Peter Crouch (Portsmouth)

Well they could be, cant they?

Dean Ashton? I very much doubt it. Actually i 99.99% doubt it because he is about as reliable as a chocolate tea pot. We have had enough players out injured all the time, don't need anymore.

Jones? Possibly could be a good buy but is very hit and miss IMO.

Would prefer Crouch over them 2 without question.

Crouch isn't the Premiership's greatest footballer but he doesn't have to be if he's in a side full of other quality players. A bit like John Toshack, certainly not the most gifted footballer but because of the players around him as well as his own, limited, qualities he was a vital part to the Liverpool side of the 70s. Crouch could have been just as effective as Tosh was but for some reason it didn't work out.

People say he's poor in the air, wrong. He's not aggressive in the air meaning he won't score too many headers but for flicking it on for others or even just bringing under control, he's very good at. He doesn't have the strength in his body to be an Alan Shearer, Duncan Ferguson or even a John Toshack like header but he's not poor in the air. He's weak in his body, meaning he's poor at scoring headers as well as falling over a fair bit. As for him giving free kicks away, well that's because you are no longer allowed to jump in modern day football. As soon as you do, the ref is blowing for a free kick. And taller forwards get free kicks given a lot more against them than the smaller lads.

Now somebody wanted to know his goal to game ratio. OK, I'll go have a butchers and compare it to the rest of Rafa's forwards.

Crouch's record. 42 goals in a 135 games. A goal every 3.2 games.

Torres - 50 goals in 84 games. A goal every 1.7 games.
Voronin - 6 goals in 27 games. A goal every 4.5 games.
Kuyt - 40 goals in 147 games. A goal every 3.7 games.
Babel - 14 goals in 90 games. A goal every 6.5 games.
Ngog - 3 goals in 19 games. A goal every 6.3 games.
Bellamy - 9 goals in 42 games. A goal every 4.7 games.
Morientes - 12 goals in 61 games. A goal every 5 games.
Keane - 7 goals in 28 games. A goal every 4 games.

So out of the forwards Rafa has bought, only Torres has a better games to goal ratio. And lets be honest, most forwards in our history would probably be behind Torres in that sense. So in comparison, Crouch doesn't have a bad goalscoring record.

Now I would love Crouch to come back. If Torres is out, he can play up top and link up with Stevie to blast them from 20 yards out or so. If Stevie is out, he can flick it on for Torres to use his pace. This of course does rely on one of our superstars being out or us changing our system. Neither I'd like us to do. But I certainly wouldn't be disappointed to see Crouch come off the bench to try and change a game. Now Crouch probably doesn't wanna be a bench player but we play 60 games a season and everybody will be given a chance, that's in the words of our manager.

I would welcome Crouch back instantly!

Toshack was much better in the air than crouch. The problem is that because of his height he has got defined as a target man but he is much more than that and a truely gifted player. We, during his time at anfield tended to play to his height and not his strengths. Love to c from our stat king DLS what crouchie's success rate with a fit torres was. Love to know

I'll have a look in a sec for the Torres/Crouch partnership. I do for a fact Torres scored a hattrick against Reading in the League Cup when Crouch was his strike partner.

But on the Toshack thing, it's because Tosh was built like a brick shithourse. He was strong and powerful. Something which Crouch isn't, he's more agile I suppose is the word proven by his constant scissor kick volleys. Something Tosh wouldn't have been able to do with all the will in the world.

I liked Crouch and would welcome him back to the club but I don't why would Crouch want to come back to where he would be in the same situation where we play a one striker situation and that striker being Torres so he will be a squad player within the team, the same situation he moan about when he was here. I guess he would feel that playing UCL football to some extent and with a top 4 club would be better off for his England career than playing for someone like Sunderland.

I would be shocked if we did sign him again, happy but shocked.

Thanks dls. Agree.
Crouch needs the ball to his feet outside the box (or chest) to assist or in the box to put away. Heading, strangely is not his thing. Great player though and he do better now if he came back

Fact is, if Rafa thought he was good enough to play frequently, then he would have done. But he didn't.

I don't see any reason why Rafa would now buy him back.

As backup?

He wouldn't be bought to be a first XI player, he'd be bought for backup.

This is just for matches they started together.

25/11/07. Liverpool v Reading (3 goals for Torres in a 4-2 win)
3/10/07. Liverpool v Marseille (0 goals for either in a 1-0 loss)
2/12/07. Liverpool v Bolton (1 goal for Torres in a 4-0 win)
8/12/07. Liverpool v Reading (0 goals for either in a 3-1 loss)
15/1/08. Liverpool v Luton (0 goals for either in a 5-0 win)
2/2/08. Liverpool v Sunderland (1 goal for Torres, 1 goal for Crough in a 3-0 win)
8/4/08. Liverpool v Arsenal (1 goal for Torres in a 4-2 win)

Between them 7 goals in 7 matches.

I'm not sure how that compares with the other partnerships, but it's a ratio of a goal a game.

Crouch would score the ugly goals. The ones that go in off someones arse. And then he'd score the occasional exceptional silly one.

An ingredient the mancs have relied on for years.

dls - cheers for the stats info

No sure is those stats show a winning formula though? Regardless I believe we r in more in need and set up to make the most of his abilities than we were before.

Thanks for that, DLS.

I dont see how he'd be a bad signing? The only problem i do have is he would probably sit on the bench alot because unlike the other striker options, he cant play anywhere else.

no way we don't need crouch we need some one with pace ,com'on  please say no to crouch and focus on bringing silva or marcos seina if alonso moves away

But he doesn't need too much time to settle in our squad as he's familiar with our system. And having played with Glen at Portsmouth beforewill also help both him and Glen in our game play.

I still believe he can bring in some qualities ie. experience, height etc, that we don't get from other strikers. Besides, his ball control is much much better now.

I'd have Crouch back.

As a back up and someone who plays ocassionally, yes.

As a first-team regular, no.

But since we have the Torres and Gerrard partnership, I can't see Crouch being a regular name on the team sheet so I am all for this potential move.

Like what Harry Redknapp said for a 28 yr old to move to a club for £12m is a bit much.

Wouldn't that be a step backwards and an expensive one at that ?.

no way should crouch comeback this is such a massive joke....

"Another transfer rumour can bite the dust after Rafa Benitez was asked if a recent report he was considering bringing Peter Crouch back to the club was correct. "No" was the straight reply."

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N165188090725-1543.htm

^^^^

That'll do.

Topic locked.