Here’s Tony Cascarino speaking to The Times about Peter Crouch:
“Did you see Peter Crouch’s third goal against Preston in Tottenham’s 5-1 Carling Cup win in midweek?”
“It was the cheekiest of backflicks and one of the goals of the season. Perhaps for many a season. It was unbelievable.”
“And yet to judge by the overall reaction it was little more than a tap-in.”
“Had it been scored by Dennis Bergkamp, Gianfranco Zola or Thierry Henry in their pomp, the world would have gone mad. Everyone would have been raving about their genius.”
“Sadly, that’s the way it is with Crouch and always will be.”
“He gets great credit from his fellow professionals and even some of the hard-bitten journalists, but not that much from the wider public. I find that staggering.”
“I’ve always been a great fan of Peter and I know Harry Redknapp is, too. He has a problem, though – three into two just won’t go. Which two of Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane should he use up front?”
“I prefer Crouch and Defoe – the big man, little man combo – to lead the attack, with Keane on the sidelines. And don’t even mention Roman Pavlyuchenko! I just don’t get it that Crouch is only a rare starter. He offers a bit of everything and more.”
“For England also. Wayne Rooney and Emile Heskey appear to be the favoured twin threat of Fabio Capello, but Rooney would be even better with Crouch alongside him. He rarely fails to deliver, for club or country.”
“OK, people go on about Heskey’s aggression, the way he bullies and intimidates opponents into submission, creating space for Rooney. But Peter has more finesse, a lovely touch. He doesn’t need the physicality of Heskey to signify his presence.”
“Heskey still seems to be above Crouch in Don Fabio’s pecking order. Perhaps Carlton Cole, too. But could either have scored the type of goal that Crouch did at Deepdale? I don’t think so. I really don’t.”
“I still can’t believe that Liverpool let Peter go to Portsmouth. He did nothing wrong at Anfield. He just happened to play for a manager who liked to chop and change his line-up virtually every game.”
“And I’m amazed Manchester United didn’t try to sign him from Portsmouth.”
“He would have fitted in with Rooney – as he could do with England – and also given Dimitar Berbatov a few things to think about. It might have sparked the moody Bulgarian into life.”
“If I was a manager, Crouch would start every game. The beanpole is king. Think big, Harry. And you, too, Fabio.”
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My comment on that third goal was that if it had been scored by Berbatov everyone would have been raving about the deft, delicate touch, and the awreness of it. It wasn’t, they aren’t.
Yeah, lets drop a guy who just scored 4 goals in 1 game in the league! Yeah, Crouch is great, as is Defoe but the competition is doing them all wonders. Crouch will keep performing harder to push himself to a starting place whilst Keane will work his socks off to try and stay in the team – pair that with Defoe pushing his hardest for a regular England place and any partnership is a win-win situation. Personally i think Keane/Defoe as starters, with Crouch coming on midway through the second-half to give the defenders something very different to compete with.