Peter Crouch

Peter Crouch

200px Crouch playing for Stoke City in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Peter James Crouch
Date of birth	(1981-01-30) 30 January 1981
Place of birth	Macclesfield, England
Height
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Stoke City
Number	25
Youth career
1991–1993	Brentford
1994–1995	Queens Park Rangers
1995–1998	Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2000	Tottenham Hotspur	0	(0)
2000	→ Dulwich Hamlet (loan)	6	(1)
2000	→ IFK Hässleholm (loan)	8	(3)
2000–2001	Queens Park Rangers	42	(10)
2001–2002	Portsmouth	37	(18)
2002–2004	Aston Villa	37	(6)
2003	→ Norwich City (loan)	15	(4)
2004–2005	Southampton	27	(12)
2005–2008	Liverpool	85	(22)
2008–2009	Portsmouth	38	(11)
2009–2011	Tottenham Hotspur	73	(12)
2011–	Stoke City	137	(33)
International career
2002–2003	England U21	6	(1)
2006	England B	1	(0)
2005–2010	England	42	(22)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:27, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

Peter James Crouch (born 30 January 1981) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Stoke City. He was capped 42 times by the England national team from 2005 to 2010, scoring 22 goals for his country in that time, and appearing at two World Cups.

Crouch started his career as a trainee with Tottenham Hotspur. He failed to make an appearance for Spurs and after loan spells at Dulwich Hamlet and Swedish club IFK Hässleholm he joined Queens Park Rangers. QPR were relegated at the end of the 2000–01 season and Portsmouth stepped in and paid £1.5 million for Crouch. He had a good season at Fratton Park and after scoring 19 goals he joined Aston Villa in March 2002 for £5 million. He had a relatively poor spell at Villa and was loaned out to Norwich City in 2003 before making a move to Southampton where he re-gained his form and was signed by Liverpool in July 2005.

At Liverpool, Crouch enjoyed considerable success, winning the FA Community Shield and FA Cup in 2006 and also gained a runners-up medal in the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final. After scoring 42 goals in three seasons at Anfield Portsmouth re-signed him for £11 million and he forged an effective partnership with fellow England player Jermain Defoe. He spent just one season at Portsmouth and left for Tottenham Hotspur where he again linked up with Defoe and Harry Redknapp. He scored a vital goal for Tottenham against Manchester City which earned the club a place in the UEFA Champions League. He scored seven goals in ten European matches for Spurs in 2010–11, but was unable to replicate this form in the Premier League. He joined Stoke City on 31 August 2011 for a club record fee of £10 million. In his first season with Stoke he scored 14 goals and won the club's player of the year award. He scored eight in 2012–13 and then hit ten in both the 2013–14 and 2014–15 campaigns.

Early life

Crouch was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, but his family moved to Singapore when he was one year old. His family's move to Singapore came about when his father, Bruce, originally from Fulham took up a job offer to work at a Singaporean advertising agency. The Crouch family spent three-years living in the Far East and moved back to England after Bruce rejected the chance to work in Australia. They then spent time living at a YMCA in Tottenham before settling in Harrow on the Hill. Crouch attended Roxeth Primary and North Ealing Primary and began to play football with Northolt Hotspurs. He was then invited to join the Brentford Centre of Excellence in 1991 and he also played for the boys club West Middlesex Colts whilst attending Drayton Manor High School. Crouch turned down contract offers from Chelsea and Millwall and instead joined Queens Park Rangers in the summer of 1994. He didn't stay at QPR for long as in November 1994 the coaching staff at Loftus Road moved to Tottenham Hotspur including youth team manager Des Bulpin who offered Crouch a contract at Spurs.

His family were Chelsea supporters and he became a ball boy at Stamford Bridge at the age of ten. As a child, he attended some Chelsea games. Later, he told the Liverpool official website that despite this, he and his friends at the time were fans of Queens Park Rangers.

