On 22nd January 2005, a struggling Liverpool lost 2-0 at Southampton. On a day when the Reds fielded the likes of veteran Mauricio Pellegrino and rookie David Raven at the back, the defence were run ragged by the Saints' much travelled striker Peter Crouch, who scored one of the goals. The six months that followed were eventful for Rafa Benitez's men, they won a European Cup no less, but the Spanish boss never forgot that day at St. Mary's, and followed the progress of the 6ft 7ins forward closely.
Southampton were relegated that season, and Crouch signed for Liverpool for £7m in July, just a few weeks after making his England debut. The move raised eyebrows, the striker had played for six clubs in the previous seven years, and many doubted his ability to step up to the challenge of playing for the European champions. He set up a goal for Djibril Cisse on his competitive debut in Kaunas, Lithuania, in a Champions League qualifier, and was quickly becoming an integral part of the Liverpool side. The one thing he could not buy though was a goal. He had a strike disallowed on his Premier League debut at White Hart Lane, and the three months that followed saw Crouch's search for his first Reds goal become headline news. His size, coupled with doubts about his ability to cut it at top Premier League level, led to many in the media ridiculing the striker and making him a national joke. He missed several chances in a league game at Aston Villa and a home Champions League tie with Real Betis, before missing a penalty at home to Portsmouth; being let off the hook by an alert Bolo Zenden heading in the rebound.
Crouch's hard work for the team and his genial nature meant that Liverpool fans and players were patient with him though, citing his all-round game as a reason behind the Reds' gradual improvement. That elusive first goal finally arrived on 3rd December, as Crouch's shot looped wildly off Wigan's Arjan De Zeeuw and deceived goalkeeper Mike Pollitt to put Liverpool 1-0 up at Anfield. While many in the media seemed determined to take the goal away from him, he struck again twenty minutes later, lobbing home Steve Finnan's through ball. What is it they say about London buses? Liverpool were in good form, and Crouch went on to score five goals in his next five starts, including the opener in a 3-1 Merseyside derby win at Goodison Park.
The FA Cup was looking to be the Reds' best route to silverware in 2006, and Peter scored the vital goal as Manchester United were beaten 1-0 in the fifth round, before hitting a brace in a 7-0 quarter-final hammering of Birmingham City at St. Andrews. Chelsea were beaten in the semi-finals before West Ham awaited in the Final in Cardiff. A remarkable final stood at 2-0 to the Hammers when Peter had a goal disallowed, before a Steven Gerrard-inspired comeback saw Liverpool fight back to draw 3-3 and win on penalties; Crouch's first major honour in club football. He had scored 13 goals in his debut season, and was fast becoming a vital cog in Benitez's Liverpool machine. The national media were now on his side too, as his 'robot dance' performed in a pre-World Cup England friendly swept the nation, and Peter scored in the Finals themselves; notching a vital header against Trinidad & Tobago. (Mark Jones)
The picture above of Peter Crouch was taken during the Champions League Final in Athens
on May 23rd. 2007 by George Herringshaw. ©
Back
at Anfield, competition for places increased for the 2006/07 season as
Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy joined Peter and Robbie Fowler on
Liverpool's striking staff, but Crouch was in good form, scoring winners
in the Community Shield against Chelsea, the Premier League against
West Ham and a Champions League qualifier with Maccabi Haifa. Kuyt was
becoming the first choice striker though, and with Bellamy's pace and
directness proving important for Benitez, Peter found himself in and out
of the side. He was taking the Champions League by storm though,
scoring twice - one a sublime scissor kick volley - in a 3-2 Anfield win
over Galatasaray before further strikes against Bordeaux and PSV
Eindhoven. The year 2007 got off to a stunning start with another
scissor kick against Bolton on New Years' Day followed by a double at
Watford, before Peter required an operation on his nose after breaking
it against Sheffield United.
He returned in spectacular style,
scoring a 'perfect' hat-trick in his best ever Liverpool performance, a
4-1 win over Arsenal, before goals in both legs as PSV were seen off
again in the Champions League quarter-finals. After Chelsea were beaten
in the semis, many fans called for Peter, the clubs' top scorer with 18
goals, to start the Final with Milan in Athens, but to his undoubted
disappointment he watched on from the bench until the 77th minute. Four
minutes after his introduction, Filippo Inzaghi's second of the game
effectively killed off Liverpool, and despite an encouraging cameo from
Peter (the photo above is during the final), and a late consolation strike from Kuyt, they were a beaten side.
Any
lingering disappointment felt after Athens was washed away by the club
record £26.5 million signing of Spanish superstar Fernando Torres in
July, and coupled with the arrival of Ukrainian forward Andriy Voronin,
Peter knew that the battle for a first team place would be as tough as
ever. He would have to get used to watching on from the bench in the
2007/08 season but, when selected, he notched twice as Turkish side
Besiktas were swatted aside 8-0 on a Champions League record-breaking
night at Anfield in November. Liverpool, though, now looked at their
most menacing when Gerrard played just off lone striker Torres, leaving
Crouch with a lack of opportunities. He struck a late equaliser at home
to former club Aston Villa, but rumours were now abound that he was set
for a transfer away from Anfield, with clubs seemingly queuing up to
take him. A sublime goal for a makeshift Liverpool at Arsenal in April
2008 earned Peter a start when the two sides met again four days later
in the Champions League, and he performed well as Liverpool won an epic
quarter-final 4-2 to go through 5-3 on aggregate. His exit was now
inevitable, and a goal at Birmingham in late April, when the Reds
battled back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2, was his 42nd and last for the
club. Crouch joined Harry Redknapp's FA Cup winners Portsmouth for £9m
(rising to a possible £11m) in July, citing an understandable need for
first team football. Fondly remembered at Anfield, the likeable Peter
Crouch proved that the critics aren't always right. (Mark Jones)