Peter Crouch has scored a remarkable 51 Premier League goals with his head and believes traditional centre-forward play is a dying art.
The Stoke striker will enter the Guinness World Records 2018 for his achievement but thinks predatory instincts from front-men are not what they once were.
Crouch said: ‘I see centre-forwards hanging around outside the box and it blows my mind, I just can’t get my head around it.
‘I believe, if you are a forward, you should be in the box, ready for the ball. That’s the way I have always played my game and that will never change.’
Having surpassed Alan Shearer’s record of 46 headed goals in the top flight, Crouch is delighted to be the outright leader and can only see Andy Carroll topping him.
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‘I think there is probably only Andy Carroll now who will stay around and score the type of goals that I do.
‘Other than that, there’s not many around in the Premier League who play the way we do, with opposite wingers on different sides, crossing has become a bit of a rarity.’
The former 42-cap England international still has the capacity to trouble defences at 36 years old.
Despite not being first choice for Mark Hughes, Crouch continues to contribute from the bench, heading the winner against Southampton in September.
In the twilight of his career, the prolific forward reflected that his international career ended prematurely and his England team-mates should have won a major trophy during with their golden generation.
He said: ‘When I played for England I felt like I was going to score in every game. I loved it, was in every squad for five years in a period where I felt we had our best squad since 1966.
‘It was an incredible side to be a part of and really should have gone on and won something.’
With his focus now exclusively on Stoke, Crouch will be hoping to be given the nod for their next match against Manchester City and harness those old-fashioned centre-forward traits to add to his record.
