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Crouch bears no grudge

Published by SoV on August 16, 2008

Portsmouth returned Peter Crouch has insisted that he bears no grudge against Rafa Benitez and his move to Portsmouth was purely on footballing basis.

Rafa had insisted on playing Voronin and Kuyt ahead of Crouch, despite them not being able to get the goals. Crouch’s chances of starting took another hit when wonderboy, Fernando Torres started his goal fest.

But Crouch claimed he bears no ill about his former manager and insisted that he cherished the memories of playing at Anfield.

“I have no grudge against the manager [Rafa Benitez], when he started playing one up front he was always going to play Torres and it was not something that I had any qualms about,” he said in The Independent.

“But when he played two up front I felt myself and Torres were a good combination. He didn’t seem to want to do that but I bear no grudges – it was his decision.

“And obviously my memories of my time at Liverpool are fantastic. What a great club to have played for. I have got only fond memories of my time there.

“There are loads that stand out. Winning the FA Cup was one, a hat-trick against Arsenal when we won 4-1 [in March 2007], the scissor-kick goal in the Champions League [against Galatasaray in 2006], knocking Manchester United out of the FA Cup [in 2006], getting to the Champions League final – that moment when we beat Chelsea in the semis.

“Great, great memories. Every goal I scored in front of the Kop. You just can’t beat that feeling.”

“It would be quite simple to not do too much,” he said. “It would be quite easy to sit there and come off the bench for Liverpool now and then, you get paid the same.

“If you are part of the big club, you can pretend to lift trophies. It’s quite easy to do that. It’s certainly not in my nature. At the end of my career I could say, ‘I have won this and I have won that’. But, looking at myself in the mirror, have I really won that?

“That’s certainly something that crossed my mind when I decided to leave. I thought I cannot look myself in the mirror and say I have actually won that if I have not been part of the team.”

But the time has come for Crouch to look forward rather than dwell on the past, and he is confident od reaching new heights as a key player in Harry Redknapp’s side.

He added: “I would like to be irreplaceable like Torres, Stevie Gerrard, Jamie Carragher – players who play every week in a massive club – but that wasn’t working out for me.

“I’ve come to Portsmouth and, hopefully, I can get a good run of games, play under the new manager and enjoy it. When I’m playing every week, any player will tell you that’s when you become a better player and more confident.”

It was under Rafa that Crouch got to play in Europe and Rafa’s patience with him payed off as Crouch became a regular England international. Rafa will be pleased to see his efforts bore fruit.

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