So, who must make way for Rooney?

In for the long stay: Peter Crouch scored two goals against Andorra
14 April 2012

Not quite the gruelling examination which Steve McClaren predicted. Not even a threat to the physical welfare of England's players, as it turned out.

Andorra, McClaren suggested, were a mean old bunch. But mean old bunches generally avoid sending on a little chap called Julia when the going gets tough.

England dealt with arguably the worst team they have ever met so comfortably that UEFA should consider introducing pre-qualifying matches, but McClaren must now cast his mind ahead to more serious matters.

Wednesday's match against Macedonia in Skopje; the same Macedonia side that lost to Andorra during their last World Cup qualifying campaign.

Macedonia might have embarrassed Sven Goran Eriksson when they somehow managed to secure a 2-2 draw in a Euro 2004 qualifier in Southampton four years ago, but using these games as a guide to how England are developing is a difficult exercise — pointless in fact.

So pointless, it seems, that McClaren has already decided who will miss out when Wayne Rooney returns to international duty next month after suspension.

Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe played well at Old Trafford on Saturday, joining Steven Gerrard on the scoresheet with two goals apiece, but one of them will have to go back to the bench when Macedonia arrive in Manchester on October 7.

England's coach says he knows who's for the chop but his trademark grin became a guffaw when the inevitable question then followed with all the subtlety of a Ben Thatcher elbow. 'What kind of player makes the perfect partner for Rooney?' McClaren was asked. 'A tall lanky fella or a small quick one?'

McClaren would not discuss it, but he did make a case for Crouch's continued inclusion. A stronger case, it has to be said, than the one he then made for Defoe — no matter that the Tottenham man is far more like Michael Owen than Crouch is. The Liverpool striker, McClaren revealed, has hidden talents.

One of them, it transpires, is a remarkable ability to cover ground that cannot be attributed only to the length of his legs. Crouch, the ProZone figures have confirmed to McClaren on numerous occasions, runs further than any other England player. Further, even, than Owen Hargreaves.

'Crouch's goalscoring record for England is phenomenal,' said McClaren, citing his tally of 10 in 13 international appearances. 'But what I love about Peter Crouch is just how much of a team player he is.

'He runs his heart out in every game and more so than any of the midfielders or the defenders. He generally covers about 13km in every match, but I've known him to go over 14km.'

Defoe's two goals would, said McClaren, be good for his confidence. McClaren said he had always admired Defoe and the frustrated Spurs man certainly earned the admiration of Old Trafford when he met a super cross from Gerrard with a sensational volley.

It might not be enough to protect his place in the starting line-up beyond Wednesday, though. But McClaren has options and a squad who realise that 'no one is undroppable'.

Before McClaren gets too carried away about Crouch's record, he should consider the facts. As well as the two against Andorra, he scored two against Greece last month, three against Jamaica, one against Hungary and one against Uruguay. His one goal during the World Cup came against Trinidad and Tobago.

That said, Defoe had scored only once in 17 appearances before Saturday and his lack of first-team football at White Hart Lane is a concern for the England coach. As he said last Friday, he would prefer his players to be appearing regularly for their clubs.

Defoe's club-mate, Aaron Lennon, is among the majority who are doing so and it will be interesting to see how soon McClaren returns to the 3-5-2 formation he experimented with towards the end on Saturday.

It is the only way to accommodate Lennon in the starting line-up if McClaren remains determined to keep Gerrard, Hargreaves, Frank Lampard and Stewart Downing in midfield.

McClaren talked about having 'impact' players and the impact Gerrard is now making when deployed on the right flank is impossible to ignore. He will earn his 50th cap on Wednesday and McClaren agrees that a player Sir Alex Ferguson once described as 'the most influential in English football' continues to grow in stature.

McClaren said he would make his decision on whether to recall Rio Ferdinand at the expense of Wes Brown today. Other decisions, however, have already been made.

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