sportbible homepage
sportbible homepage
  • Home
  • Football
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • World Cup
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Manchester United
    • Liverpool
    • Arsenal
    • Real Madrid
    • Barcelona
  • Formula 1
    • Red Bull
    • Ferrari
    • McLaren
    • Mercedes
    • Max Verstappen
    • Lewis Hamilton
    • Lando Norris
    • George Russell
    • Charles Leclerc
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • More Sport
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • NBA
    • NFL
    • Darts
    • Athletics
    • Rugby
    • Wrestling
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Snapchat
TikTok
Threads
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • LADbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Peter Crouch talking about THAT Stoke City team managed by Tony Pulis is an incredible watch
Home>Football
Published 15:22 21 Sep 2022 GMT+1

Peter Crouch talking about THAT Stoke City team managed by Tony Pulis is an incredible watch

Crouch spent eight years at Stoke City.

Daniel Marland

Daniel Marland

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Peter Crouch sat down to discuss absolutely everything about Tony Pulis' legendary Stoke City team and it's a fascinating watch.

For those of you who are unaware, Stoke earned promotion to the Premier League in 2008 and developed a reputation for being the roughest team about.

Pulis had a group of players who fully bought into his methods and they delivered some incredible results over the years. The Potters even reached the 2011 FA Cup final and played in the Europa League the following season.

Advert

Crouch moved to the bet365 Stadium that year and his size meant he was the perfect target man for a Pulis team.

The former England international sat down with Joe Cole for an episode of the 'The Joe Cole Cast' last week and claimed Stoke could've given THAT Barcelona team managed by Pep Guardiola a run for their money.

Crouch and Pulis at a press conference. (Image
Alamy)

He explained: "I bought into it because when I arrived there, there was a lot of players that were playing above themselves, but the attitude and camaraderie in the group was amazing.

"It was one of the best dressing rooms that I’ve ever been a part of, you just knew you were going into battle everyday and going to get a result because of the work rate, attitude, the endeavour and dedication.

"I reckon at that time we were only team that could beat Barcelona. We just made things horrible.

"If [Lionel] Messi or [Andres] Iniesta came to the Britannia at that time, I reckon we could have turned them over because we made it horrendous for teams."

"If Messi and Iniesta came to the Brittania at that time I reckon we could have turned them over."

"We trained in the middle of the pitch before we played Arsenal just to cut it all up."@petercrouch reminiscing about his time at Stoke is absolutely incredible! 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/rSTnwbNbXa

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 20, 2022

One team Stoke always managed to beat is Arsenal. Arsene Wenger's luxurious brand of football never fully clicked against Pulis' smashmouth style and that was by design.

Crouch revealed Stoke use to train in the middle of the pitch in an attempt to cut the turf up with their studs. Arsenal were always going to dominate possession, so it made ball retention much trickier.

The 41-year-old continued: "We trained in the middle of the pitch before we played Arsenal just to cut it all up," Crouch added.

“The grass had grown longer and I remember looking at Aaron Ramsey and he couldn’t see his boot! He went Crouchy and I went 'that’s just what we do here.' It was brilliant."

Crouch in action against Manchester United in 2011. (Image
Alamy)

Crouch added: "Tony always said, fair play to him, he could adapt but he didn’t. His best line of all-time for me was when he felt like we were getting ahead of ourselves. 

"It’s one of the best lines I've heard in football. He said 'don’t get ahead of yourselves lads, you’re bang average players in a fantastic system.' I can’t argue with that."

Featured Image Credit: Alamy & BT Sport

Topics: Peter Crouch, Stoke City, Premier League, Barcelona, Arsenal

Daniel Marland
Daniel Marland

Daniel is SPORTbible's Senior Social Editor.

X

@DanMarland_

Recommended reads

Tommy Fury disagrees with Tyson's 'no choice' claim as he reveals why he doesn't want his children to boxGetty ImagesEddie Hall confirms retirement decision as ideal next opponent named ahead of Tommy Fury fightGetty Images'I wanted to give back to the sport that gave me everything' - Ashley Cole is finding himself in first manager jobGettyAn interview with Ben Stokes: 'English cricket doesn't lack talent... there are quite a few names'Getty Images

Advert

  • Declan Rice's instant three-word response to Man City loss decoded by lipreaders
  • Peter Crouch still gets emotional talking about 'the worst professional experience of his life'
  • Peter Crouch fumed at Abbey Clancy for X-rated birthday present
  • Piers Morgan's instant response to viral Man City fan drinking from an Arsenal bottle

Choose your content:

an hour ago
3 hours ago
  • Getty
    an hour ago

    FIFA's pre-match ceremony changed for Saudi Arabia and Uruguay due to strict rules

    FIFA's new pre-match ceremony has only been tweaked for one fixture at the 2026 World Cup.

    Football
  • Getty Images
    an hour ago

    Ole Gunnar Solskjaer becomes leading candidate for shock Premier League job

    The former Manchester United boss could soon return to English football, five years on from his United exit.

    Football
  • Getty Images
    3 hours ago

    Trevor Chalobah's eight-year old social media post goes viral after shock World Cup call up

    The Three Lions suffered a huge injury blow on the eve of their first World Cup match.

    Football
  • Getty Images
    3 hours ago

    Fans in agreement as Thomas Tuchel makes decision on last-minute replacement for injured Tino Livramento

    Livramento has been ruled out of the World Cup.

    Football