Liverpool FC Forum

[weringo]

1. looking back, do you still think we over-paid for him in the first place?

2. did you have every faith that he would come through his initial goal drought at the start of the season?

3. what areas of his game do you still think he can improve?

4. how many goals can he realistically expect to score next season, assuming we are bringing in gonzalez and a right winger?

5. crouch for england now. starter or plan b?

1. For a striker who doesn't do a lot more than hold the ball up and flick it on (albeit very effectively) I think we did pay a little much for him.

2. He did have a decent run of goalscoring form towards the end of last season with southampton so I presumed he would get a few.

3. Clearly his heading abilty. For someone who is 6'7" you would think he would have some decent heading ability.

4. Depending on who we buy in the summer will determine how often he plays next year. If he plays as often as he has done this year I would guess about 15 goals, if not, about 10.

5. Plan B

[stmichael]

All in all, I think Rafa has proved that 7 mill was good buisness. So i dont understand how some say it was too much. P.C. has made a huge difference to our game and is doing what Rafa wants him to do, and very well too.

I think he's had a fine season, his head has never gone down, even during his goal drought. And lets not forget the verbal abuse he recieved from Ingerland fans, and not just on the international front either.

Its plain to see how popular he is with the other players, and when he isnt playing i think we miss him bigtime. So for me he has been a very good signing and worth every penny we paid for him. The only thing he needs to improve is his heading, which is strange considering his height, but i'm sure the coaching staff have that one covered.

Well in Peter Crouch, a fine start to your long Liverpool career.

[66-1112520797]

All in all, I think Rafa has proved that 7 mill was good buisness. So i dont understand how some say it was too much. P.C. has made a huge difference to our game and is doing what Rafa wants him to do, and very well too.

Considering Rafa is usually reluctant to pay over the odds for players, and haggles down to the very last penny.
I just found it quite a surprise when he stomped up that kind of money for that kind of player. Obviously he thought Crouch was worth the money.

I think he's been fantastic for us (Crouchy) but like I said when we bought him 7M was probably 2M too much in my opinion. Now though I'd say his value would be between what, 8-10M maybe. So Im not up in arms or anything about his initial price tag, I just think it was a bit pricey thats all, considering the kind of forward he is.

[marcus.c]

[quote="stmichael"][/quote]
1. looking back, do you still think we over-paid for him in the first place?

Judging from the goals he has scored & missed, I would say, Yes we have definately over paid for this guy. Some people will argue that he has overall improve the team. But what exactly has he improve on? No doubt his high factor poses a problem for the opposition but has he use his high factor effectively, eg; scoring goals? I would like to see him next season. He needs to build up a stronger physical presence and get his goal scoring boots on. Next season will be better for us to judge him as a whole.

2. did you have every faith that he would come through his initial goal drought at the start of the season?

Well, i tot that, really at some point of time, he will put the ball behind the net.

3. what areas of his game do you still think he can improve?

Physical wise, heading, goal scoring.

4. how many goals can he realistically expect to score next season, assuming we are bringing in gonzalez and a right winger?

If he can improve on his heading, I would say 15-20goals.

5. crouch for england now. starter or plan b?

Definately plan B. Maybe he will work well against a lousy team but if we are up against a strong team. Their defenders would be experience enough to deal with him.

[columbia]

All in all, I think Rafa has proved that 7 mill was good buisness. So i dont understand how some say it was too much. P.C. has made a huge difference to our game and is doing what Rafa wants him to do, and very well too.

I think he's had a fine season, his head has never gone down, even during his goal drought. And lets not forget the verbal abuse he recieved from Ingerland fans, and not just on the international front either.

Its plain to see how popular he is with the other players, and when he isnt playing i think we miss him bigtime. So for me he has been a very good signing and worth every penny we paid for him. The only thing he needs to improve is his heading, which is strange considering his height, but i'm sure the coaching staff have that one covered.

Well in Peter Crouch, a fine start to your long Liverpool career.

im a fan of crouch, as ive already said in this topic i dont think we need to worry about the price because he has brought something to the team, we should worry more about cisse's price. However the reason i hink we overpaid for him is because he was a championship player, from a team that just got relegated i just think we could probably have got him cheaper.

[stmichael]

Im still not totally bought on him TBH, dont know if its them flamingo like stork legs that put me off him, or what.

[gato_busta]

1. looking back, do you still think we over-paid for him in the first place?

At first I wasn't sure, I had not really seen much of him to say that we over-payed for him. Now at the end of the season I think he was a really good piece of business. He is a different type of striker, there are not many like him in the world (which is why defenders have a tough time with him). He is an English international, most probably will be first choice in the world cup until Rooney comes back. He also gives the team a diferent aproach and brings the midfielders into play giving the team different options. Plus as mick said, If we sold him now we could get our money back plus a couple extra million and after the world cup maybe even more.

2. did you have every faith that he would come through his initial goal drought at the start of the season?

well he IS a striker, so... yes

3. what areas of his game do you still think he can improve?

His heading. The rest of his game seems fine to me. He was not brought into the team to be a poacher but to assist the team which he has done superbly. IMO We are a couple of players short for him to fullfill the role Rafa had planned for him, another winger and a pacy striker to play alongside him (Not Cisse).

