainly gave 100% but unfortunately that wasn't enough for many observers.

Lampard said: "I thought Peter Crouch did well - I heard someone on TV criticising him but I thought he did play well.

"It was his first qualifying game and he laid off some good balls and was a threat to them and I was pleased with the way he played.

"He is a great target for us and is going to be a very important player. Any player who plays with Peter Crouch enjoys it - especially the midfield players - because he lays it off and I had a shot and forced the keeper into a save.

"I am confident that when I run forward Crouchy is going to lay it off to me - that's the kind of player he is."

So everyone agreed Crouch was out of his depth did they? Hardly. I read the mail on sunday yesterday (I didn't buy it) and the muppet who'd done their ratings gave him a 4 but that just shows how little they know about football, he also gave Young a 4 which is stupidly harsh.

[DV]

So, he has scored some goals, so has James Beattie but that doesnt suddenly make him an international super star. Andy Cole, Ian Wright, Kevin Phillips, Michael Ricketts and Dion Dublin all had the odd good season. Doesnt mean they were international class or could do it on the international stage.

Vassell, hasnt scored many at Premiership level but has always looked good for England

Also, I firmly believe that Teddy Sheringham at 39 is a better player than Peter Crouch.

[Ben Wah Balls]

Dv if you actually watch Crouch with an open mind I'm sure you can see why he is a better player than Beattie, Phillips etc.

Sheringham is an amazing player who's had an incredible career but odviously at 39 he isn't the man who should be first choice replacement for England, Crouch is.

[mattboyslim]

IMO crouch did OK, it's silly talk to contemplate him as ever better than 3rd choice, but for my money a player in better form who is more dynamic with a greater prescence is Heskey, he got called upi for the summer and then dropped I'd like to see him involved, he's awkward and pacier than Crouch, and neither are prodigous goal scorers on a regular basis.  606 on saturday discussed this Alan Green was the only peroson in England who seemed to rate crouch.  I thought that gerrard was our best player on saturday, he seemed to get stuck i and try and dominate the game, that said everyone was very average IMO

[Reg Smeeton]

606 on saturday discussed this Alan Green was the only peroson in England who seemed to rate crouch.

  Back in the early days of Danny Baker....606 was essential listening.. its now utter shite, full of idiots with minimal knowledge of the game, moaning about Prem clubs and England.

 Green sees a lot of football...and generally talks sense, so its no surprise he can see what Crouch brings to a team.

[larwood]

Has no on else had enough of the over the top media coverage?? The players who play with no passion? The armchair twats at work who haven't been to a match for years?? But suddenly become experts overnight? OST's prediction is spot on.

Yes ,yes and yes.I think a few of us have said on here how uninterested we are in the england national side at the moment,personally i doubt i will watch many of the england games in the world cup .
One of the many things that annoyed me on saturday was when i was walking to the ground and i passed 2 silly bints in england shirts walking the other way :evil: ,i glared at them in a disproving way of course, but what do they care about their local team?It ain't sexy to be a Swindon fan.

[Rich Pullen]

I've the read the points by Pro-Crouch people and I'm still not convinced... and I still think he wasn't good enough on Saturday.

Defore is totally out of form but at least he's actually scored this season!

[lebowski]

crouch did okay, hardly fair for people to pick him out when superstar david beckham is getting himself sent off; what is someone of his experience doing getting involved it two stupid situations - within a minute of each other - knowing full well that the ref is going by the letter of the law (and that means a booking for both)? and then have the nerve afterwards to cry about it to the press. twat!

i thought gerrard and lampard both had reasonably good games, but they rarely play well when the opposition has the intention of actually attacking us. that's a huge concern. shame carrick isn't fit because i'd like to see him given the holding role again as he was at the end of last season.

[Bedford Red]

606 on saturday discussed this Alan Green was the only peroson in England who seemed to rate crouch.

  Back in the early days of Danny Baker....606 was essential listening.. its now utter shite, full of idiots with minimal knowledge of the game, moaning about Prem clubs and England.

 Green sees a lot of football...and generally talks sense, so its no surprise he can see what Crouch brings to a team.

Agree with you there Reg, used to listen all the time when it was on under Danny Baker, haven't listened to it for years now.