Football
05 March 2010
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| Peter Crouch |
Jamie always knew Crouchy would hit the heights
By Mark Shail
Peter Crouch deservedly grabbed the headlines after coming off the bench to score a brace in midweek for England against Egypt at Wembley, and in doing so has surely booked his place on the plane to the World Cup in South Africa.
His goals tally for England is now an impressive 20 in 37 appearances and his ex- Southampton teammate Jamie Redknapp believes the big striker's inclusion in Fabio Capello's squad was never in question.
The former England midfielder said: "The quality of his finishing is under-estimated by people who concentrate purely on his size.
"Peter is actually happier with the ball on the deck than in the air. That takes some getting used to when you play with him. He's not a powerful force attacking the ball in the air. He's much stronger when it's played up to him on the floor.
"He can hold it up and brings others into play and he's an unselfish striker who is also a fine provider. When I first trained with him and played with him at Southampton, I remember thinking 'you're a player'.
"I told him enough times too and also said publicly that I thought he could one day play for England, although it was an idea met with derision. Take a look at his record at international level now.
"He works hard at his game and will spend at least an extra half an hour after training working on his finishing at Tottenham. His volleying is top class and he can also sweep the ball into the back of the net, as he proved with his two goals at Wembley.
"Both were steered past the goalkeeper using the weight on the cross and then keeping the shot down by getting his head over the ball - he's good at that.