Peter Crouch

[Lee W]

Certainly not the most popular signing we've made in recent times, but think he did well overall considering some of the unfair sh*t he got from The Press. Scored a few goals, set a few up....

 

B+ from me.

 

Anyone else a bit happier than what they were last August.

[Owen1978]

7/10

Edited May 3, 2006 by Owen1978

[Rushian]

He's done ok, no more.

[Guest ynwa77]

i think he has done extremely well, considering the questioning and ,for 2 parts of the season, abuse,he was given.

not so much abuse by reds, but other supporters.

his first touch is good for someone who is 9ft 6, his headers tend to lack the verocity you'd expect ,but all in all i'd mark him down as 7/10 for the season,10/10 for the goal against manc.

[Guest JimmyJames]

Certainly not the most popular signing we've made in recent times, but think he did well overall considering some of the unfair sh*t he got from The Press. Scored a few goals, set a few up....

 

B+ from me.

 

Anyone else a bit happier than what they were last August.

 

He's been alright. Not great, but we probably wouldn't have as many points as we have without him.

[Guest Anders Honoré]

He's done ok, no more.

 

just about. Shown he can do a job for us, but we do need more up front.

[monkey puzzle]

We owe a big part of our new league form to him but I still think he can do better. Seems very popular amongst the the players as well.

 

B

[smithdown]

Certainly not the most popular signing we've made in recent times, but think he did well overall considering some of the unfair sh*t he got from The Press. Scored a few goals, set a few up....

 

B+ from me.

 

Anyone else a bit happier than what they were last August.

 

 

Spot on.

 

Considering the player he looked last season we should all take our hats off to Rafa. Its almost as if he thought 'OK lets take the most ridiculed player in the league and take them all on with him"

[Guest Anders Honoré]

He scored more goal for the saints last season than he has for us. It's not as if he has undergone some kind of radical transformation since signing for us.

[smithdown]

He scored more goal for the saints last season than he has for us. It's not as if he has undergone some kind of radical transformation since signing for us.

 

 

Did anyone think he could cope with playing at our level though?

[Stevie H]

think he's shown that he can perform at our level and that there's a lot more to come from him. certainly if he has a poacher playing alongside him.

 

most impressive for me has been the way he handled the press and opposing fan criticism when he wasn't scoring. his attitude has been a credit to him all season long.

[fred milne]

Considering the player he looked last season we should all take our hats off to Rafa. Its almost as if he thought 'OK lets take the most ridiculed player in the league and take them all on with him"

I'm not sure I follow that. Last season, he scored a good number of goals in the second half of the season in a struggling side and won his first cap for England.

 

Did anyone think he could cope with playing at our level though?

He has, though.

[Lee W]

Did anyone think he could cope with playing at our level though?

 

Nope - think he was maybe a bit overrawed to start with but the Mancs at Anfield was when I thought we had a player. His technique was superb that day and he gave Ferdinand and Silvestre the runaround.

 

Strange player though, not many strikers have good games without scoring.

 

He should be more effective next season if we can bag a nippy striker with some guile and intelligence.

[Bailo]

He's totally revolutionised the way we play, our defence is under so much less pressure when he's on the pitch, the ball doesn't come pinging back like it did/does with Cisse/Moro/Baros.

[smithdown]

think he's shown that he can perform at our level and that there's a lot more to come from him. certainly if he has a poacher playing alongside him.

 

most impressive for me has been the way he handled the press and opposing fan criticism when he wasn't scoring. his attitude has been a credit to him all season long.

 

 

Is right.

 

Playing and scoring for Southampton was one thing but performing under the spotlight at Anfield has been quite an achievement. He's shown himself to be close to the transfer value Rafa placed on him, which would have been a bizarre thing to say in the summer.

[Rory Fitzgerald]

He is another cog in a 'work in progress', I expect to see better next season if we improve the squad with a better partner and another wide player with Gonzalez.

[Dule]

I think he has done well, but lets not get to carried away.

 

I also think that he will actually be better next year, when our team learn to use him better, and he settles ever more so into the team.

[Bailo]

I also think that he will actually be better next year, when our team learn to use him better, and he settles ever more so into the team.

Completely agree with that. Watching Crouchy up with God made me drool, compared to being paired with Cisse and to a lesser extent, Moro.

[owenthomas]

Nope - think he was maybe a bit overrawed to start with but the Mancs at Anfield was when I thought we had a player. His technique was superb that day and he gave Ferdinand and Silvestre the runaround.

 

Strange player though, not many strikers have good games without scoring.

 

He should be more effective next season if we can bag a nippy striker with some guile and intelligence.

good points Lee..

 

with regards to the Mancs game - which one do you mean > the league match or FA Cup? the league game for me he was excellent but it also underlined the 'problem' we have with Crouchy - ie he was winning everything and generally holding the ball up well but there wasn't enough running off of him.. in the end i felt Ferdinand etc just stood off him and went for the 2nd ball that no-one was there attempting to latch on to.. get that nippy striker you mention and that would solve that once and for all i reckon..

[Lee W]

good points Lee..

 

with regards to the Mancs game - which one do you mean > the league match or FA Cup? the league game for me he was excellent but it also underlined the 'problem' we have with Crouchy - ie he was winning everything and generally holding the ball up well but there wasn't enough running off of him.. in the end i felt Ferdinand etc just stood off him and went for the 2nd ball that no-one was there attempting to latch on to.. get that nippy striker you mention and that would solve that once and for all i reckon..

 

Yeah, the League game. His touch and control that day was top drawer.

 

The lanky streak of p*ss.

[CaptainXabi]

Crouch gets a B- for me. Strikers are there to score and he hasn't done it enough. Fair enough he holds the ball up and all that, but goals are king in my book. I'd like to see a strike rate of about 0.4 goals/game from him.

[_00_deathscar]

A solid B from me.

 

Said on another forum that if he'd have about 5 to 7 more goals this season, he'd be an A-.

[McBain]

He's done better than I expected, but then again I expected little

 

I goes without saying that if he's to be a mainstay of the team again next season he needs the right player alongside him. And I dont think we have that player in our squad at the moment

 

With some of the problems in his game there's nothing he can do about it, such as lack of pace. But things like heading he definitely needs to improve

[Benitez]

He's done well, considering how unsettled our forward lines have been all season. He's had to contend with a whole host of different strikers, or 2nd strikers alongside / just behind him.

 

Alongside a more consistent player, a goal-getter, he'd also be more consistent.

 

He's a good strong player, who's helped us improve a lot this season in the league, which was the main objective.

 

He's never going to be a 20-25 goals a season type player, and wasn't brought in here with that in mind, but alongside the right players he can get maybe 15 a season, plus he sets up a fair few goals, thats a decent return for his type of forward.

 

So Crouchy gets a B from me, as he's done well, and coped well in a rather unsettled forward line.

[Lee W]

I'd like to see a strike rate of about 0.4 goals/game from him.

 

So, only marginally worse than Rushie then