• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
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

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."

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 a social editor for SPORTbible after moving from the writing team. Nearly scored past Stormzy at Old Trafford once.

X

@DanMarland_

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • Only one opponent ever scared Peter Crouch and he didn't even want to face him on the pitch
  • 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
  • Peter Crouch asked if 'size matters' live on air, Joe Cole had an epic response

Choose your content:

11 hours ago
13 hours ago
14 hours ago
15 hours ago
  • Getty
    11 hours ago

    Real Madrid Want £43m Man Utd Star to Replace Bellingham Amid Attitude Claims

    There have been some reports suggesting the hierarchy at Real Madrid are not pleased with the England international's on-pitch attitude.

    Football
  • Getty
    13 hours ago

    England 'Blocked' From World Cup Boycott Due to Little-Known FIFA Contract

    There have been suggestions that some nations could choose to boycott the 2026 World Cup due to the current political climate in the US.

    Football
  • Getty
    14 hours ago

    Liam Rosenior Creates Chelsea History With West Ham Comeback

    The Chelsea boss was overjoyed when Enzo Fernandez smashed home a late winner at Stamford Bridge.

    Football
  • Getty
    15 hours ago

    Gary Neville Urges Rosenior To Make 'Harsh' Garnacho Call vs West Ham

    Chelsea found themselves 2-0 down at half-time to West Ham, courtesy of goals from Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville.

    Football