Club career

Tottenham Hotspur

Crouch signed a professional contract with Tottenham Hotspur on 2 July 1998, after having played for their youth side. However, he did not make any appearances for their first team and was loaned out to other clubs, having brief spells at Dulwich Hamlet in the Isthmian League and, in the summer of 2000, IFK Hässleholm in Sweden, where he played in the local fourth-highest division. His move to Sweden came about when IFK Hässleholm sold Jon Jönsson to Tottenham for £70,000 and also agreed two loan deals for the Swedish club - that of Crouch and Alton Thelwell.

QPR and Portsmouth

On 28 July 2000, Tottenham sold Crouch to First Division club, Queens Park Rangers for £60,000. He made an immediate impression with QPR, scoring ten league goals in the 2000–01 season, but it was not enough to prevent the team's relegation to the Second Division.

Relegation meant that QPR had to sell many of their best players to support their diminished finances, and Portsmouth bought Crouch from them for £1.5 million. Crouch scored 18 league goals in 37 starts for Portsmouth during the 2001–02 season and was tipped by manager Graham Rix to have a big future in the game.

Aston Villa

In March 2002, FA Premier League side Aston Villa made a successful £5 million bid for Crouch. He scored on his home debut for Villa, the equalising goal against Newcastle United, and went on to score twice in seven games. However, Crouch failed to hold down a regular place in the Aston Villa side in the following 2002–03 season. Looking for first team football, he was loaned to Norwich City from September to December 2003. Although he scored only four times in 15 appearances, he was highly impressive and remains popular with Norwich City supporters. So popular, in fact, he had a song made up about him ("He's tall, he's lean, he's a freaky goal machine"). Crouch was sent off for retaliation during Norwich's 3–1 win at Walsall, but nonetheless his spell at Norwich renewed interest in his abilities from other clubs.

At the end of the three-month loan he returned to Aston Villa, and scored a brace against Leicester City, a late winner at Middlesbrough and the opener at Bolton. Norwich City recognised his contribution to the 2003–04 season that saw them win the First Division Championship by awarding him a championship medal. He was presented with the medal on the pitch before City's match against his new club Southampton at Carrow Road in November 2004. When he came on as substitute for Southampton later that afternoon, the home crowd gave him a very good reception. Villa sold Crouch in July 2004 to Southampton for a fee of £2.5 million. Crouch signed a four-year deal with Southampton. He scored just six goals in 37 Premier League games for Aston Villa.

Southampton

Despite initially being back-up to first choice strikers James Beattie and Kevin Phillips, Crouch became the main attacking focus of the Southampton team upon the arrival of Harry Redknapp and the sale of Beattie. He scored many key goals in Southampton's relegation battle, including memorable goals against Liverpool in a 2–0 home win, Arsenal in a 1–1 home draw and 2 away to Middlesbrough in a 3–1 victory. He also scored a late winning penalty to knock former club and Saints' arch-rival Portsmouth out of the FA Cup. His form for the Saints eventually resulted in him receiving his first England call up. After scoring 16 goals in 33 appearances during the 2004–05 season, his future was cast into doubt when Southampton were relegated from the Premier League. On 19 July 2005, Southampton agreed to sell Crouch for £7 million to Liverpool, on a four-year contract.

Liverpool

File:Peter Crouch 2006.jpg

Crouch with Liverpool in 2006

Crouch underwent intense media scrutiny because of a goal drought during his first months at Liverpool. For 19 games, spanning four months, he was unable to score. Crouch was praised for other facets of his game, such as his touch on the ball, but his first goal for the club evaded him. The fact that Crouch possessed "good touch for a big man" in fact became something of a media cliché during this time. Early in his Liverpool career the supporters composed a new chant; "He's big, he's red, his feet stick out the bed, Peter Crouch, Peter Crouch."

The drought finally ended on 3 December 2005 when he scored against Wigan Athletic. Although this first goal was originally given as an own goal, it was later awarded to Crouch on appeal; he went on to score a second goal in the same game. Before these goals, Crouch had played over 24 hours of football for Liverpool without scoring. In addition to this, he also had to deal with unpleasant taunts from crowds at matches, as he had throughout his footballing career, who often chanted "freak" at him due to his unusual height. He went on to score several goals that season, including the only goal in the fifth round of the FA Cup against Manchester United, Liverpool's first victory over them in the FA Cup post-Second World War. On 13 May, he helped Liverpool to win the 2006 FA Cup final against West Ham, providing a crucial assist for Steven Gerrard to score the second Liverpool goal.

