Click here to pre-register at the NEW football site 11x2 today!

Crouch mulling future away from Anfield

Posted on April 7, 2008
Filed Under Arsenal

Peter Crouch has confirmed that he is thinking about leaving Liverpool this summer in pursuit of regular first-team football after being marginalised at Anfield because of the success of Fernando Torres.

Torres has been a huge success in his first season in English football and it is now clear that manager Rafael Benitez regards his most effective line-up as one in which the 28-goal Spaniard operates as a lone forward supported by Steven Gerrard pushing forward from an advanced central midfield position.

As a result, Crouch has made just seven starts in the Premier League all season and, despite a fine goal in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Arsenal, the England forward cannot see a “disheartening,” situation changing in the short term.

He said: “I would love to stay, it is a fantastic club and I love everything about it, but I have got to be realistic.

“If I want to have any aspirations of playing for England, or furthering my career, then I have to be playing - and that doesn’t seem to be the case at the moment.

“I will have to look at it - but that’s certainly something I won’t be doing now, I will be doing it at the end of the season.”

Crouch has been reassured by Benitez that he will get chances to play when Liverpool operate a two-forward system and has been offered a new contract by the club.

But the 27-year-old has not been encouraged by what he has seen recently.

He added: “Obviously if the manager plays one up front, he is more than likely to go with Fernando - and rightly so, he’s been fantastic this season.

“Before when he was rotating at least I was getting a game here and there. But the manager’s obviously stuck with a formation now that seems to be working, and credit to the players that have been playing in that system.

“We have certainly been playing well and I think we have got a great chance of going through to the semi-finals now in Europe. For me, I will just have to obviously keep working hard and try and change his mind.

“It can be disheartening, but you have to keep going.”

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.