Smith set to be preferred to Crouch

[Shaggy]

Good news. Hopefully Gerrard wont be picked either.

If it was during the season I'd agree, but as we don't have a game for three months, I would've liked Crouch to play.

Taking aside club bias, he should start anyway as he's the best option and he's proved it time and time and time again.

[Craig_H]

That though, is based on giving a sh*t about england and how they do...

As for it being out of season...yes, it's just reached the end of a very busy season, so i'd be quite chuffed at all our players getting a rest.

In fact, if i was benitez, i'd just withdraw them from the england squad.

[Rich]

That though, is based on giving a sh*t about england and how they do...

As for it being out of season...yes, it's just reached the end of a very busy season, so i'd be quite chuffed at all our players getting a rest.

In fact, if i was benitez, i'd just withdraw them from the england squad.

Looks like McClaren is doing that for him!

I've read that there is a "debate" regarding who is to partner Terry - King or Carragher..... give me strength..... Clueless.

[Shaggy]

That though, is based on giving a sh*t about england and how they do...

It isn't. It's based on giving a **** about Crouch and other Liverpool players and how they do at that level. Unlike some Reds, I like to see them doing well on the international stage. It all benefits us in the long run.

[thesilverfoxlfc]

Let the Crotch have a rest, Alan Smith is **** and to be fair England dont really have a great strike force

[Red Star]

Looks like McClaren is doing that for him!

I've read that there is a "debate" regarding who is to partner Terry - King or Carragher..... give me strength..... Clueless.

I read that he was gonna play King as the holding midfielder. With Owen upfront on his own.

[Johnny]

What does Crouchy have to do???

Form counts for little as Crouch is sidelined again

Advertiser LinksWednesday, May 30, 2007

By Sam Wallace

As the clock ticked down in the European Cup final last week, and the game slipped away from Liverpool, on the touchline Peter Crouch could at least console himself that he would surely get a game for England the following week. Rafael Benitez had made one major mistake in leaving Crouch out against Milan; surely Steve McClaren would not consider doing the same for England.

For the man who has 11 international goals in only 17 caps, however, the despair seems to be repeating itself. This week McClaren has tried two different attacking strategies in preparation for Friday's game against Brazil and the Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia on Wednesday - and, for reasons best known to the England manager, neither of them has yet featured the Liverpool striker.

Crouch would be entitled to ask what exactly he has to do to get a game for his club and country. For Liverpool this season he was the top goalscorer in the Champions League with seven and yet he played for only 12 minutes in Athens, 12 minutes in which he at last started to make the Milan defence look uncomfortable in a way they never did against the prosaic Dutchman Dirk Kuyt.

For England, Crouch has five goals this season - all of which came at the start of McClaren's reign and it was he more than anyone who ensured the England manager that comfortable start before the nightmare began against Croatia in October. Crouch scored those five in McClaren's first three games in charge despite the new manager originally planning to drop him in favour of Dean Ashton who subsequently broke his ankle before the Greece game last August.

After two against Greece, Crouch scored another two against Andorra and the winner against Macedonia - and in terms of Group E that away victory in Skopje could yet prove crucial. But the reward for Crouch has been playing in the shadow XI in training while the manager McClaren picks Michael Owen and Alan Smith in his place. The same Smith who has scored only one goal for England and publicly confronted McClaren when he was dropped during the America summer tour in 2005.

The plan yesterday was to play Owen alone in attack, a remarkable strategy given that the striker has just three club starts under his belt this season and was average at best against a second-string Albania defence on Friday. No one can argue with Owen's record of 36 international goals but McClaren has talked all week about pragmatism and the importance of current form when it came to picking David Beckham - why not a bit of the same when it comes to Crouch?

For Crouch it looks like another case of having to prove himself all over again. Booed when he came on as a substitute against Poland at Old Trafford in October 2005, it was Crouch who turned the friendlies against Argentina and Uruguay in the build-up to the last World Cup. As the nation worried over Wayne Rooney's fitness it was Crouch who scored a hat-trick against Jamaica and Crouch who rescued England against Trinidad & Tobago at the World Cup.

It may just come down to the old prejudice that he is a 6ft 7in footballer - one who, at first glance, may not look the part but rarely fails to deliver. After the Trinidad game at the World Cup, Owen complained that Crouch's presence in the side had meant too many long balls. If that is what worries McClaren then it is Beckham and the rest of his midfield that he should be talking to, not the man who has scored more goals for England this season than any other player.

Crouch's England credentials

Peter Crouch has 17 England caps and 11 goals:

The Goals

Sep 06 v Macedonia (ECQ) 1 goal

Sep 06 v Andorra (ECQ) 2

Aug 06 v Greece (f) 2

Jun 06 v Trinidad & Tobago (WC) 1

Jun 06 v Jamaica (f) 3

May 06 v Hungary (f) 1

Mar 06 v Uruguay (f) 1

Caps 17/Goals 11




Mc Claren is a joke

[Mattshark]

Personally I think he should garote McClarens balls with cheese wire.

[CharlieMansonsSquint]

Who gives a ****e?

We love him here, that's what matters, not the opinion of a bunch of hangers on from Peterborough. Hope England bench him for the midget so he doesn't get injured. Hope they bench Stevie for fatty and Carra gets splinters as well.

International football can **** off.

[Mattshark]

Who gives a ****e?

We love him here, that's what matters, not the opinion of a bunch of hangers on from Peterborough. Hope England bench him for the midget so he doesn't get injured. Hope they bench Stevie for fatty and Carra gets splinters as well.

International football can **** off.

true, but my suggestion is still a good one.

[Marky]

That's a fooking joke. But then again that's what the England National side are all about aren't they? One big joke.

[Johnny]

Who gives a ****e?

We love him here, that's what matters, not the opinion of a bunch of hangers on from Peterborough. Hope England bench him for the midget so he doesn't get injured. Hope they bench Stevie for fatty and Carra gets splinters as well.

International football can **** off.

I`m more worried about his morale,getting benched after a good season can do him no good.

[Shaggy]

Well said Sam Wallace. It's an absolute ****ing joke.

[mersey86]

It may just come down to the old prejudice that he is a 6ft 7in footballer - one who, at first glance, may not look the part but rarely fails to deliver.

That's the key, Peter. If you could lose a few inches and put on a bit more weight, they'd never leave you out.

[Ron_Mexico]

when it inevitably backfires crouch will come off the bench and save the day