Crouch on a different level to the rest

[scfcbiancorossi]

Was our stand out player today, thought he was magnificent. Is probably more technically gifted than our entire squad combined. People calling for Jones to return need to think long and hard about it.

Just goes to show if we give Crouch service he will do the business.

p.s when will Walters be dropped for Jerome?

March 2014?

Good effort from the team today, just not quite enough quality. Shawcross very good. Hate to say it but Etherington really does look like a player who is struggling. Whether his legs have gone, whether its his age, whether its confidence...whatever it is, he isnt improving, and its a sad situation but highlights just how desperately we need a winger.

Shotton is not a winger.

[nystoke]

Great first touch

[sutekh]

Having crouch in our side is like putting a lamborghini engine into a fucking vauxhall corsa.

[ashurley86]

I though Wilko was the best player on the pitch for us today... Looked really up for it!

[robboleek]

I said just after we signed him that he may prove to be to good for us in relation to the way we play and i still think this.

[ches47]

Quite right. Shotton isn't a Premiere League player. End of!

[tomsviews]

Crouch has been very impressive since he signed, i thought he would be to weak to play in the Stoke team but i was wrong.

His work rate and goalscoring has impressed me very much since he signed.

[Deleted]

Its almost as if this fact surpises stokies - a quality player in the top flight for years

Intenrational honours too and a decent goalscoring tally to boot

and yet some stokies dont seem to rate him - always amazes me

Perhaps the most appropriate response to the headline post on this thread

no shit sherlock !

[penkvillepotter]

Forget the fact that the bloke can actually trap a ball, lay it off, for him to be in double figures in a team that doesn't create many chances is in my opinion pretty damn good.

[manchesterpotter]

He's absolutely class.

Bagged his 11th goal for us today, which is extremely impressive considering how abysmal we've been in the final third of the pitch. His control and skill with the ball is amazing, and some of his link up play today was sublime.

The best player we've for a long, long time.

[supersimonstainrod]

His first touch is magnificent,just a shame we don''t gamble a bit more by allowing the midfielders to get closer to him,they should be bursting into the box from his lay offs.....

[northantsash]

best attacking player we have had in a long time and as the op says, unfortunately light years ahead of walters and the midfield in terms of footballing ability and brains.
would love to see him with jerome on a regular basis or even paired with ric the prick, as they would probably pick up more on his intentions when he has the ball.

crouch needs to be the focal point around which the team is changed, to score 11 by march in a pulisball side is some achievement, imagine how many he would get in a decent side if played weekly.

[boweryboy]

thats because he is 6 foot 7.......

[mailman44]

He has maybe two more goOd years left in him. We need to maximize this or he will waste away. Service to him has got to improve next season or we play Pennant.

[FullerMagic]

He needs some pace alongside him.

I don't really know how we're going to achieve this, but there's absolutely no future in a Walters-Crouch partnership.

[manchesterpotter]

Mar 18, 2012 20:07:17 GMT mailman44 said:

He has maybe two more goOd years left in him. We need to maximize this or he will waste away. Service to him has got to improve next season or we play Pennant.

Nonsense. He'll be a quality player for at least another 4 years.

Pace and stamina has never been part of his game, but service has. We give him service in the and around the box and he'll knock in goals until the end of his contract.

[onionman]

Mar 18, 2012 20:08:17 GMT FullerMagic said:

He needs some pace alongside him.

I don't really know how we're going to achieve this, but there's absolutely no future in a Walters-Crouch partnership.

Do you think Pulis is ever going to drop either of them though?

Assuming he won't, could it be more effective if we get in a good right winger and Ethers recovers some form? Crosses into the box will bring Crouch goals, even if we'd still lack pace in the middle.

[roylandstoke]

Scored a good goal from a perfect corner.

Can't remember him causing their defenders any other problems at all.

[Deleted]

Peter Crouch has done amazing to score goals in our set up. We create next to nothing. To get the best out of him you have to get players around him. That means allowing a midfield player to brak forward and go beyond him. Lets face it thats not going to happen in a Pulis team.

[roylandstoke]

Mar 18, 2012 20:58:06 GMT greenhoff said:

Peter Crouch has done amazing to score goals in our set up. We create next to nothing. To get the best out of him you have to get players around him. That means allowing a midfield player to brak forward and go beyond him. Lets face it thats not going to happen in a Pulis team.