Crouch warming up for Liverpool in 2007

Three months later, in the curtain-raiser to the 2006–07 season, he headed the winning goal for Liverpool in the club's 2–1 victory over Chelsea in the FA Community Shield. In their 2006–07 UEFA Champions League campaign he scored his first goals in European club competition. On 13 January 2007, he scored two goals in an away game against Watford, the first time he had scored twice in an away league game for Liverpool. Crouch sustained a broken nose when playing against Sheffield United in February 2007. Although he played in some subsequent games, on 9 March 2007 it was announced that he would undergo surgery on the injury which would keep him out of football for a month. On 31 March, he returned to action after the operation and scored the first hat-trick of his club career, against Arsenal in a 4–1 Liverpool victory. This was also a so-called "perfect hat-trick", consisting of goals scored from his right foot, left foot and head. He later participated in the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final, coming on as a substitute for Javier Mascherano as Liverpool were defeated by A.C. Milan in Athens. He ended the 2006–07 season as Liverpool's top goalscorer in all competitions, with eighteen goals.

At the start of the 2007–08 season he had restricted opportunities to play for Liverpool due to the arrival of other strikers including Fernando Torres, but scored against Toulouse in a Champions League qualifying win in August, his eighth goal in his past ten appearances in that competition, and then also scoring the first and last goals of an 8–0 win over Beşiktaş in the first round of the Champions League in November. This match is now the highest margin by which a team has won in the Champions League. On 19 December, Crouch was sent off in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, receiving a straight red card for a foul on Chelsea's John Obi Mikel as Liverpool exited the tournament. In April, he scored a vital goal in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal, helping Liverpool maintain fourth spot against rivals Everton.

Return to Portsmouth

Crouch playing for Portsmouth in 2008

On 7 July 2008, it was announced that Crouch had verbally agreed to join former club and FA Cup holders Portsmouth in a deal worth up to £11 million. Crouch passed his medical the following day, and, on 11 July, Crouch's transfer was officially unveiled at a Portsmouth news conference. Portsmouth paid £9 million up front, with up to £2m to be added dependent on various targets being reached. He was given the number 9 shirt by manager Harry Redknapp, which he had previously worn during his first spell at the club. On 30 August 2008 Crouch scored his first goal since his return to Portsmouth in his third Premier League appearance, against Everton at Goodison Park.

As with his first score for Liverpool there was a degree of uncertainty as to whether he would be credited with the goal as it appeared Jermain Defoe's chip had crossed the goal-line before Crouch scored from the follow-up. On 3 September it was confirmed that the goal would be officially credited to Crouch and not Defoe. Crouch then went on to net his first goal at Portsmouth's Fratton Park home ground in the Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur on 28 September. On 2 October 2008 Crouch scored twice in extra time in a UEFA Cup match away to Vitória Guimarães to help Portsmouth reach the group stages of the competition. He went on to score twice against SC Heerenveen in a 3–0 victory at Fratton Park.

Return to Tottenham Hotspur

File:Peter Crouch Andrew Johnson.jpg

Crouch playing for Tottenham Hotspur in 2011

On 27 July 2009, Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of Crouch from Portsmouth for a fee of £10 million, on a five-year contract. Crouch made his debut for Spurs in a pre-season friendly against Olympiakos, and came on as a substitute in Tottenham's season opening win over Liverpool, making his full Premier League debut for the club in the process. He scored his first goal for Tottenham, in the League Cup tie against Doncaster in a 5–1 win on 26 August 2009. He scored again in his next game, opening his league account with Spurs with a goal in a 2–1 home win against Birmingham City. On 23 September, Crouch scored his first hat-trick for Spurs in a 5–1 win over Preston North End in the League Cup. In May, his late goal against Manchester City in what was being dubbed as the "£15 million pound game" put Spurs in a position to claim their first-ever UEFA Champions League berth. After having hit the post and missed an Assou-Ekotto cross, Crouch scored a header after Márton Fülöp could only parry the ball into his path.

