Wayne Rooney, a better header than Peter Crouch!!

The amount of footballers who can't head a ball never ceases to amaze us.

If we went through Thierry Henry's goals during his record-breaking spell for Arsenal, you will probably find only two or three headers. That is staggering. Think how many more he could have scored if he had that string to his bow.

If you're a striker and you can't head, you're denying yourself 10 or 15 goals a season - as Wayne Rooney is now finding out.

Wayne has improved dramatically.He had started doing a little bit extra in training to improve his technique - and you can see he is reaping the dividends.

Now he's playing up top and not in that withdrawn role on the left, he is in the box far more often and he is giving himself far more of an opportunity to score with headers.

Look at the brilliant header he scored against AC Milan a fortnight ago. He could not have scored that a year ago. It's from practising over and over again. We can imagine Wayne has been having someone feed him ball after ball at training - all at different heights - in order to get better.

Learning to head is about all types of different headers - where you are standing and the pace of the ball makes all the difference.

When crosses come in from the right - like in the Carling Cup final - he looks comfortable but he is not as assured with balls from the left. The right is his strong side and, just as you do with a strong and a weak foot, you find it easier to head on one side rather than the other. It's all to do with the balance of the body.

Timing is probably the absolute key. You just need to be a fraction off with your jump and it all goes wrong, while some players seem to have almost finished their header before the ball has even arrived and the ball just brushes off them and drifts away harmlessly. Worse is when you see players shut their eyes and then they miss the ball totally.

Height doesn't really matter.Wayne is 5ft 10in. It's all about finding space. You don't have to be 6ft 7in like Peter Crouch. In fact, Wayne is a better header of the ball than Peter because often tall people don't work hard enough at their heading.

The supply he is getting from the right is brilliant, too. He and Antonio Valencia clearly enjoy playing together and have an understanding. With Valencia's supply, Wayne can score 10 or more goals a season with his head from now on.