Ton-up Crouch for England

Saturday, 07/01/2012

The countdown to the finals of Euro 2012 have started and the hype surrounding England will begin in earnest over the next few weeks.

The Three Lions need a goalscorer as they will be without Wayne Rooney for their first group matches thanks to his international ban.

So who should step into his shoes? Fabio Capello should look no further than Peter Crouch.

The jolly giant should be in the manager's squad for Poland and the Ukraine.

He's been out of the international set up for more than a year despite his remarkable record of 22 goals in 42 England games.

But the 6ft 7in striker has found a new lease of life since his move from Tottenham to Stoke City and – let's be honest about this – he's a handful on the deck as well as in the air.

Crouchy offers any team something totally different because many sides just don't know how to cope with his threat in the air or when he gets those lanky legs moving.

He's now getting more Premier League time than he had been enjoying at Spurs and would give England another approach to their games at Euro 2012.

Capello has always maintained that a player in form would be his first choice. And at the current time Crouch is a player in form and having reached the 100 league goal mark at the turn of this year he'll now probably have an even bigger spring in his boots.

Crouchy, 31 later this month, knows his England chances may have gone but he's always maintained that should his country call he's willing and ready for action.

That's a much better attitude than some players and one that deserves a place in the England squad for the finals.

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