Peter Crouch is a bloody good player.
I think he is at the wrong club.

[OldStokie]

Mar 18, 2012 21:00:34 GMT roylandstoke said:

Mar 18, 2012 20:58:06 GMT greenhoff said:

Peter Crouch has done amazing to score goals in our set up. We create next to nothing. To get the best out of him you have to get players around him. That means allowing a midfield player to brak forward and go beyond him. Lets face it thats not going to happen in a Pulis team.

Peter Crouch is a bloody good player.
I think he is at the wrong club.

I was just thinking thank God he's here!

OS.

[Olgrligm]

I'm scratching my head at this a little, to be honest.

You can't knock Crouch's scoring record with us. 11 goals is a respectable tally in a team that don't create a lot of chances.

However, goal from the set piece asides, he was pretty ineffective today and gave Skrtel very few problems. He's just not mobile enough.

[beralus]

Don't always agree with you biancorossi, but I agree with everything you put here. Spot on and I thought Shawcross was top class today too

[davejohnno1]

I'm with you mystical. Crouch did OK at times but his lack of movement and pace, particularly in a team as poor as ours, really stands out at times.

In what I thought was a very good Stoke showing on the day, I left the game thinking that it was our forward players on the day (Shotton, Etherington, Walters, Crouch, Jerome and Pennant) that actually cost us.

They caused Liverpool absolutely no problems at all other than set-pieces and Walters attempt when clean through on goal was nothing short of embarrassing.

[roylandstoke]

Jones got 12 last year.
Crouch will probably get a couple more this year.

[OldStokie]

I can't see how anybody can knock Crouchy. Today, he was playing link-man, and he scored our goal. What else is he expected to do?

OS.

[roylandstoke]

Mar 18, 2012 21:16:07 GMT davejohnno1 said:

I'm with you mystical. Crouch did OK at times but his lack of movement and pace, particularly in a team as poor as ours, really stands out at times.

In what I thought was a very good Stoke showing on the day, I left the game thinking that it was our forward players on the day (Shotton, Etherington, Walters, Crouch, Jerome and Pennant) that actually cost us.

They caused Liverpool absolutely no problems at all other than set-pieces and Walters attempt when clean through on goal was nothing short of embarrassing.

Spot on.

[scfcbiancorossi]

Mar 18, 2012 21:06:38 GMT Olgrligm said:

I'm scratching my head at this a little, to be honest.

You can't knock Crouch's scoring record with us. 11 goals is a respectable tally in a team that don't create a lot of chances.

However, goal from the set piece asides, he was pretty ineffective today and gave Skrtel very few problems. He's just not mobile enough.

Funny how 2 people can see a game of footy so differently. For me he was central to everything we had going forward. Our wide men were shocking and he was involve in everything positive. Linked up with Walters a couple of times (unfortunately Walters not quite on the same wavelength at times), and he took defenders with him creating space for those around him.

The other way of seeing it is he was not massively effective but was very easy on the eye, incredible first touch, good tide passing and fancy back flicks.

Personally if the latter is true then I dont care. I want to be entertained for my money...and in my opinion he gave people entertainment today...not just because of his goal...but because of his genuine good quality football with the ball at his feet.

I'm perfectly happy seeing players do flicks etc all day long, providing they are clinical in what they do. He does both.

Dave...its ok saying it was our attacking play that cost us (i believe what you say is true of our wingers and possibly Walters)...but surely if you told TP you would go to Anfield and score a goal...he would take it before kick off. You cant go to places like that and expect to score 2 or 3 goals. The reality was...we did our usual and sat back second half, gave them far too much space, and they punished us...that in my opinion has nothing to do with the likes of Crouch.

[davejohnno1]

The reality is that they are 3 points above us in the league.

The reality is that for large spells of today's game we were the better of the two sides.

The reality is that despite this, we caused them little or no problem at the back. Our wingers were poor and our forwards were poor.

Crouch was the least culpable for sure and he showed some great aspects to his game but he also looked a complete muppet on more than one occasion when his inability to run made a mug of him.

Our lack of pace and movement, which Crouch undoubtedly contributes to, is a real concern and needs to be addressed for next season.

[skelman]

Lots of positives but still expends too much energy in almost closing down the opposition when in possession. Doesn't quite get there too many times ???