They think it’s tall over, it is now

CROUCH QUITS: SUB ROLE NO GOOD FOR ME

PETER CROUCH claims he has retired at 38 because he did not want to be used as a battering ram from the bench. not to be preparing for a new campaign. But circumstances over the last couple of seasons have made me realise this is the right thing to do.

“To go from being a regular starter to someone whose role is limited to 10 or 15 minutes off the bench has been hard to accept.

“I will be 39 in January, but I’m physically fit and could have carried on. What I didn’t want to be was someone who was thrown on to have balls smashed up to them.”

Crouch has called time on a 21-year professional career, which saw him make 735 appearances for 11 different clubs and score 205 goals.

He netted 22 times for England in 42 games, including in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, and will be fondly remembered for his ‘robot’ goal celebration. He won the 2006 FA Cup with Liverpool, played in the 2007 Champions League final, and retires with a record 53 headed goals in the Premier League.

Crouch (above) admits he would never have believed he would enjoy such a distinguished career when he started out as a rookie at Tottenham.

“I think back to when I was 17,” he added. “I was a trainee at Spurs and there were 10 forwards in front of me, blocking my route to the first team.

“If you’d told me I’d go on to play for England and for Liverpool in a Champions League final, and score the goal that put Tottenham back in the European Cup for the first time in four decades, I’d have had you locked up.”