Pav > Crouch

[Teemu]

So many compliments to Pav after one goal. I'd like to see what the same people would say after five indifferent games from him?
Would you call bring Crouch back with equal measure?

I don't think anyone is saying that he is the answer to all of our problems. However, none of our strikers have been in particularly good form recently, and Pavlyuchenko looked very good yesterday. If Harry is picking players on merit, Pavlyuchenko at least deserves to be given a chance.

Of course, he could start against Fulham, and be absolutely rubbish, but the fact of the matter is that he's a proven international striker who (in glimpses), has been good for us in the past, so now would be a perfect time to play him.

 

[ostrov]

I don't think anyone is saying that he is the answer to all of our problems. However, none of our strikers have been in particularly good form recently, and Pavlyuchenko looked very good yesterday. If Harry is picking players on merit, Pavlyuchenko at least deserves to be given a chance.

Of course, he could start against Fulham, and be absolutely rubbish, but the fact of the matter is that he's a proven international striker who (in glimpses), has been good for us in the past, so now would be a perfect time to play him.

Maybe, I'd like to see Pav doing the job. I want to see the prove. All up for it. Last night he did well.

 

[Montasura]

Not been a Spurs fan for long then mate??

Longer than I care to remember, and longer than most on SC, I suspect.

OK, so I remember plenty of useless pricks in Spurs shirts but it's all a matter of opinion and mine is that Crouch brings very, very, very little to a team with top 4 ambitions.

 

[mattwilson]

Please, please tell me you're not being serious.

well when he first started playing for us he did- maybe i shouldnt be trying to compare him to a legend after 1 super sub performance, but i think given the chances he could really be great...

 

[spurs_viola]

So many compliments to Pav after one goal. I'd like to see what the same people would say after five indifferent games from him?
Would you call bring Crouch back with equal measure?

You sound like a Zenit St Petersburg supporter - someone who will never accept a player from Spartak Moscow?

 

[spurs_viola]

So everyone assumed, not unnaturally, because very, very of us had seen him in action other than in Euro 2008. Sadly, it appears that Random and Comolli had only seen him in action in Euro 2008 too, because they also put in a bid for that steaming heap of turd Podolski too (and thank fuck that one got nowhere), because a Berbatov replacement he wasn't, isn't, and never will be. And I'm afraid your 'not all players hit the ground running' isn't a claim that stands up to much scrutiny, at least as far as strikers are concerned; if anything, the reverse is the case—a spectacular first season, then downhill, as with McCarthy and Rocket Roque. The reality is, Not-So-Super Pav has been pretty crap.

You must spend an awful lot of time at the training ground to gain these insights into the whys and wherefores of team selection.

What a load of stubborn, blinkered refusal to accept even a possibility that one's views may be not as accurate as one chooses to believe.

And I suppose YOU do send a lot of time at the training sessions, to make you so sure about the reasons for selection and exclusion of certain players? Didn't think so. But that shouldn't matter for you, 'cos Harry said so, right?

 

[spurs_viola]

Four pages into this thread and i'm astounded that nobody has picked up on the possibility that Pav looked interested and played well because he wants out the bloody door.

He was trying to advertise himself as far as I am concerned. I think any discussion of Pav's pros and cons, or whether he is better than Crouch, is completely irrelevant. I seriously doubt a pack of wild horses would keep him at the club now.

For what it's worth, I think that Crouch is simply one of the worst players I have had the misfortune to see in a Spurs shirt.

The thing that is causing me the most concern right now is the downright shameful way in which our club is treating some players - Naughton and GDS were mentioned earlier - but that is the subject of another thread perhaps.

Great post - and yes, I think quite a few people had that thought about Pav putting in that kind of performance because it was his (extremely rare) chance to show for potential suitors.

But he changed the game like that in the last pre-season match v Olympiakos when he and Defoe replaced Crouch and Keane for the 2nd half at 0-0 to score, assist and help us win the game 3-0. In the next game he was of course dropped and it was Crouch who came on, while Pav was to sit on the bench pretty much since then.

 

[ostrov]

You sound like a Zenit St Petersburg supporter - someone who will never accept a player from Spartak Moscow?

You guessed it But no. I don't have anything against Spartak players, as soon as they are Spurs players. I just don't trust Pav. As many my countrymen do. Sorry to disappoint you.

 

[spurs_viola]

You guessed it But no. I don't have anything against Spartak players, as soon as they are Spurs players. I just don't trust Pav. As many my countrymen do. Sorry to disappoint you.

