Time to take big Peter seriously
It’s time for the laughing to stop.
It’s been entertaining and pleasurable but we can no longer treat Peter Crouch as a figure of fun – the mocking must end and genuine appreciation take its place.
As centre forwards go, he looks nothing like one. In terms of stature he would fit in considerably better on a basketball court than a football pitch. He is tall, lanky and ungainly and has a face like a bulldog chewing nettles.
But, as nice as it may have been to take the mickey out of the giant of a footballer, it no longer feels right because, put quite simply, the boy can play. And play well.
When Crouch first made it into the football big time everyone loved to mock him. His beanpole legs were just made for teasing and his ambling run which make him look like he is constantly about to fall over did him no favours either.
However, I think the time has come for all of us who laughed to hold up our hands and admit we were oh so wrong. We are not dealing with a high-jumper who took a wrong turn, we are dealing with a young man who can score goals. And good ones at that too.
His record at international level is nothing short (sorry) of phenomenal with 11 goals in 14 games making him one of the best strikers in England’s history. And his record for Liverpool in recent months is starting to look darned healthy too – considering the Benitez rotation policy.
The final chapter in Peter’s transformation from ugly duckling to soccer swan came on Wednesday night in the Champions League.
The player whose socks would make sleeping bags for most people, scored twice in the 3-2 win over Galatasaray. The second of his strikes is surely a contender for one of the goals of the competition – an overhead kick from the middle of the box which screamed into the corner of the net.
Now, what you have to bear in mind here is that Crouch performing an overhead kick is like a Daddy Long Legs doing a handstand. It looked so wrong, but it worked so right.
The lad, simply put, has talent and plenty of it. He is quick, fleet of foot and extremely accurate. His lay-offs are excellent and he has a natural knack for being in the right place at the right time.
To be frank, having watched the Crouch transformation with interest over the past few years, I have to admit I was one of those who never really thought he would make the grade.
As an interesting and potentially useful substitute maybe, but surely not as a first team regular.
But I was wrong and I am not ashamed to admit it.
And all those people who have been dismissing Crouch as merely a player to bring on in case of emergency, both for Liverpool and England, now need to sit back and take a reality check.
He might not be the prettiest striker to ever play professional football. And he might run like a giraffe that is having trouble with its inner ear. But, at the end of the day when all is said and done, Peter Crouch is turning into one of the best strikers of his generation.
And that, like one of Peter’s 40-yard leggy stumbles, puts a smile on my face.
Wenger – job for life
Arsene Wenger has apparently been offered a job for life by Arsenal which is a fitting way for the club to mark the Frenchman’s 10-year anniversary today.
Whether or not he will accept it is quite another thing.
There is no doubting that Wenger does love the club. He has led them to more success than any other manager in their history and he is now at the beginning of building another side capable of taking on all comers.
On that basis, I would suggest his short to medium term future at the club is assured, certainly for another couple of years.
But there comes a time when everybody, no matter how successful or attached they are to a job, feels the need to move on if not to better things, then at least to different ones.
I have no doubt from watching Arsenal play this season that the new crop of players he is bringing through at the Emirates Stadium will win titles. They will also, most probably, finally bring the Champions League trophy to the club.
But once that last challenge has been completed, I have a sneaky feeling it won’t take long for Arsene to move on to pastures new – maybe to the French national team for example.
It would be a tragic loss for Arsenal but one which they will get over. But prior to joining the London club Wenger had never really done much else of note in the world of football management.
I think he will need another challenge before he gives up the management game once and for all, just to prove to himself that it was his input that brought success, not just circumstance.
Time will tell, but I would stick a fiver on Arsene being in charge of another team by 2010. Just a hunch, but a strong one.
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