The ex-England international says he wishes he could have extended his time at Anfield, despite only being a “Plan B” under Rafa Benitez
Peter Crouch has admitted that he still regrets leaving Liverpool at the height of his career, insisting that in hindsight, he could have been handed more regular opportunities if he had extended his stay on Merseyside.
Crouch signed a four-year contract with Liverpool in July 2005 after completing a £7 million ($9m) move from Southampton, completing his rise to the top in English football after previous spells at Norwich, Aston Villa, Portsmouth and Queens Park Rangers.
The 6-foot-7 frontman failed to score in his first 19 outings for the Reds, but eventually recovered his goalscoring touch and earned an FA Cup winners’ medal by the end of his first full campaign at Anfield.
Crouch played a key role in Liverpool’s run to the Champions League final the following season, but saw his playing time cut in half after Fernando Torres was drafted in from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2007.
The former England international returned to Portsmouth the following year after being deemed surplus to requirements by head coach Rafael Benitez, in a deal worth an initial £11 million ($14m).
Crouch says that his decision to turn his back on the Reds prematurely still “niggles away” at him to this day, despite the fact he had been reduced to a backup role towards the end of his spell at Anfield.
“The one thing that niggles away at me is leaving Liverpool in 2008. Rafa Benitez was happy to let me go and I was only ever going to be a Plan B,” the 39-year-old said during a Q&A session with the Daily Mail.
“One of the reasons I went to Portsmouth was because Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres were such a dynamic partnership but, 18 months later, when I saw Andriy Voronin and David Ngog getting opportunities, it made me wish I had stayed.
“You don’t leave a club like Liverpool easily.”
Crouch boasted an impressive scoring record at both club and international level, and was well respected for his impressive footwork and ability to hold the ball up.
He scored over 150 goals for 10 different clubs over the course of his career, and also hit 22 goals in 42 appearances for England.
When asked to rank the best goals he ever scored, Crouch responded: “It’s hard to pick one, so I will select three and in no particular order.
“The first would be the goal that completed my hat-trick for Liverpool against Arsenal in March 2007; the technique, the move that led to it and putting it away in front of The Kop was special.
“For emotion and an adrenaline rush, scoring against Manchester City to put Tottenham into the Champions League was incredible. If I think about it now, I can still see the away end going mental.
“Last but not least, I’ll pick my first goal for England, at Anfield, against Uruguay in March 2006.”
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