Peter Crouch or Emile Heskey? Which striker should be on the plane to South Africa this summer? Should one or the other be going? Should both be going? or should they both just book an early holiday? It’s a real dilemma for Fabio Capello as he decides his 23 man squad ahead of the world cup finals.
With Wayne Rooney in scintillating form this season, and most definitely an England first choice in South Africa, the question on everybody‘s mind is, who would be best suited along side him? Most England fans see Jermain Defoe as the man for the job, however can Capello ignore the two other strikers in question?
Peter Crouch has not been a regular choice for Tottenham as of late, this is because of the sudden rebirth in Roman Pavlyuchenko. With Peter Crouch not playing as much as he used to, it could dent his chances as a regular for the three lions this summer. However his international record is superb and can not be overlooked. The 29-year-old has netted 20 goals in 37 international matches, but yet the lanky striker is behind Emile Heskey in the pecking order.
When asked by The Daily Mail if he felt frustrated at not being a first-team player, Peter Crouch replied:
“Yes, sometimes. All I can do is take the opportunities when I get them.
“Hopefully, I did well enough scoring twice in the last game against Egypt to play a big part in the next one, against Mexico, and in the World Cup.”
I can understand his frustration with Capello, Crouch is a striker, and as such his job is to score goals, plain and simple…what more must he do to gain the Italian’s approval?
I am sure every England striker is itching to claim that spot next to Wayne Rooney, The fact is only one can. I think Peter Crouch, although not the most feared striker in the world, is an asset to the squad, first-team choice…I‘m not quite sure. His Height gives him a great leap and advantage over opposing defenders, and his hold up play is second to none.
Let’s flip the coin and have a look at the Aston Villa striker, Emile Heskey. I feel the right to ask, does Emile Heskey deserve to be favoured over Crouch? or better yet, does Heskey even warrant a place on the plane?…according to Capello he does, as for me I see better options available.
Heskey looks to be in the same boat as Crouch, he doesn’t start a lot of games for his club anymore. Both players have the same attributes and play in the same style as each other. Heskey is certainly more powerful than the spurs striker and has a good hold up play to his game, but what about his goal scoring record for England? Well, Emile Heskey has made 57 appearances for his country to date, but has only managed to notch up an embarrassing 7 goals.
I don’t think Fabio Capello can overlook Peter Crouch and give Heskey the nod, not by those statistics…It just doesn’t make sense to me and probably a lot of England fans out there.
It’s a terrible record for any international striker to have, and surely Capello is having a laugh with us to even think about taking this guy (Heskey) to South Africa. Like I mentioned before better options are available, and Capello I urge you to reconsider them.
If I were to pick between the two strikers I would have to go for Crouch. His international record speaks for itself, ok, he may have not scored against the biggest countries in the world, but he gets you goals none the less. As for Emile Heskey, I have nothing against the man, but I personally think its time to close the curtains on his international career.
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