The Crouch Conundrum

When we first went in for Peter Crouch, I can honestly say that I did feel the pit of my stomach turn in on itself. After mulling over the deal, I thought I should at least give the player the benefit of the doubt.

The decision to like the lad came along when a large portion of my family (a fair few of them are Liverpool fans, true Kopites), told me that Crouchie would be an asset; a player we could count on.

Well, that was in August of 2009. We are in February of 2010 now and I am still waiting to see "the asset that we can count on". I know, I've got my Tottenham Hotspur head on and nothing is ever good enough, but let's be honest, can anyone truly tell me that the signing of Crouch has improved our squad?

Maybe that's a bit below the belt. Crouch has improved our squad, as he offers another dimension. But has the lad offered anything in terms of skill, graft and goals towards the starting eleven? If he has, please let me know, for I have watched him play home and away this season, yet, I have seen nothing that has made me think "wow, what a player!".

I get that feeling when I see Modric play, yet with Crouch, I feel nothing, nada, zilch. In fact, we've now been labelled "long-ball merchants". Fair enough, as Harry says, we play to our strengths, but if you remember just a while back, we were starting with Keano and Defoe up top, and we certainly weren't playing the long-ball system.

Therefore, if anyone can let me know what Peter Crouch has brought to the table, please do.

Some Yidites have said that this blip is down to us losing the pace of Lennon. "With Aaron in the side we really do come on leaps and bounds, and that includes Crouchie". But if we've come to the point wherein Crouch plays better only when Azza is around, then we need to rethink our tactics.

Let's be clear about something, I do think Peter Crouch could do a job for a Premier League side. God knows a large contingent of my family wish he was still up at Anfield, yet, I don't think he's a Spurs player. Trust me, I hate saying that; after all, what is a Spurs player? You tell me. It's just that whenever I see Crouchie play, I sort of know what's coming; a weak shot here, a tame header there, an 80 yard diagonal from either Dawson or Corluka, etc. Am I being too tough on the lad?

One player I have been tough on in the past, is Roman Pavlyuchenko. I am, though, one of the Pav faithful. Those of you who visit The Lane, can hear us singing Pavlyuchenko's name out when he warms up. Harry recently has given Bale (what a player!) and Bentley (very much improved) a run in the side, and look at how that's turned out! Why can't he give The Pavmeister a run in the side? Let's see what the lad can do. Like many of you who watch him play, you can sense that there's more to this player than meets the eye. If only he put a bit more into it. It's like you can sense that there's a zest of skill trapped in his Russian frame, dying to get out, yet, we wait.

The difference with Pav and Crouch is that both have given us ample proof of their tame shots and pointless headers, yet with Crouch, I sense that's all I'm going to see, while with Pav, I expect more from him. Is it because he's got a fanciful foreign name? Who knows?

With the transfer window closed, Pav is going to be a Lilywhite until the end of the season at the very least, and possibly even beyond that. So, come on Harry, give the lad a run in the team. We've all seen what Crouch can do, now let's be having some Pav!


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