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Peter Crouch head and shoulders above all but Shearer

Peter Crouch scored the winner for Stoke against Hull © Getty Images

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At 6ft 7in, Peter Crouch has always been one of the giants of English football. But now he is officially head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to goalscoring, too.

Apart from Alan Shearer, that is. The Stoke City striker equalled Shearer's record for the most headed goals in the Premier League when he nodded in his 71st minute winner against Hull on Saturday, and said he was delighted to prove the doubters wrong after years of being criticised for a supposed lack of ability in the air.

'Crouchy' has gained a reputation for being one of football's most likeable figures - presumably helped by a penchant for outrageous bicycle kicks and dodgy Dad dancing - but also someone who has never made the most of his height.

Well now the former Queens Park Rangers, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Southampton, Liverpool and Tottenham striker has put an end to that particular myth and it could even be argued that Crouch is better in the air than the former Newcastle captain, as a greater percentage of his goals have been headers.

Crouch has scored 48% of his 95 league goals with that towering head, compared to a return of 18% headed goals in Shearer's marginally more impressive 260 league goals.

"There were a lot of people in the early days who said I was better on the ground than at heading, so it's pleasing to rub it in a little bit," Crouch said.

"A lot of people said, for my size, I wasn't as good [at heading] as I should have been when I was younger. Becoming the record-holder for headed goals in the Premier League is something I didn't think would happen when I was 15 or 16.

"I enjoy heading and I think that's part and parcel of my game. Being 6 feet 7 inches helps, but you have to have the technique as well.

"I'm very proud - Alan Shearer's a hero of mine. He's one of the best, if not the best, striker the Premier League's ever seen, and to equal any record of his, I'm very pleased with that."

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