Players - Peter Crouch

Peter Crouch
Birthdate: 30 January 1981
Birthplace: Macclesfield, England
Other clubs: Tottenham Hotspur (1997-2000), Dulwich Hamlet (loan 2000), IFK Hässleholm (loan 2000), Queens Park Rangers (2000-01), Portsmouth (2001-02), Aston Villa (2002-04), Norwich City (loan 2003), Southampton (2004-05), Portsmouth (2 / 2008-09), Tottenham Hotspur (2 / 2009-11), Stoke City (2011-19), Burnley (2019)
Signed from: Southampton
Signed for LFC: £7m, 20.07.2005
International debut: 31.05.2005 vs. Colombia
International caps: 42/22 (27/14 at LFC) - 17.11.2010
Liverpool debut: 26.07.2005
Last appearance: 26.04.2008
Debut goal: 03.12.2005
Last goal: 26.04.2008
Contract expiry: 11.07.2008
Win ratio: 58.96% W:79 D:27 L:28
Games/goals ratio: 3.19
Games/assists ratio: 7.88
Honours: FA Cup 2006
Total games/goals opposite LFC: 25 / 4
League games / goals / assists: 85 / 22 / 12
Total games / goals / assists: 134 / 42 / 17

Player Profile

A towering 6 ft. 7 ins. (201 cm.) forward who started his career as a trainee at Tottenham in 1998. Following two loan spells at Dulwich Hamlet and in Sweden he was sold for £60,000 to QPR in the Second Division where he scored 12 goals in 47 games. He left for Portsmouth in the First Division only a year later and blossomed under the guidance of Harry Redknapp, scoring 18 league goals in his eight months at the club. Premier League's Aston Villa forked out £5 million in March 2002 for his services. However, Crouch failed to impress at Villa and after 43 games and six goals he was sold to Southampton in July 2004 for £2 million. Crouch finally took to life in the Premier League, scoring 12 goals in 27 but couldn't prevent Southampton's relegation. His performances didn't go unnoticed by Sven Göran Eriksson who handed him his international debut. Rafa Benítez fought a powerful campaign with Liverpool's hierarchy to get his player. Crouch famously had considerable trouble in scoring his first goal for the Reds. He finally broke the deadlock with a fluke goal against Wigan on 3 December 2005 when he had played 1,229 minutes without scoring. He added a second against Wigan and scored five more goals in December. After netting the winning goal against WBA on New Year's Eve, Crouch didn't score for another eight games until he knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup fifth round with a powerful header.

"Had I not become a footballer, I think I would have been a virgin." - Crouch on Sky Sports' Soccer AM.

Crouch gained more confidence in his scoring ability in his second season at Liverpool, but curiously Rafa started him in only 30 games, compared to 42 the previous season. "Crouchinho" had unusual skill for such a tall player and scored two acrobatic goals against Galatasaray and Bolton and a sensational hat-trick against Arsenal in the Premier League on 31 March 2007, scoring with his head, right foot and left foot. Crouch's Anfield future was constantly questioned as the 2007/08 season unfolded with his manager electing to start him in only nine league games, coming on as a substitute a further 12 times. This was a regular, yet, strange occurrence because Crouch was unlikely to make as big an impact from the bench. He still managed to score eleven goals during the season, including the first and last in the 8-0 mauling of Besiktas in the Champions League. It was inevitable that most discussions about Crouch revolved around his height and in that respect he was something of a 'specialist' striker. Fernando Torres' arrival at Liverpool meant that the popular humourist was no longer first choice and Redknapp brought Crouch back to Portsmouth in July 2008. Crouch's second spell on the south coast with Pompey could not be considered a failure as he scored 16 goals in 48 first-team matches. Redknapp left to become Tottenham's new boss and he signed Crouch in July 2009 for £9 million. 

Crouch enjoyed an excellent 2009/10 season with Tottenham, appearing in all 38 Premier League matches but only scoring eight times, including the priceless goal away to Manchester City near the end of the season that ensured Spurs would finish fourth in the table. Crouch continued to be a regular in the England squad under Fabio Capello, just as he had been under his predecessor, Steve McLaren, but despite being so prolific for the international side he was given only two appearances as a late substitute in England's disastrous 2010 World Cup. Curiously, Crouch hasn't featured for England since he scored in a 2-1 defeat to France on 17 November 2010, having scored a total of 22 goals in 42 internationals. Crouch played in 34 Premier League matches for Tottenham in 2010/11 and was very prolific in Europe, scoring seven goals in ten matches. Crouch scored a hat-trick against Young Boys to ensure that Spurs reached the group stage of the Champions League for the first time as well as netting the winner against Milan in Italy in the last 16, but was sent off for two bookable offences early in the first leg of the quarter-final against Real in Madrid. Crouch embarked on yet another adventure when he moved to Stoke on the last day of the 2011 summer transfer window. In his first season at the Britannia Stadium, he scored ten times in 32 Premier League matches and scored the “Goal of the Season” against Manchester City on 24 March 2012 juggling the ball before releasing an unstoppable shot from outside the penalty area. Crouch’s “spidery limbs” have done themselves proud at the highest level against all odds.

