Peter Crouch pays the price for snubbing England during Euro 2012
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Your support makes all the difference.Roy Hodgson said yesterday that he would not consider Peter Crouch, the Stoke City striker who has 22 goals in 42 England caps, as a late call-up to his squad because the player turned down the chance to go on standby for Euro 2012.
Crouch, 31, only refused Hodgson's offer last May in exasperation at what he perceived as another England manager who preferred to ignore his scoring record in favour of giving an opportunity to another striker unproven at international level – in this case Andy Carroll.
In the past, Crouch has found himself behind players like Carlton Cole, Dean Ashton and Bobby Zamora. Having been ignored by Fabio Capello since his goal against France in November 2010, he had hoped that Hodgson would see things differently. Crouch still wishes to be considered for England.
Hodgson said: "I selected him for the Euros, but he didn't want to come. He was on a standby list but he made it clear that, unless he was in the squad, he didn't want to be considered. As a result, we've selected squads since when I felt I didn't need him. I'm not going to bring him in to fill up the bench. The day Crouch gets into the England squad is when I think he should be in the original 23."
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