Peter Crouch - The flat track bully England need tonight

England head into 'battle' against San Marino tonight, where it is considered they could play Roy Hodgson up front and still get a result. 

But as the manager hasn't named himself in the squad, it's down to a choice between Jermain Defoe, Danny Welbeck, and Andy Carroll to partner Wayne Rooney.

The striker who has been overlooked is Peter Crouch, who at 31, may consider his international days behind him after being snubbed for Euro 2012 and the subsequent squads, but we feel he should have been included tonight.

If you are picking players for the occasion, Crouch is your man. Selecting him tonight doesn't mean he has to be taken to the World Cup, merely that he played a role along the way.

So why do we feel Crouch could be so useful? Simple. Look at his goals record for England.

Averaging a goal every other game, 22 in 42 appearances, his record is superior to that of Defoe; 17 in 51, Carroll, two in eight, and Welbeck two in 11. 

So the Stoke striker has more goals for England than Defoe, Carroll and Welbeck combined. People mock Crouch's record for England, arguing he only does it against the minnows.

Perhaps they have a point, but that only emphasises our view that he should have been selected tonight.

He is remembered for his hat-trick against Jamaica, and goals against the likes of Trinidad and Tobago, and a brace against Andorra. Nations like Egypt, Estonia and Hungary help boost his goalscoring record.

The highest ranked sides he has scored against are Uruguay and France, albeit both meaningless friendlies.

This is not to say Crouch can't do it against the big nations, that's an argument for a different day, the point is that Crouch is clinical against the weak teams, and would have been ideal for tonight's visit of the lowest ranked side in the world, San Marino.

He has also been in excellent form for Stoke this year, with five in eight games, including a recent brace over Swansea.

Still, too late. The players Hodgson has selected will have their own opportunity to forge their reputations tonight, and perhaps the boss is right to look to the younger generation, allowing Carroll and Welbeck a chance to boost their England goal ratio.

Even so perhaps its a shame we won't get to party like it's 2006 and see Crouch bust out a robot dance in celebration of an England hat-trick one more time.

image: © Mafue