Crouch only missed four Premier League matches during his second season with Stoke City and added eight goals to his career total, one of which was in the FA Cup competition. In 2013/14 he continued to be a regular in the Stoke team, appearing in 34 of the 38 Premier League matches and scoring eight times. He added two more goals in four domestic cup-ties. On the last day of 2014/15, he scored the last goal of Stoke's 6-1 win over Liverpool, setting a Premier League record of 47 headed goals surpassing Alan Shearer. It was his tenth goal of the season, justifying Mark Hughes' decision a few months earlier to offer him a two-year contract extension. 2015-26 was frustrating for him however as he fell down the pecking order and made only four league starts. His two goals came in the cups and although he asked to be considered for a move away in January Hughes retained his services as Stoke fought on three fronts.

In November 2017 Crouch set a record for Premier League substitute appearances when he came off the bench for the 143rd time. Although Stoke were relegated to the Championship he remained with them for 2018/19. Twenty-one of his 23 Championship appearances in the first half of that season were as a substitute, so it was a huge surprise on 31 January 2019, a day after his 38th birthday, that Crouch was back in the Premier League by joining Burnley. All six of his appearances between then and the end of the season were from the bench and his spell was also interrupted by appendix surgery.

Although a contract extension at Burnley was on offer, Crouch decided to call time on his playing career in July 2019 and signed a deal to co-present a new weekly Premier League TV show on Amazon Prime alongside John Bishop and Gabby Logan.
Appearances per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 85 11 5 30 3 134
2005-2006 32 6 1 8 2 49
2006-2007 32 1 1 14 1 49
2007-2008 21 4 3 8 0 36
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
13 894 Chelsea
7 544 Arsenal
6 276 Manchester United
6 177 Newcastle United
5 401 Bolton Wanderers
5 396 Reading
5 317 Birmingham City
5 310 Everton
5 253 Portsmouth
5 216 Fulham
5 202 West Ham United
4 235 Manchester City
4 232 Blackburn Rovers
4 169 Aston Villa
4 168 Middlesbrough
4 150 Charlton Athletic
3 264 PSV Eindhoven
3 233 Luton Town
3 167 Tottenham
3 142 Wigan Athletic
2 180 Toulouse
2 162 Sunderland
2 152 WBA
2 141 Real Betis
2 136 Bordeaux
2 128 FBK Kaunas
2 115 Maccabi Haifa
2 106 Galatasaray
2 97 Besiktas
2 77 Watford
2 1 Barcelona
1 90 Benfica
1 90 Barnsley
1 90 Crystal Palace
1 90 Deportivo Sap.
1 90 Cardiff City
1 90 Havant
1 75 Marseille
1 72 Anderlecht
1 26 Inter Milan
1 23 Sheffield United
1 19 Porto
1 12 AC Milan
1 5 Sao Paolo
Total Started/substitutions
93 Started
17 On the bench
41 Substitute
58 Substituted
Total Venue
73 Home
55 Away
6 Neutral
Total Competition
85 Premier League
30 Champions League
11 FA Cup
5 League Cup
2 World Club Championship
1 Community Shield
Total W D L Win % Manager
134 79 27 28 59% Rafa Benítez
Goals per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 22 5 1 11 3 42
2005-2006 8 3 0 0 2 13
2006-2007 9 0 1 7 1 18
2007-2008 5 2 0 4 0 11
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Assists per season
Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 12 3 0 2 0 17
2005-2006 5 1 0 1 0 7
2006-2007 6 1 0 0 0 7
2007-2008 1 1 0 1 0 3
A more detailed look at the player's assists
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 26.07.2005 FBK Kaunas Dar. & Girenas St. Europe
50 09.08.2006 Maccabi Haifa Anfield Europe
100 19.08.2007 Chelsea Anfield League
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 19 03.12.2005 Wigan Athletic Anfield League
Related Articles
Crouch hands out his 2007 awards

By Jimmy Rice at liverpoolfc.tv.

Crouch draws strength from highs and lows of a career yet to peak

An interview in The Guardian from 6th of October 2007.

Nervy Liverpool survive Galatasaray onslaught

Match report by Dominic Fifield for The Guardian on Liverpool - Galatasaray on 27th of September.

The rise and rise and rise of Peter Crouch

From the Mirror on the origins of "Crouchinho".

Jamie Redknapp on Peter Crouch

Redknapp in the Daily Mail - An excellent feature on "Crouchinho".

An undesirable record for Crouch

Peter Crouch finally scored after failing to find the target in 18 games. How does he compare with other forwards in Liverpool's history?

Crouch propels Liverpool to the final

Match report from The Guardian on Deportivo Saprissa - Liverpool from 15.12.2005.

Daily Post report

Liverpool 3, Portsmouth 0 from Daily Post Nov 21 2005. By Ian Doyle At Anfield

Crouch must learn art of positional play to heighten his powers

Interesting article by Niall Quinn in October 2005 explaining how best to utilize Crouch's strengths for Liverpool.

