28 seconds for Peter Crouch

Crouch

Peter Crouch is certainly a very good player but he has made history playing for England not entirely by his own credit. Besides being the tallest footballer ever to play for England, he is now (not so) proud owner of the cheapest England cap ever. He came on as a substitute in the match against Germany and spent mere 28 seconds on the pitch, touching the ball once before the final whistle. Capello even had the nerve to congratulate him as the players were leaving the pitch. Regardless of the questions raised over whether this is enough time to earn an official cap, I will try to make a different point.

I just cannot understand the manager who introduces a player in injury time. Even in the competitive games it seems distasteful let alone in friendly matches. I can understand when the coach makes a late substitution to steal some time or introduces a tall player to cope with the long balls in the dying moments of the match, but to bring a player for 28 seconds in a friendly match, it is just ridiculous. If you have too many players and cannot accommodate them all, then leave them on the bench. Do they really think that the player will be happier to play for few minutes rather than sit on the bench until the end? What can a coach see from a player in two or three minutes- does the jersey fits? I don’t know how Crouch feels after breaking this record but he is certainly not happy and he will not be too keen on his next call-up to the national squad.