Peter Crouch has an impressive scoring record, having scored 18 goals in the 35 games. Over 50% is an impressive strike rate in international football and very few England players could equal that. But then you look at the quality of the opposition and you have to wonder.
The collective might of Andorra, Belarus, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago implies he is a bit of a flat track bully. Of course some would argue you can only beat what is put in front of you but Capello is too astute a manager to believe that Crouch can really cut the mustard at the top end.
Tonight against Belarus, in what amounted to a glorified friendly, Crouch gave England a good start by scoring inside 3 minutes but then they struggled to impose themselves on a neat but hardly threatening team.
Disjointed and disappointing, there was very little to commend the first half performance. One hoped that Capello would manage to demand and inspire a better performance form his charges in the second half. However, the second half was in danger of petering out until David Beckham arrived.
The crowd were suddenly enlivened and lo and behold Beckham set up Wright-Phillips for the second goal within seconds of his arrival. But as with Crouch one can hardly envisage the great bearded one making much of an impact against the top sides.
When Crouch scored again it seemed almost an irrelevance. Everything was a sideshow to the Beckham renaissance, he even picked up the man of the match award. Maybe Beckham will have one last hurrah in South Africa and it is more likely that he does so this summer than Crouch who will be a bit player at best.