Baltic breeze

BBC report on Kaunas 1-3 Liverpool on 26 July 2005.

Related Quotes

"Peter has been superb for us since the first day he came. He was playing really well even when he wasn't scoring, he was doing well for the team and I wonder where all the critics are now who were on his back. They are probably hiding or just shaking their heads as they watch him now, they are no doubt asking themselves why they said what they did. It was only a matter of time before he scored. He's definitely England quality. I know the England fans were on his back a little bit which was sad to hear. But he is proving to everyone that he is England class and I'm sure he has a bright international future. I certainly hope he has."

Steven Gerrard on the criticism in Crouch’s early career at Liverpool

"He's marvellous, it's great for me to have him as a team-mate, to play with him up front. He runs all the time, he makes himself available, he wins headers and he's creating opportunities for me to capitalise on. I am pleased to be playing alongside him because he does a huge amount of work."

Morientes on Crouch in Dec 2005

"I had a big slice of luck with the first one obviously. It was on target but went a bit higher than I planned. If it goes to the dubious goals committee I'll be telling them that it's definitely mine. I am a buoyant person by nature but if I'm honest this goal drought as been getting me down at times. I've been getting a bit of stick lately but it's great to get the goals today and hopefully I can go on from here and score more."

Crouch's reaction after his first goals for Liverpool

"When you are playing at a high-profile club like Liverpool and also at international level, there are a lot of chances for people to see what you can do. I'm playing Champions League football, we're challenging for things at club level and I am playing international football. Sometimes, I do feel as though I need to do a little bit more than others but that's something I have to live with. As long as I'm doing well and scoring goals, I don't think people can criticise."

Crouch in 2006 after having scored 27 goals in 48 games for club and country.

"There was a lot of fun, a lot of stuff being thrown, a lot of shouting, but it's not often you get to the final of the Champions League and the boys were enjoying themselves, that's for sure. George Gillett came into the dressing room but I don't think he saw much because his glasses kept steaming up. We tried to throw him in the bath at one point, so he's had a real welcome to English football!"

Crouch lifts the lid on the post-match celebrations at Anfield after the 2007 semi-final win in the Champions League

"Crouch has the stature to lead the line, his very existence sets an unusual problem for defenders, and the combination of his spidery limbs, surprisingly delicate control and patient approach allow him to hold the ball up quite effectively."

Richard Williams in The Guardian

"Had I not become a footballer, I think I would have been a virgin."

Peter Crouch's honest answer in a Soccer AM interview

Dirk Kuyt nearly missed the 2007 Champions League final because of a ridiculous injury: I was happy that I was playing in that match at all, as before the final there had been an incident that almost prevented me from taking part. When we were in the training camp before the final, the squad went go-karting. I didn't join in, as I wanted to rest a small injury, but I went along to watch and picked a safe-looking spot to stand beside the track with Rafa.

"Out of nowhere, Peter Crouch drove straight at me at roughly 35 mph. He couldn't brake! The only thing I could do was to jump in the air, and in the end I just managed to jump over Peter, and he crashed into cardboard boxes behind me. I was within a whisker of having my ankles torn to pieces, and would surely have missed the Champions League final. It was incredible that I saw him just in time and could jump over him! Crouchy's face was as pale as death, he'd had some kind of blackout. Fortunately everything was alright.

Talking to FourFourTwo the then PSV forward revealed how teammate Peter Crouch nearly kept him out of his biggest club game.

Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
Tottenham 1998-2000 England Premier League 0 0 0 0
Dulwich Hamlet  1998-2000 Isthmian League 6 1 6 1
IFK Hässleholm 2000-2001 Division 2 - Södra Götasland 8 3 8 3
QPR 2000-2001 England First Division 42 10 47 12
Portsmouth 2001-2002 England First Division 37 18 39 19
Aston Villa 2001-2002 England Premier League 7 2 7 2
Aston Villa 2002-2003 England Premier League 14 0 18 0
Aston Villa 2003-2004 England Premier League 16 4 18 4
Norwich City 2003-2004 England First Division 15 4 15 4
Southampton 2004-2005 England Premier League 27 12 33 16
Portsmouth 2008-2009 England Premier League 38 11 48 16
Tottenham 2009-2010 England Premier League 38 8 47 13
Tottenham 2010-2011 England Premier League 34 4 44 11
Tottenham 2011-2012 England Premier League 1 0 1 0
Stoke City 2011-2012 England Premier League 32 10 40 14
Stoke City 2012-2013 England Premier League 34 7 38 8
Stoke City 2013-2014 England Premier League 34 8 38 10
Stoke City 2014-2015 England Premier League 33 8 38 10
Stoke City 2015-2016 Premier League 11 0 18 2
Stoke City 2016-2017 Premier League 27 7 29 10
Stoke City 2017-2018 Premier League 31 5 34 6
Stoke City 2018-2019 Championship 23 1 26 2
Burnley 2018-2019 Premier League 6 0 6 0
Total 514 123 598 163