On 25 August 2010, he scored a hat-trick at White Hart Lane against Young Boys to help Tottenham to reach the Group Stage of the UEFA Champions League. On 15 February 2011, Crouch scored what turned out to be the winning goal in the UEFA Champions League second round, first leg match against Italian team A.C. Milan at the San Siro, sweeping home Aaron Lennon's cut-back after a counter-attack. Three weeks later, Spurs progressed to the quarter-finals after the reverse game at White Hart Lane ended 0–0. On 5 April, he was sent off in the 14th minute after receiving two yellow cards in the quarter-finals against Real Madrid. He scored an own goal against Manchester City, which consequently confirmed Manchester City into the Champions League for the 2011–12 season with Tottenham missing out.

Stoke City

Crouch warming up for Stoke City in 2012

On 31 August 2011, Stoke City announced the signing of Crouch from Tottenham for a club record fee of £10 million which could rise to £12 million on a four-year contract. Speaking after sealing his move to the Britannia Stadium, Crouch revealed that his former Tottenham Hotspur colleague Jonathan Woodgate was a major influence upon his decision to join Stoke. He made his debut for Stoke City in a 1–0 win against Liverpool on 10 September 2011. He scored his first goal for the "Potters" in a 1–1 draw against Manchester United, making Stoke the sixth Premier League club he has scored for. He scored his second goal in the following match against Beşiktaş in the UEFA Europa League. Crouch went on to score against Arsenal, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers before missing out on the Christmas period matches after suffering from a virus.

On 2 January 2012 against Blackburn, Crouch scored both goals in a 2–1 victory. It was a landmark achievement for Crouch as he surpassed 100 league goals. On 24 March 2012, Crouch scored a stunning volley against Manchester City in a 1–1 draw at the Britannia Stadium. After the match Crouch stated that it was the best goal of his career. He scored the winning goal for Stoke against their Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on 7 April to take his goal tally to 13 and was backed by manager Tony Pulis to earn a recall to the England squad for Euro 2012. At the end of season awards dinner, Crouch won the club's player of the year and goal of the season awards.

Crouch began the 2012–13 season well scoring five goals in seven matches, against Swindon Town, Wigan Athletic, Manchester City and a brace against Swansea City. He lost several teeth after being accidentally kicked in the mouth by Fabricio Coloccini in a match against Newcastle United on 28 November 2012 and as a result had to undergo corrective surgery. He then went three months without a goal before scoring against Wigan Athletic on 29 January 2013. Crouch again went through a three-month barren spell in front of goal before scoring against Queens Park Rangers on 20 April 2013 in a 2–0 victory. He scored on the final day of the season against Southampton as he ended the 2012–13 season with eight goals as Stoke finished in 13th position.

Mark Hughes replaced Tony Pulis as manager in May 2013 and despite starting the first two matches of the 2013–14 season, Hughes dropped Crouch to the bench. He returned to the starting line up on 26 October 2013 and scored in a 3–2 defeat against Manchester United. Crouch retained his place in the side for the remainder of the 2013–14 season where he finished as top scorer with ten goals in 38 appearances as Stoke finished in ninth place.

Crouch scored his first goals of 2014–15 in September 2014 against Queens Park Rangers and Newcastle United. In October 2014 Crouch stated that he would like to remain at the Britannia Stadium for the remainder of his career. On 29 October 2014, Crouch came on as a substitute in Stoke's League Cup defeat to Southampton; 15 minutes later he was sent off for two yellow cards in the space of two minutes. On 6 December, he scored after 19 seconds against Arsenal in an eventual 3–2 victory. A week later, in his 600th match in English football, Crouch scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw at Crystal Palace. Crouch signed a two-year contract extension in January 2015.

On 28 February 2015, Crouch scored the winning goal in Stoke's 1–0 win over Hull City, equalling Alan Shearer's record of 46 headed goals in the Premier League. He surpassed this on 24 May with a header five minutes after coming on as a substitute to conclude a 6–1 home win over his former team Liverpool in Stoke's final game of the season. In total Crouch matched the previous season's goal tally of ten goals in 38 appearances as Stoke finished in 9th position for the second consecutive season. Following the end of the season, Crouch underwent groin surgery.

