Can’t really agree that Crouch and Rooney form a more effective
partnership. Crouch is certainly no finisher. We all saw that. And
once in a blue moon and against lesser opponents does he provide
the good odd pass. Pool fans will recall his lacklustre performance
in the FA Cup Final. This tall fella hardly plays well in big
matches. And Rooney, definitely a worldclass player but he is no
predator, not “a fox in the box.” And if u partnered this two
together, where are the goals going to come from? Long shots?
Hello.. as if Lampard and Gerard and even Joe Cole are not taking
enough pot shots. What England needs now is balance. (no pun
intended since Crouch is often off-balance) But balance in the
sense, u need a playmaker who makes the crucial passes and packs a
powerful shot like Rooney and centre midfielders like Lampard and
Gerard to keep the midfield engine running, Joe Cole to provide the
incisive runs down the left, Beckham to make his pinpoint crosses
and YES a worldclass finisher like Owen to
finish off the moves. Form is temp but Class is perm. Owen may not
be as fast but he still scores goals in loads and he scores them
not with sheering pace of yesteryear (Argentina legacy) but with
his footballing intelligence and finishing ability. No offense to
the Toon army but England provides better service for Owen. But yet
it is not the case, too much balls have been played long to Crouch,
who mind u is not in the same league as a creator compared to
Rooney and a finisher compared to Owen. Asking Crouch to create or
score is like asking M. Jordan to score from a direct freekick ala
Becks. It will be a sad day for England and Rooney if Crouch do
become his England strike partner.
