Crouch

[rage]

he's under pressure. we have 2 new strikers and he also played 2nd fiddle to kuyt last season. If he gets a run in the team he'll come good. I prefer crouch to kuyt - this was not my opinion when we signed crouch but he was without doubt our best striker last year.

[Kopite_Colin]

Crouch will have to do what everybody else will have to do this season...battle for his place.

[JPK]

I think Crouch is by far the best player to go with if we want to play 1 up top.

I have to admit he's looked a little off his game though in pre-season, especially the match he started out in Hong Kong and yesterday.

Ya but he has to get the ball straight too him.Plus with a big man up there,we have a tendancy take the lazy option and lump long balls.
Torres has a bit of everything and is very capable of running the line alone.
I prefer Kuyt to Crouch.He works harder,puts himself about more I think Kuyt will really shine this year.Crouch and Heskey are similar in how they react after having a chance that is saved by the keeper,but spilled.They put there hands on there heads instead of instinctively throwing themselves at the rebound.Annoys me bigtime.

[dww]

Ok he is'nt an impact player.We have problems on the wings and clearly need a clinical striker.So we got Babel who has pace to burn and can break quick,Yossi who can make mazy runs and thread lovely balls to strikers and Torres who I feel will be top class for us.Rafa's idea must be to have more pace and movement and get more into the box.I just dont see how Crouch will fit into this style of play.

I think on form Crouch can fit into the system as he is willing to put the work in and is a consistent goal threat now. A major role for Uniteds striker in the last two seasons has been to use their movement to open up space for others.

I think like a number of players in our squad Crouch needs to lift his game to have a long term future with us. However if he were to raise his game to the way he played against Arsenal on a more regular basis he would be first name on peoples team sheet so it is quite possible.

Also I think people are wrong about Crouch being an impact player. I know he doesn't score off the bench but he does cause panic and allows us to play in different ways which has often changed the flow of a game.

[bigfooty]

When Kuyt plays up top on his own it always ends badly. We lose focus in attack, don't make enough of when we get the ball into wide positions and often find ourselves short of a general presence in the attacking third.

Kuyt works best with someone alongside him, Crouch probably works best on his own. That said Crouch setup more goals than Kuyt last season and also played the final pass / flick for a fair number of Kuyt's.

[JPK]

I think on form Crouch can fit into the system as he is willing to put the work in and is a consistent goal threat now. A major role for Uniteds striker in the last two seasons has been to use their movement to open up space for others.

I think like a number of players in our squad Crouch needs to lift his game to have a long term future with us. However if he were to raise his game to the way he played against Arsenal on a more regular basis he would be first name on peoples team sheet so it is quite possible.

Also I think people are wrong about Crouch being an impact player. I know he doesn't score off the bench but he does cause panic and allows us to play in different ways which has often changed the flow of a game.

We signed him to have a target man who could give us options and to convert crosses with his head.He has improved his heading but still is'nt that good at it.His movement is woeful and he has no pace.Drogba for example is the perfect player at this role.Dean Ashton for me would give us more than Crouch.Last year we played Blackburn and had been unbeaten in a good few games going into the Ewood game.He got 3glorious chances in the first half and missed them all and they beat us one nil after.The Man u game at Anfield he had a chance at the back post and missed at a vital stage in the game and them ******s beat us after too.Top players take them important chances and realistically Crouch is not a top player.I am just being realistic.
It will drive me mental if we go through the same crap this year.I am just concerned that is all.

[JPK]

When Kuyt plays up top on his own it always ends badly. We lose focus in attack, don't make enough of when we get the ball into wide positions and often find ourselves short of a general presence in the attacking third.

Kuyt works best with someone alongside him, Crouch probably works best on his own. That said Crouch setup more goals than Kuyt last season and also played the final pass / flick for a fair number of Kuyt's.

Kuyt and Bellamy played well together as Kuyt is cute and Bellamy had the pace to link up well with him.Torres and Kuyt will be good in the same way for us I think.

