Harry: England expects Crouch

HARRY REDKNAPP has some advice for England manager Fabio Capello: “Don’t even think of going to the World Cup without Peter Crouch.”

Redknapp believes the beanpole striker is as essential to England’s success in South Africa next summer as he is to Tottenham’s flying start to the Premier League season.

Crouch came off the bench in the second half to score the opening goal in Tottenham’s dramatic 2-1 victory against Birmingham at White Hart Lane which maintained Redknapp’s 100% record this season.

But it was the manner in which Crouch transformed Tottenham’s penetration in a game which Redknapp’s side largely dominated, but still required an injury-time winner from Aaron Lennon, which was most impressive.

Redknapp said: “I love Crouchy – that’s why I keep buying him. He was different class when he came on.

“That’s why England need Crouch, because he’s Plan B for England as well in my opinion. He’s a player you have to take to a World Cup because he gives you something different.”

Redknapp also applauded the patience of Crouch, who has had to await his chance with Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane having scored five goals between them already this season.

“He’s been fantastic,” said Redknapp. “Some lads would sit there with a face like thunder and mope around but he doesn’t.

“He can become Plan A for me, easy. With that performance it is going to be hard to leave him out of the team, especially when you play against Man United and Chelsea.

“Against them you need something different to cause them problems.”

United at home and Chelsea away just happen to be Tottenham’s next two fixtures after the international break and Redknapp sees them as the ultimate test, especially after central defender Ledley King suffered a groin problem and midfielder Luka Modric limped off with an injury after a tangle with Lee Bowyer and it was yesterday confirmed he had suffered a fractured fibula that will keep him out for at least six weeks.

“It’s like my whole world has crumbled because I will be out for at least six weeks,” Modric said.

“I am terribly sad. It wasn’t a ferocious tackle, but it hurt awfully and I knew something was wrong the moment it happened,” he said.

Modric will now miss several key games for club and country, with Croatia due to face Belarus and England in a World Cup qualifying double-header next month.

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish was also feeling hard done by after his side had mounted a stirring fightback which saw Lee Bowyer cash in on a Spurs defensive mishap to side-foot the equaliser.

Striker Garry O’Connor should have put Birmingham ahead, but dragged his shot into the side-netting.

That would have been harsh on Tottenham but, as it was, it was former White Hart Lane favourite Stephen Carr who was left in tears.

Carr blamed himself for slipping to let Lennon away for the last-ditch winner but McLeish said: “He was distraught. But he had a magnificent game. I thought we kept Lennon quiet and that was a credit to Carr.”

TOTTENHAM: Cudicini, Corluka, King (Hutton 46), Bassong, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Palacios, Huddlestone, Modric (Crouch 49), Keane, Defoe (Pavlyuchenko 80).

BIRMINGHAM: Hart, Parnaby, Roger Johnson, Queudrue, Carr, Larsson (McSheffrey 90), Ferguson, Carsley (Benitez 73), Bowyer, McFadden, O’Connor.

Referee: Peter Walton.