4. how many goals can he realistically expect to score next season, assuming we are bringing in gonzalez and a right winger?

Maybe 5 or 6 more goals. He would have more service for headers probably and I bet Rafa will make him practice his heading a lot during the pre-season so that quantity seems correct :P . Whay I do believe is that if we bring a pacy striker to play alongside him, he will have much more assists than this season.

5. crouch for england now. starter or plan b?

Starter until rooney is fit. He will play with Owen up front as it is the best combination out of the chosen strikers at the moment IMO. After, if Rooney is fit, he'll go in as a sub at the end.

[marcus.c]

His heading. The rest of his game seems fine to me.

His heading seems fine? You must be kidding huh?

[Bad Bob]

His heading. The rest of his game seems fine to me.

His heading seems fine? You must be kidding huh?

Read the statement again and note the full-stop, lad...it all becomes clear! 

[gato_busta]

His heading. The rest of his game seems fine to me.

His heading seems fine? You must be kidding huh?

Read the statement again and note the full-stop, lad...it all becomes clear! 

Thanks for pointing that out to him Bad Bob

[Ciggy]

I hope he isnt the first name on the team sheet of every game next season, he should be used sparingly or when we play 5-4-1.
Ok him Morientes and Cisse have a lot of pressure on their shoulders because Liverpool is known for it to have excellent goal scoring fowards Fowler doesnt have to worry or prove anything.

But Barnes, Rush, Fowler, Owen, Dalglish and now Peter Crouch, I know he offers something different and he can change a game, but I think we need to buy two strikers in the summer if we are to challenge Chelsea, I like the lad as a person im not slating him but I would prefer to see someone else thats going to get us atleast 20 goals a season upfront and not depend on Gerrard getting us vital goals at vital times, it has to be the teams responsibilty and not just the captains.

Riise said after the game I knew we would'nt lose cause we had Gerrard on the pitch and he would get them out of the sh.it sort of thing.
This is not the attitude we want Rafa must have gone off his head infact he will still be fuming now.
He wants perfection, the teams been playing great even when Gerrard hasnt played, but lets not go back to how things have been the last few years by depending on the best player in the world .

[Espionage]

1.
I was one of the only people that was really happy with Crouch when he was signed, I thought a straight swap for Baros was good business and he would bring alot to the team. It was always obvious that Rafa was going to end up with 4-5-1 or 5-4-1 or a 4-4-1-1 that seems to change to 4-5-1 etc. We need a short-to-medium term fix striker until we go out and spend big, Rafa wont rush this decision, which i believe will make or break this team for the future in terms of a new dominant period in the Liverpool History. Well done on your first season, i expected a little more, but it is plain to see (if your have a footballing brain) that this guy brings alot to the team

2.
I wanted the guy to do so well, he was playing great but just couldnt get any luck, i had faith but i was still pretty scared that he was going to be a Morientes

3.
He needs strength! This will aid him with his headers. I think that people have a go at him alot for being bad in the air and I disagree.  If the ball is on the wing then Crouch will position himself on the opposite corner of the 6yard box and will hold that position and try and shoot from there, no wonder he doesnt get any power, he doesnt hit it with pace! (ala Cahill does this very well) Think back to his header goals, they were all on the move when he was running at the ball, not as a target man. Obviously Rafa has instructed him to do this as it fits more into our strategy of having wingers and Gerrard getting onto his knock-downs.  The thing that you can tell is that he follows instructions, Rafa would not stick with him if he wasnt deiciplined.  Once he learns which to knock down and which to shoot he will be much more effective. I predict a uncanny, almost scary link between him and Gerrard forming over the next 2 seasons. Every knockdown into space.................GERRARD!!!!!

4.
I predict he will be first choice striker and will get 19 all up with 13 coming in the Premier league.

5.
He will start and I look forward to watching him shine. I couldnt care less about England's world cup dream, Gerrard has nothing to prove (hes the best) but I would love to see Crouch and Carragher get the recognition they deserve!

[A.B.]

Riise said after the game I knew we would'nt lose cause we had Gerrard on the pitch and he would get them out of the sh.it sort of thing.
This is not the attitude we want Rafa must have gone off his head infact he will still be fuming now.

Actually he said that he was praying that somebody would do something special, Gerrard is a world class players and world class players do that. I see nothing wrong with that stament. If our players were depending on Gerrard every game then  you would have a point.

But they aren't. Prior to the FA Cup final, Gerrard had one or two good games. Team performances got us to the final not Gerrard bailing us out in every game.

[RAGE UK]

We have all seen some of what crouch can do he can score with his head and feet he can hold the ball up good passing abilities grate assistance for some good goals scored.
He is improving all the time.
He deserves his place in the world cup team and I think we will be screaming his name during the world cup because he is going to score goals for us.
And for Liverpool.
He links up with gerrard well.
And with the world cup under his belt I can see him being a key player for us this coming season.

Sometimes he makes me laugh with his long legs and arms bless him and so dose momo with his long legs and whit boots.

[alessandromagno]

I think he's a good player. I am worried that we might buy someone for millions who's no better than those we already have. I'm still not sure why Pongo left. He has pace, skill and youth on his side. I think all our current strikers give something different. Why get rid of any of them? I'd think about selling Moro--but I think he'll stay.