Why Peter Crouch will go to the World Cup

Written by Marcus Bateman Saturday, 17 April 2010 10:41

England World Cup Blog

Peter Crouch is generally quite a controversial figure amongst England fans.

He has an astonishing record for England (20 goals in 37 appearances), but many feel these have come in 'soft' games, and that his overall record in the Premiership relegates him to a league slightly below the very top end English strikers.

Although this position is probably true in the domestic game, Crouch is a much greater threat in international football, simply because of the general style of play and refereeing.

The Premiership has a much more physical and fast style than international football, and referee's within it are much more lax on physical tackling – particularly in the box from set pieces. This is not the case in International football – where aggressive defending is punished much more harshly on the whole.

This makes Crouch much more dangerous in internationals, as he becomes a tall, skilled presence in the box that many international defenders will be scared to attack too hard in case of giving away a penalty.

Many foreign managers have spoken of their difficulty in preparing a sound game plan for dealing with Crouch – and with good reason – considering the nuances of international football when compared to the Premiership.

He may appear a weaker striker than other obvious choices, but in terms of the international games he is much more dangerous than he appears – and both his track record and the comments from numerous managers about his threat level show this well.

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