Post by Scott on Jun 5, 2006 13:44:43 GMT
From The Guardian:
First things first: that was no hat-trick. When Peter Crouch applied his right foot to David Beckham's inswinging corner after half an hour's play against Jamaica, the shot was going wide of the left-hand post until Omar Daley's attempted clearance diverted it into the net. Only the relatively genial, uncompetitive nature of the fixture and the need to give England's less experienced players as much encouragement as possible before the departure for Germany enabled Crouch to receive the credit for a goal that laid the foundations for the next day's headlines.
The Liverpool striker did many other things so well that he needed no artificial assistance in claiming the lion's share of the post-match coverage. When England opened the scoring after 12 minutes, it was his knock-down from Paul Robinson's long free-kick that enabled Michael Owen to give Frank Lampard the opportunity to guide a shot past Donovan Ricketts. The best part of an hour later Crouch was in position to apply his foot to Jamie Carragher's low, hard centre, which was all it took to put England 5-0 up. And two minutes from time he completed the best move of the match, fashioned by Stewart Downing and Owen, with an excellent first-time finish from the edge of the area.
In between those last two strikes came the missed penalty. With Lampard off the field, David Beckham excused penalty duties after two successive failures and Crouch keen for a third goal, it was no surprise to see the tall figure bending to put the ball on the spot. Nor was the subsequent miss any great shock, given England's worryingly poor recent record from 12 yards. It was the nature of the failure which upset Sven-Goran Eriksson. Crouch loped up to the ball, half-stopped, and side-footed it fecklessly over the bar.
"You can miss them, of course," the head coach said. "but not in that way. It was a golden opportunity to practise for a penalty shoot-out, but he made a joke out of it. He apologised afterwards."
Crouch's face as he turned away in disappointment showed that he understood the significance of his error. Suddenly the glow had gone from a golden week which started when he came on as a substitute against Hungary and scored a goal which was followed by a widely noted form of celebratory dance. After the match Eriksson made it clear that, in Wayne Rooney's absence, Crouch would be a certain member of England's starting line-up. And the week continued when, egged on by his team-mates, he repeated the dance for the amusement of Prince William. At last, it seemed, he had claimed a place in the public's mind by virtue of something other than his extreme height.
Crouch is an intelligent man but the penalty demonstrated that the acclaim had gone to his head, and Eriksson knew it. A little light-heartedness will be a key ingredient in the squad's collective chemistry over the next month, but Rio Ferdinand, who encouraged Crouch to repeat the robot dance on Saturday, might not be the best man to set the tone on the pitch. Crouch would be better advised to take Eriksson's stricture to heart, not least because it was so unusual to hear the coach criticise one of his players.
Better by far to remember the way Crouch took his goal against Hungary and his final effort against Jamaica, on both occasions showing an economy of movement and an instinctive awareness of the geometry of the penalty area.
"I definitely feel as confident as I ever have done," he said afterwards, remembering that he was greeted on his international debut by jeers from England's own supporters. "I feel as though I belong in the England set-up and things are going very well for me at the moment. I've had some stick, but thankfully I've come through the other side."
It was interesting to see that Trinidad & Tobago, England's second opponents in group B, warmed up at the weekend with a match against the Czech Republic, losing 3-0 and conceding two of the goals to Jan Koller, another 6ft 7in striker, albeit one built to a slightly more robust blueprint. On Saturday night Sol Campbell, who has played against both men, pointed out the difficulty of marking such players.
"If you don't get it right against Peter, if you don't have someone in front and behind him at set pieces, he is going to win a lot of headers and do a lot of damage," Campbell said. "You can see the confidence in him at the moment. Everyone is getting behind him. Strikers need confidence and we'll see what he does if he gets his chance in the World Cup."
The penalty apart, Eriksson praised every element of Crouch's game and seems in no doubt that, subject to the news from Rooney's doctors, his chance will come in the group games. "It would be a little bit difficult to keep him out against Paraguay," he said. "He's difficult to defend against because if you can't reach the ball up there, there's nothing you can do. You have to foul him, and that's it. I've always said that he's an important player, and I stick to that."
By earning acceptance, Crouch has done the hard part. Now, as Eriksson said, he just has to remember to take the job seriously.