International career

Youth international

Crouch was capped for the England under-20 team at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, with team-mates including Stuart Taylor, Ashley Cole, Andrew Johnson and Matthew Etherington. However, the team finished bottom at the group stage, with three losses and having scored no goals. He was later a part of David Platt's England under-21 team, which went to the finals of the European Under–21 Championship in Switzerland in May 2002, where he scored once against Switzerland.

Breakthrough into senior team

In May 2005 he was handed his first call-up to the England senior squad by manager Sven-Göran Eriksson for the team's tour of the United States, making his debut against Colombia. He went on to make two appearances during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign for England: starting against Austria in a 1–0 victory and coming on as a substitute against Poland in a 2–1 win. In the latter appearance, Crouch's introduction as a second-half substitute was booed by England's own supporters.

On 1 March 2006 he scored his first goal for England, the equaliser in a 2–1 friendly win over Uruguay. He did this whilst bizarrely wearing two different squad numbers on his shirt – No. 21 on the front (his designated squad number for the match), and the incorrect No. 12 on the back.

In May 2006 Crouch was included in the 23-man England squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and was expected to be a significant figure in the team due to Wayne Rooney's foot injury. On 30 May he played in a pre-World Cup friendly against Hungary, scoring the third goal in England's 3–1 win. He followed his goal with an unusual robotic dancing-style goal celebration – see below. On 3 June he again played for England in a pre-World Cup friendly against Jamaica, scoring a hat-trick. Between his second and third goals he took a penalty kick hoping to gain a hat-trick, but he put the ball over the bar. England went on to win 6–0, Crouch securing his hat-trick in the 89th minute with a fine finish – his fifth goal in three England games.

2006 World Cup

After his displays in England's friendlies, Crouch partnered with Michael Owen in attack for England's opening 2006 World Cup game against Paraguay on 10 June 2006. England won the game 1–0 and Crouch kept his place in the starting line-up for the following match against Trinidad and Tobago, against whom he scored his first competitive international goal. The goal provoked some controversy as replays showed Crouch to be pulling on Brent Sancho's long hair, holding the defender down, to gain an advantage.

Crouch was rested for England's third group game against Sweden as Rooney returned from injury to join the starting line-up. However, Owen suffered a serious knee injury in the opening minute of the game and Crouch replaced him, playing the remainder of the match.

In England's 1–0 second round victory against Ecuador, Crouch remained an unused substitute as Eriksson switched the team to a new formation with Wayne Rooney as a lone striker. However, after Rooney's dismissal for a foul in England's quarter-final against Portugal, Crouch came on as a substitute for Joe Cole.

On 5 September 2007, retired English referee Graham Poll claimed that FIFA had specifically warned referees at the event to pay close attention to Crouch, claiming that "he's a real pain and he's getting away with too much."

Euro 2008 qualifying

File:Peter Crouch Russia vs England 17 october 2007 training one day prior to a match.jpg

Crouch training with England in 2007

Crouch remained a part of the England set-up under Eriksson's successor as manager, Steve McClaren, and started McClaren's first game in charge, a friendly against Greece in August 2006. He scored twice in England's 4–0 victory. Two further goals followed in England's next match, a 5–0 win over Andorra in their opening qualifying match for the 2008 European Championships on 2 September 2006. Contemporary reports suggested that Crouch was the first player ever to reach ten goals for England within a single calendar year. In fact, this had happened several times pre-World War II, most recently by Dixie Dean (12 goals in 1927) and George Camsell (11 goals in 1929). He added a further goal to his tally with the winner in England's 1–0 qualifying victory away to Macedonia on 6 September. An operation needed for a nose injury he sustained playing for Liverpool prevented him from playing in England's two qualifying matches in March 2007. He returned to the England squad for their games against Brazil and Estonia in late May and early June 2007, scoring in the qualifying game against the latter.

Crouch was England's top scorer in the qualifying campaign with five goals, but this did not prevent England finishing only third in their group and failing to progress to the finals of the competition.

