Portsmouth’s Big Man Little Man Partnership Finally Clicks
By: Daryl | August 30th, 2008Much was made of Portsmouth’s pairing of Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe, a seemingly classic big man little man combo that produced exactly zero goals in the first two games.
But today it finally happened like we all imagined it would, when Crouch flicked on for Defoe, and Defoe turned Lescott to score. Portsmouth went on to beat Everton 3-0.
But we probably shouldn’t be expecting this sort of thing too often. Crouch isn’t really your classic target man and there’s probably not great success to be had by aiming balls at his head.
Yes, Crouchy’s tall (hilariously tall) but he’s very very skinny. He’s two men high but only half a man wide. OKay, not literally, but despite his height he’s really not very imposing, not very well-equipped to lead the line.
What he does have is (some) skills. So I see him as more of a come deep and connect the play kind of guy as opposed to a big flick it on kind of guy. And Harry Redknapp’s not really an “aim it at the big man” kind of manager.
But that doesn’t mean the partnership can’t work. Crouch has skill in those presumably big feet, and Defoe’s got plenty of goals in his comparatively tiny feet. So the real future of this partnership should be Crouch holding the ball up and Defoe running past him. Basically size doesn’t matter, talent does.
Update: Though the partnership might have problems if they start squabbling over goals. This great effort from Defoe clearly crosses the line after bouncing down off the bar. But the linesman didn’t flag for a goal and Crouch was there to head home, so it’s not really clear who gets it:
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Category: English Premier League
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