First things first: that was no hat-trick. When Peter Crouch applied his right foot to David Beckham's inswinging corner after half an hour's play against Jamaica, the shot was going wide of the left-hand post until Omar Daley's attempted clearance diverted it into the net. Only the relatively genial, uncompetitive nature of the fixture and the need to give England's less experienced players as much encouragement as possible before the departure for Germany enabled Crouch to receive the credit for a goal that laid the foundations for the next day's headlines.
The Liverpool striker did many other things so well that he needed no artificial assistance in claiming the lion's share of the post-match coverage. When England opened the scoring after 12 minutes, it was his knock-down from Paul Robinson's long free-kick that enabled Michael Owen to give Frank Lampard the opportunity to guide a shot past Donovan Ricketts. The best part of an hour later Crouch was in position to apply his foot to Jamie Carragher's low, hard centre, which was all it took to put England 5-0 up. And two minutes from time he completed the best move of the match, fashioned by Stewart Downing and Owen, with an excellent first-time finish from the edge of the area.
In between those last two strikes came the missed penalty. With Lampard off the field, David Beckham excused penalty duties after two successive failures and Crouch keen for a third goal, it was no surprise to see the tall figure bending to put the ball on the spot. Nor was the subsequent miss any great shock, given England's worryingly poor recent record from 12 yards. It was the nature of the failure which upset Sven-Goran Eriksson. Crouch loped up to the ball, half-stopped, and side-footed it fecklessly over the bar.
"You can miss them, of course," the head coach said. "but not in that way. It was a golden opportunity to practise for a penalty shoot-out, but he made a joke out of it. He apologised afterwards."
Crouch's face as he turned away in disappointment showed that he understood the significance of his error. Suddenly the glow had gone from a golden week which started when he came on as a substitute against Hungary and scored a goal which was followed by a widely noted form of celebratory dance. After the match Eriksson made it clear that, in Wayne Rooney's absence, Crouch would be a certain member of England's starting line-up. And the week continued when, egged on by his team-mates, he repeated the dance for the amusement of Prince William. At last, it seemed, he had claimed a place in the public's mind by virtue of something other than his extreme height.
Crouch is an intelligent man but the penalty demonstrated that the acclaim had gone to his head, and Eriksson knew it. A little light-heartedness will be a key ingredient in the squad's collective chemistry over the next month, but Rio Ferdinand, who encouraged Crouch to repeat the robot dance on Saturday, might not be the best man to set the tone on the pitch. Crouch would be better advised to take Eriksson's stricture to heart, not least because it was so unusual to hear the coach criticise one of his players.
Better by far to remember the way Crouch took his goal against Hungary and his final effort against Jamaica, on both occasions showing an economy of movement and an instinctive awareness of the geometry of the penalty area.
"I definitely feel as confident as I ever have done," he said afterwards, remembering that he was greeted on his international debut by jeers from England's own supporters. "I feel as though I belong in the England set-up and things are going very well for me at the moment. I've had some stick, but thankfully I've come through the other side."
It was interesting to see that Trinidad & Tobago, England's second opponents in group B, warmed up at the weekend with a match against the Czech Republic, losing 3-0 and conceding two of the goals to Jan Koller, another 6ft 7in striker, albeit one built to a slightly more robust blueprint. On Saturday night Sol Campbell, who has played against both men, pointed out the difficulty of marking such players.
"If you don't get it right against Peter, if you don't have someone in front and behind him at set pieces, he is going to win a lot of headers and do a lot of damage," Campbell said. "You can see the confidence in him at the moment. Everyone is getting behind him. Strikers need confidence and we'll see what he does if he gets his chance in the World Cup."
The penalty apart, Eriksson praised every element of Crouch's game and seems in no doubt that, subject to the news from Rooney's doctors, his chance will come in the group games. "It would be a little bit difficult to keep him out against Paraguay," he said. "He's difficult to defend against because if you can't reach the ball up there, there's nothing you can do. You have to foul him, and that's it. I've always said that he's an important player, and I stick to that."
By earning acceptance, Crouch has done the hard part. Now, as Eriksson said, he just has to remember to take the job seriously.