Capello era

On 1 April 2009, Crouch made his first start under McClaren's successor, Fabio Capello, in a 2010 World Cup qualifier against Ukraine. He scored England's first goal in their 2–1 victory.

Crouch was re-called to the England squad for the friendly against Slovenia and the World Cup qualifier versus Croatia, following his fine form for Tottenham.

Crouch also got an early first half goal against Belarus in the final 2010 World Cup qualifier, which he then followed up with a second goal in the 74th minute. This took Crouch's tally for England up to 18 goals in just 17 starts. Crouch scored a brace after coming on as a substitute against Egypt in a friendly on 3 March 2010 to take his overall international goal tally to 20. He also scored the second goal for England against Mexico at Wembley on 24 May 2010.

2010 World Cup

Crouch was named in Capello's final 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup and was given the number 9 shirt. He came on as a substitute for Emile Heskey in England's opening match against the United States and also came off the bench for Gareth Barry in the following match against Algeria. Crouch did not take part in the final group stage game with Slovenia or the 4–1 loss to Germany in the last-16.

Post World Cup

Crouch came on as a substitute in the home friendly against France for the injured Steven Gerrard on 17 November 2010. He scored quickly from an Ashley Young corner to make the score 1–2 with an angled side-footed volley. It was his second touch of the ball. After not making an appearance for England for almost a year Crouch stated in October 2011 that he "does not carry much hope" of receiving a call up.

International goals

Scores and results list England's goal tally first.

Crouch – goals for England
#	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	1 March 2006	Liverpool, England	5	Uruguay	1–1	2–1	Friendly match
2	30 May 2006	Manchester, England	6	Hungary	3–1	3–1	Friendly match
3	3 June 2006	Manchester, England	7	Jamaica	3–0	6–0	Friendly match
4					5–0
5					6–0
6	15 June 2006	Nuremberg, Germany	9	Trinidad and Tobago	1–0	2–0	2006 World Cup
7	16 August 2006	Manchester, England	12	Greece	3–0	4–0	Friendly match
8					4–0
9	2 September 2006	Manchester, England	13	Andorra	1–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
10					5–0
11	6 September 2006	Skopje, Macedonia	14	Macedonia	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
12	6 June 2007	Tallinn, Estonia	19	Estonia	2–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
13	16 November 2007	Vienna, Austria	23	Austria	1–0	1–0	Friendly match
14	21 November 2007	Wembley, England	24	Croatia	2–2	2–3	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
15	1 April 2009	Wembley, England	33	Ukraine	1–0	2–1	2010 World Cup qualifier
16	10 June 2009	Wembley, England	34	Andorra	6–0	6–0	2010 World Cup qualifier
17	14 October 2009	Wembley, England	35	Belarus	1–0	3–0	2010 World Cup qualifier
18					3–0
19	3 March 2010	Wembley, England	37	Egypt	1–1	3–1	Friendly match
20					3–1
21	24 May 2010	Wembley, England	38	Mexico	2–0	3–1	Friendly match
22	17 November 2010	Wembley, England	42	France	1–2	1–2	Friendly match

Personality as a footballer

Nicknames

Although generally known as "Crouchy", other nicknames he has been given by fans and the media in England have included "RoboCrouch" and "Crouchinho" (an ironic use of the "-inho" suffix, meaning "little" in Portuguese and used by many Brazilian footballers). He has been also referred to as "Mr. Roboto" by Univision's commentators and as "Pantera Rosa" ("Pink Panther") by Fox Sports en Español commentators. During his Liverpool career, fans used to chant "He's big, he's red, his feet stick out of bed!"

Robotic dancing

In the summer of 2006, Crouch adopted a robotic dancing goal celebration. A parody of a dance he had been seen performing on a television programme covering a party held at England team-mate David Beckham's house, he first performed it after his goal for England against Hungary on 30 May. He again performed the dance after both of his first two goals against Jamaica on 3 June. The Daily Mirror newspaper claimed that the dance was inspired by the lyrics to the Arctic Monkeys' hit single "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor".

