Peter Crouch

SO, it’s farewell to ‘the 6ft 7in Peter Crouch’ as he came to be known by all the popular press and TV commentators.

Our erstwhile centre-forward, doomed forever to be known by various epithets which deride his unusual physique, leaves with some reluctance on both sides but for the best of reasons – he wants to play football rather than sit bent double under the Perspex roofs of dug-outs the length and breadth of the land.

Many eyebrows were raised when Rafa splashed out £7million for Crouch in the summer of 2005; indeed mine were so high that I needed a fishing net to bring them down again.

Doubts that the much-travelled striker had what it takes to succeed at Liverpool were reinforced by his long wait for his first goal, though strangely this seemed to strengthen his support in the crowd, as Kopites rallied round to defend him against increasing ridicule from outside of the city (and indeed from half of it inside as well).

While in itself no indicator of talent – remember that Erik Meijer was a Kop favourite – the support offered by the knowledgeable Anfield crowd revealed growing recognition that Crouchy had a role to play, in terms of holding the ball up and offering an aerial presence, which had previously been lacking.

Indeed, his ability to retain possession while others joined the attack was credited by Benitez as a major reason for the improvement in our away form in that first season.

When the goals began to flow, albeit irregularly, the quality of the player became evident, drawing seemingly grudging praise from those outside Merseyside.

For even when scoring goals for both club and country, Crouch seems destined to be damned by faint praise.