That's OK - please don't think you are upsetting me if you don't have a high opinion of Pav, because as I said many times, he's not even one of my favourite players. All I was advocating was that he deserved a chance to build on his quite good pre-season form to see if he can form a really effective partnership with Defoe. Especially when the other two strikers were not being very effective in front of the goal and team suffered as a result. That's all.

 

[Dannyspur]

When we play crouch, we turn into Wimblespurs and he's no John Fashanu!

 

[scorpion64]

Can never understand Crouch,We have a 6'7'' striker who hardly won a header all night.Then again he hardly wins many headers when he plays.I wonder what his ratio for headed goals is? Him & Defoe seemed to be strangers towards each other which is odd seeing how long they been teammates for.Their link up is awful at mo.Give me Pav anyday.Maybe if HR gave him a run he would feel more confident & go out give the performances we paid all that money out for

 

[camaj]

So many compliments to Pav after one goal.

One goal? I've thought pav was better than crouch since we signed him. You can't suggest than people are only basing it on one game. Pav has had some good games and some not so good games but crouch hasn't proved to be better so it's a mystery why he's continued to get picked every week

 

[Bus-Conductor]

What is it with 'arry that he seems to favour certain players regardless of how they play. Crouch has all the mobility of Nelson's Column and only marginally more goal threat. The fact Pav has been used so little this season is criminal not just because he has deserved to get his chance ahead of Crouch and Keane but also because if 'arry wants to move him on then not playing him just kills his market value.

Let's have Pav alongside Defoe, they only got a few games together last Jan before Defoe got injured but it looked like a really promising partnership.

Keep Crouch for the bench for times when desperation calls for us to lump it into the box to a 6"7 statue.

No this isn't knee jerk I've been a Pav fan since he joined.

You've picked the one striker that is definitely not of less potential value to
to our team. Defoe's contribution to any game is invariably minimal when not scoring (which he does do, luckily) and Keane clearly has a "commitment" problem.

I'm not saying either Defoe or Keane are shit, but surely Pav, given a run of games could have maybe offered a bit of what both of them offer in one package. A player who gets himself into good postions and has a knack of scoring, who can play a bit outside the box.

Crouch on the other hand is a trojan whose contribution the other two rarely come close to matching.

There are plenty of strikers I'd swap for Crouch, but Keane and Defoe aren't necessarily two of them.

 

[ErikTheViking]

Crouch has more to offer/bigger threat in the box. Pav is better in all other aspects of the game.

 

[Pedro]

i thought pav looked our best striker in preseason, it seemed obvious that he should partner defoe from the start of the season. it now seems unfortunate that we had such a good start, playing defoe and keane up top, which never was/ is / will be our best partnership. Then eventually crouch was preferred and pav completely overlooked. i dont blame him for wanting to go, but hope he shows his commitment instead of sulking. im guessing that he has been left out due to his attitude rather than his ability.

 

[Hoowl]

I thought Crouch won plenty of headers during the first part of the game. If Defoe has scored the penalty and shot earlier when through on goal the second time we wouldn't have dropped off the boild and let Leeds into it.

Pavlyuchenko took his goal well but I thought Keane looked decent on the left too so what can you get from that? Pavlyuchenko's got to show me a lot more to convince me, as he was poor last season. I'd still have him as fourth in the pecking order.

 

[Michey]

I thought Crouch won plenty of headers during the first part of the game. If Defoe has scored the penalty and shot earlier when through on goal the second time we wouldn't have dropped off the boild and let Leeds into it.

Pavlyuchenko took his goal well but I thought Keane looked decent on the left too so what can you get from that? Pavlyuchenko's got to show me a lot more to convince me, as he was poor last season. I'd still have him as fourth in the pecking order.

Doesn't seem to get a chance to show anyone anything, does he?

 

[mattstev2000]

I'm fairly ambivalent about Pav to be honest - he's never really shown me enough to say he warrants the support he gets. I think he is technically more gifted than Crouch but he doesn't work as hard (which is saying something because Crouch ain't exactly a slogger).

Having said that, Pav and Keane both looked a lot livelier in the Leeds game than Crouch and Defoe. This coupled with the fact that Defoe and Crouch have looked decidedly average for a few games in a row means I would start Keane & Pav against Fulham to see what they can do...

 

[There's always next year]

We appear to be a club that continually pays top dolar for strikers who then turn out to be shit. The last decade has seen us spend close to £50m on Rebrov, Postiga, Pavluychenko and Crouch.

 

[walworthyid]

We appear to be a club that continually pays top dolar for strikers who then turn out to be shit. The last decade has seen us spend close to £50m on Rebrov, Postiga, Pavluychenko and Crouch.

Is it the players or the club?

Not one of those players is shit or anywhere near to it!