On 12 June, Crouch announced he would perform his robotic dance again only if England were to win the World Cup, saying "It's not about robotic dancing. It is about scoring goals and winning matches. It's an important time for everyone now." In September 2006, he was quoted in The Observer newspaper as saying that: "It was funny at the time, but I didn't want to carry on doing it until it became unfunny. I've stopped doing it for the time being, but if I ever score a really big goal you never know."

On 6 August 2007, Crouch insisted that he would never use the Robot dance again unless he scored in the UEFA Champions League Final, but he partially reprised it on 1 April 2009 after scoring during England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine after a Comic Relief sketch.

Personal life

Crouch and model Abbey Clancy announced their engagement on 15 July 2009. Crouch and Clancy were married on 30 June 2011. Together they have two daughters, Sophia Ruby (born March 2011) and Liberty Rose (born June 2015).

In August 2012 Crouch was found guilty of speeding in November 2011 and ordered to pay a fine of £1,000. On 16 October 2012 Crouch was disqualified from driving for six months. Crouch released his autobiography in 2007 entitled: "Walking Tall - My Story".

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 13 January 2016

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Tottenham Hotspur	1999–2000	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
Dulwich Hamlet (loan)	1999–2000	Isthmian League	6	1	0	0	—		—		—		6	1
	Total		6	1	0	0	—		—		—		6	1
IFK Hässleholm (loan)	2000	Swedish Division 2	8	3	0	0	—		—		—		8	3
	Total		8	3	0	0	—		—		—		8	3
Queens Park Rangers	2000–01	First Division	42	10	3	2	2	0	—		—		47	12
	Total		42	10	3	2	2	0	—		—		47	12
Portsmouth	2001–02	First Division	37	18	1	0	1	1	—		—		39	19
	Total		37	18	1	0	1	1	—		—		39	19
Aston Villa	2001–02	Premier League	7	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		7	2
	2002–03	Premier League	14	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	—		18	0
	2003–04	Premier League	16	4	0	0	2	0	—		—		18	4
	Total		37	6	0	0	2	0	4	0	0	0	43	6
Norwich City (loan)	2003–04	First Division	15	4	0	0	0	0	—		—		15	4
	Total		15	4	0	0	0	0	—		—		15	4
Southampton	2004–05	Premier League	27	12	5	4	1	0	—		—		33	16
	Total		27	12	5	4	1	0	—		—		33	16
Liverpool	2005–06	Premier League	32	8	6	3	1	0	8	0	2	2	49	13
	2006–07	Premier League	32	9	1	0	1	1	14	7	1	1	49	18
	2007–08	Premier League	21	5	4	2	3	0	8	4	—		36	11
	Total		85	22	11	5	5	1	30	11	3	3	134	42
Portsmouth	2008–09	Premier League	38	11	3	1	1	0	7	4	—		49	16
	Total		38	11	3	1	1	0	7	4	—		49	16
Tottenham Hotspur	2009–10	Premier League	38	8	6	1	3	4	—		—		47	13
	2010–11	Premier League	34	4	1	0	0	0	10	7	—		45	11
	2011–12	Premier League	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	Total		73	12	7	1	3	4	10	7	0	0	93	24
Stoke City	2011–12	Premier League	32	10	3	2	2	0	3	2	—		40	14
	2012–13	Premier League	34	7	3	0	1	1	—		—		38	8
	2013–14	Premier League	34	8	1	0	3	2	—		—		38	10
	2014–15	Premier League	33	8	2	1	3	1	—		—		38	10
	2015–16	Premier League	4	0	1	1	4	1	—		—		9	2
	Total		137	33	10	4	13	5	3	2	0	0	163	44
Career total			505	132	40	17	28	11	53	24	3	3	630	187

A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the FA Community Shield and FIFA Club World Cup.

International

As of match played 17 November 2010

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
England
	2005	4	0
	2006	12	11
	2007	8	3
	2008	6	0
	2009	6	4
	2010	6	4
Total		42	22

Honours

Norwich City

• Football League First Division: 2003–04

Liverpool

• FA Cup: 2005–06
• FA Community Shield: 2006

External links

• Peter Crouch – FIFA competition record
• Profile at stokecityfc.com
• Peter Crouch career statistics at Soccerbase
• Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk
• Peter Crouch England profile at Englandstats