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Fleet Street: Victory For Crouch, Baines & Terry

The consensus view on Fleet Street is that the men to shine in England's 3-1 win over Egypt were Peter Crouch, John Terry and, less obviously, Leighton Baines. Opinion is divided, however, on what it means for Emile Heskey...

Last Updated: 04/03/10 at 08:03 Post Comment


So who was the night's big winner? It had to be Peter Crouch, according to The Independent.

'After 20 goals over 37 caps, including two more last night, there is little more Peter Crouch can do to impress Fabio Capello over the next three months unless he is planning to learn Italian and develop a working knowledge of contemporary art,' writes their football correspondent Sam Wallace.

'Last night in this friendly was Crouch's most eloquent case yet that it is him not Emile Heskey who deserves to start for England - and Crouch has had to make a few over the years. If it is a goalscorer and a targetman whom Capello wants alongside Rooney in attack then there really is only one man.

It's an argument echoed by The Daily Telegraph's Henry Winter (who also produces the awful line that 'The progeny of Rameses threatened to embarrass the inheritors of Ramsey's tradition...): 'Crouch's arrival gave Wayne Rooney a more substantial target-man than the disappointing Jermain Defoe to work off. Most significantly, Crouch demonstrated his ability on the floor, scoring two poacher's goals to lift his tally to an impressive 20 in 37 internationals. If his second goal was taken from an offside position, Crouch's overall movement was exceptional, cleverly eluding markers to present himself for crosses.'

As The Times' Oliver Kay muses in reflection, 'The question is just what Capello wants from that big man. Crouch brings a guarantee of goals, but it is unarguable - a mystery in some ways, but nonetheless unarguable - that England's best performances in recent years have always come with Heskey in the team.

'Capello went on to say that Crouch is "one of the most important players in the squad", yet he is one to whom the manager has so far turned only in moments of need, rather than out of choice.'

And a point made by Kevin McCarra for The Guardian is that, 'Capello's achievements have been many but it is worth mentioning his capacity for getting such endeavour out of his men when there is little at stake. Rooney sprinted hard to reach a fine through-ball from Barry but the finish ran wide. By then England had conviction. There were only sporadic concerns, although the sight of Terry being outpaced in one episode suggested he has not quite regained the old knack of nipping danger in the bud.

It wasn't apparent to us, but if The Sun's Ian McGarry is to be listened to then Leighton Baines enjoyed a profitable as well as an impressive debut:

'In a game where it was planned he would play 45 minutes before handing over to Stephen Warnock, he was so good he stayed on the pitch.

For Capello, the Everton starlet's performance was as much a relief as a vindication of his choice. Calm - well, he was after a shaky first touch - Baines was so good he finished the match at Wembley without a blemish. 'For the moment at least, Baines' debut has also seen him elevated to the automatic pick.'

Hmm.

And of course there's also plenty of chatter about John Terry.

The Daily Mail's Martin Samuel says that 'Terry was the only first-choice defender available, and it showed. Cole was hugely missed on the left and Wayne Bridge would have been no great improvement. Those who came to bury Terry for depriving the team of Cole's understudy quickly decided to keep their counsel as the truth became apparent.

'Contempt turned to, if not appreciation, then grudging respect for the former captain. There was even an attempt at a trumpet serenade, although there were few takers.'

According to The Sun's Steven Howard, 'The army of agitators who had threatened to descend on Wembley and turn John Terry's reappearance in an England shirt into a public flogging never materialised', and its absence prompts The Daily Mirror's Oliver Holt to deliver yet more criticism of Fabio Capello's decision to axe him as captain.

'So what was all the fuss about? The imagined great groundswell of national resentment towards Terry had been reduced to a couple of catcalls that died in the night air.

'It makes Capello's decision to inflame the entire situation by sacking Terry as captain in the first place seem more and more curious and ill-judged. Partly that is because of the way it has destabilised Terry, partly because it has made many of England's players doubt that their manager will back them when they need him to.'

Really? Have they? We have our own doubts...

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