Zero to Hero

How appropriate that Old Trafford, the stadium where once his appearance in an England shirt was marked by boos, should be the venue for Peter Crouch’s elevation (an almost inevitable word for a 6ft 7inch striker) to cult status.

Even a missed penalty was forgiven as the Liverpool striker helped himself to a hat-trick in the 6-0 demolition of Jamaica and helped everyone else too with his consistently impressive movement, touch and distribution.

Most significantly perhaps, his performance mitigated the concern and doubt surrounding Wayne Rooney’s injury and sustained the impression that England go to the World Cup finals in Germany with a genuine chance of success.

And Crouch himself has the satisfaction of knowing that not only has he won over the fans, he’s also made it very difficult for Sven to leave him out of the starting line-up for the opening game against Paraguay.