Liverpool FC Forum

[looprevil]

Just having a different option up front is priceless.  We have pace & precision with cisse, clinical finishing with morientes, and if thats not working we have crouch who seems to have a nice touch on the ball and can be a threat to teams with smaller defencemen or those that dont defend corners and crosses well.  Also he seems to hold up the ball fairly well and that could be good for setting up Steve for his long range strikes.

[kazza]

I just saw him on tv at Anfield talking to Finnan. He looks really excited and happy to be at liverpool, and I think he will help us. I feel he will give the team character in  those cold, wet and windy winter games which is something the strikers did not have last year. He will play well with Cisse.

[andy_g]

while reading the story about redknapp being more than a touch vexed about crouch being sold over his head today on my beloved guardian football site i discovered that the fee is only actually £6 million, with another million dependent on our honours this season. we also only pay £3 million up front.

sounds much more reasonable like that doesn't it?

[Thinkpad]

Baros just doesn't fit into Rafa's plans I think. He is a good goalscorer yes but has failed to be cosnistent here, and Rafa is obviosuly buildng a side hwich plays quick, flowing football. For this you need strikers whp are good at being bale to hold the ball up and have good link up play, these are tow of the weaknesses in Baros' game IMO, and Morientes is excellent in thsi area of his game. Crouch also has very good tocuh for a big lad.

If Baros' had scored 20 plus goal last seoans I wpuld probably advocate keeping him, as we have  lacked a real predatory striker (my feeling is Cisse wil score mountains this season).

It's a shame that Baro has been unable to produce his Czech Rep form for LFC, last seoans was hsi big vhance and he failed to take it and his attitude has been disappointing while at the club tbh. I am disappointed that Baros has not been abel to make the grade here, as he does have a lot of potential but their are obvious flaws in his game which need addessing, and obviously Rafa is planning without him, which is fair enough IMO.

Yep.. it is a real shame. Some how I figured if our wingers and midfielders (some) are better it would have been a different story. I always find it hard to understand why managers like to rely on a single goal scorer. If you guys watch the games, you will realised defensers like to swarm in numbers at baros to make it hard for him. This can only happens if the team rely on only one/two goal scorer. Even Arsene Wenger make that same mistake. You would thought they learnt. Guess wheels have to be reinvented everytime. So it is nice to see Gerald scoring. Hope the rest of team will too. This way the defenders don't know who to mark or swarm.

As to Crouch... Hmmmm no idea why he is so valuable to Liverpool. Heights is important, but I feel the quality of crosses is far more important. So far Riise crosses sucks big time. Zenden's cross is ok.. I hope we are not going to start playing "pump up" football. Or could probably be that Crouch has Ian Rush quality..

We also need quality players with qualities from Ronaldo (ManU) and Robben (Chealse) in order to challange the tittle. Currently, we are only hopefuls. Looks like 3/4 position is the best we can muster this season.

Oh by the way, never sell Baros to Tottenham or Everton.
Too risky a business...

[109-1093441336]

Prem is different, but i truly hope that Crouch doesn't play in CL.
imagine seeing crouch line up next to little luis while CL music is playing.  What a surrreal but realistic thought.

BTW Where have all the spotty star teenage girls gone?, It seems likew they've gone all quiet, ha ha, and on top of that Baros has been shown the exit door.

At least Crouch signing has got rid of them from the Liverpool forums, hopefully for good.  Star Gazing

[laza]

It certainly be ironic if Baros ends up at West Ham , i wonder if they will pay anymore for him as he isnt cup tied for the Champions league   

[dward]

I'm sure that on southampton's last game of last season crouch got a red card for lashing out at this pompey guy..

that will mean he'll miss the first 3 games of the premiership
not too bad I suppose...

[stmichael]

here is a compilation of peter crouch that i have found in action from last season. lets just hope for our sake that he produces more of the same in the famous red shirt. 

http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0UZFV95VZFPW91NL5V03B0YGOZ

[ynwa]

one question for rafa why peter crouch why

[dxavier]

Baros set to leave after all.....Oh,my pity baros...

I really can't understand why Rafa prefer others than Baros up front. Actually he's a good striker with lots of pace and he can stir the opponet's denfence with his mentality advantages. Maybe baros not that kind of striker which rafa eyeing.

Anyway, crouch will be a reds after 48 hours. Hope he can pass the medical test and complete his switch from southampton. One thing for sure,he can be our hero.

God Bless Baros.  -sad-

The problem with Baros is he is never ruthless enough in front of goal. If he had just a little bit more strength, a little bit more agression, a little bit more speed, a little bit more ball control. That is the problem, he needs a little bit more in many departments.

Crouch on the other hand is not fast, but technically on the ground, he is already very good as well as being very good in the air too.

Yes, Baros is good for the Czech Republic but he feeds of everything Koller knocks down and also is the recipient of amazing balls from Nedved and Rosicky. In the Premiership, you sometimes need individual brilliance to create your own thing, like Henry, Zola, Chav Rooney, etc. Baros doesn't have that at all. I am not saying that Crouch has it in buckets either, but there are moments I have seen him take a nothing ball and do something very clever with it. With other players around him to feed off that clever play, it will only go to create more goals.

[tubby]

Hes here now so lets put all the why oh why Rafa talk behind us and start of with come on Peter. He scorwed more goals last season than any of our strikers.

[LFCNUTTER]

Hasnt raffa played the same formation he is trying to do at Liverpool when he had john carew at valencia that didnt turn out to bad did it both similar players good at holding the ball up (something we were sh#t at last year) both got a good touch and both good in the air.If we have the same succes as that valencia side there wont be to much moaning on here about Peter Crouch give the lad a chance

[The Ace1983]

My pesamism at the signing of Crouch is well documented throughout this Forum, but I've just been watching some clips on Sky, and it's amazing how even some of the tip top defenders can't deal with him. People like Neville, Southgate and even our boys had trouble with him. It's not just his height either. His stride is so long it confuses people. I still have my doubts, but I can now see what Rfa sees.

[stmichael]

it's official guys. he's passed his medical.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/4677639.stm

[stmichael]

The difference a season makes. I can't understand how some folks are criticising Benitez and his transfers. He is buying players of proven ability or those with tremendous potential. And very few, if any, prima donnas. I think that the team will be better this season, and we will collect more points, progressing upwards. We won't win the league, but I think real progress will be made.

Crouch is a good signing, as is Zenden - good players who have proven themselves in the domestic league. Forget over-paid star signings, these two could make a real impact, particularly in away Premiership fixtures. With Potter and Warnock getting chances, and almost two players for every position, things are looking better than last season.

In the last Premiership season, things were rubbish becasue Benitez rested players for the Champions League - usually Hyypia, replacing him with Pelligrino. Pellegrino and Nunez were never really up to it, and Kewell, Smicer and the other usual suspects were typically rubbish. With the absence of Cheyrou, Diao, Kewell (for five or six weeks, not a long enough absence in my opinion), Smicer, Nunez and some of the rubbish of recent years, things are picking up.

Any Liverpool fans who don't think Crouch is good enough should remember the way he almost single-handedly destroyed us at St. Mary's. I think people get drawn in by the lanky awkwardness and don't give him anywhere near enough credit. I've always thought he was a good player and is the perfect alternate option for Liverpool with Cisse's pace there to terrify defences and Crouch there to knock it down or hold it up. For Gerrard, with his late runs from midfiled, playing with Crouch should be a dream.

On the other hand predictive text always brings him up as 'crotch' on my phone, which might be an omen of some sort.