[dww]

We signed him to have a target man who could give us options and to convert crosses with his head.He has improved his heading but still is'nt that good at it.His movement is woeful and he has no pace.Drogba for example is the perfect player at this role.Dean Ashton for me would give us more than Crouch.Last year we played Blackburn and had been unbeaten in a good few games going into the Ewood game.He got 3glorious chances in the first half and missed them all and they beat us one nil after.The Man u game at Anfield he had a chance at the back post and missed at a vital stage in the game and them ******s beat us after too.Top players take them important chances and realistically Crouch is not a top player.I am just being realistic.
It will drive me mental if we go through the same crap this year.I am just concerned that is all.

His movement is actually pretty good IMO, he moves players around a lot and often finds himself free at the back of the box and far post, but you are right he does have no pace. Defenses find him hard to handle and he is a valuable option in the squad, personally I think he will only be used in certain games/situations. I'm not in the camp who think he will or should start most games for us.

Dean Ashton has not been fit for over a year and has played very few games in the PL. He looks good but he has hardly established himself as doing anything much consistently and also has no pace.

[Shaggy]

A few underwhelming performances in pre-season friendlies and all of a sudden he's not good enough. Again. Never mind the 18 goals last season including 7 or 8 in the Champions League.

Until Torres proves otherwise, Crouch is our best goalscorer.

[JPK]

A few underwhelming performances in pre-season friendlies and all of a sudden he's not good enough. Again. Never mind the 18 goals last season including 7 or 8 in the Champions League.

Until Torres proves otherwise, Crouch is our best goalscorer.

I based it on 3years actually.He has equally as much good games as he does bad games.He has never really convinced me and the bottom line is that he is not Liverpool class.

[Shaggy]

Well I think he's proved otherwise, and clearly Benitez does too. While Crouch has been with us, Rafa has shipped out Morientes, Fowler, Cissé and Bellamy - and kept Crouch. He's proved his worth to us and there's no doubt in my mind he's a valuable squad member.

[dww]

Well I think he's proved otherwise, and clearly Benitez does too. While Crouch has been with us, Rafa has shipped out Morientes, Fowler, Cissé and Bellamy - and kept Crouch. He's proved his worth to us and there's no doubt in my mind he's a valuable squad member.

[Red_Polo]

Well I think he's proved otherwise, and clearly Benitez does too. While Crouch has been with us, Rafa has shipped out Morientes, Fowler, Cissé and Bellamy - and kept Crouch. He's proved his worth to us and there's no doubt in my mind he's a valuable squad member.

I can see the point Pat's making but I have to say I really don't agree with it. In Crouch's first season with us we played some very crisp passing football and he might not have been scoring as regularly as he has since, but he was absolutely pivotal to the way we played.

If you look at the way Arsenal played with Bergkamp, it was obvious he didn't have the pace to play the direct pass and run type stuff they excelled at, but not everyone has to play the same way. Bergkamp acted as a pivot for the runners around him. I think Crouch and Kuyt can both perform a similar role.

Obviously Bergkamp had different qualities to these two, but the point is that lacking in pace whilst playing for a very direct team needn't leave you redundant as a forward. Crouch and Kuyt both have a physical presence that they can use to hold the ball while the runners break. It needn't slow us down - they can release the ball just as soon as the more dynamic players around them break free, before supplementing the attack themselves.

[JPK]

Well I think he's proved otherwise, and clearly Benitez does too. While Crouch has been with us, Rafa has shipped out Morientes, Fowler, Cissé and Bellamy - and kept Crouch. He's proved his worth to us and there's no doubt in my mind he's a valuable squad member.

Fowler was brought in for free to give the fans a lift and he was well past his best.Cisse was never liked by Rafa and nothing he did was good enough.
Moro was'nt suited and could not get to the pace and Bellamy was a headcase and never got the space he was used to at smaller clubs and was'nt smart enough to play with us.Due to Crouch's size he will always be a target when he plays.If him and Voronin are playing for example and the ball goes out wide,then 7/10 times we will cross for Crouch.Carra hits him alot with long balls from the back.For the amount of posession he gets though,he still does not do enough for us.

[dww]

Fowler was brought in for free to give the fans a lift and he was well past his best.Cisse was never liked by Rafa and nothing he did was good enough.
Moro was'nt suited and could not get to the pace and Bellamy was a headcase and never got the space he was used to at smaller clubs and was'nt smart enough to play with us.

I think the point is though that if Rafa doesn't feel a striker is working out he doesn't hesitate to sell them on or release them.