So much for that whole "He's big, he's red, his feet stick out the bed!" chant.England striker Peter Crouch is leaving Liverpool and will join FA Cup champions Portsmouth on Monday for a reported transfer fee of £10 million. Pompey apparently outbid Tottenham Hotspur for the 6'7" forward, who had fallen out of favor with Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez last season.
The transfers of Crouch and (eventually) midfielder Xabi Alonso are expected to pay for the acquisition of Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry, though the drama surrounding Barry's transfer is getting ridiculous. Villa rejected a £15 million offer from Liverpool for Barry, who was disciplined by manager Martin O'Neill after his recent outburst over wanting to move to Anfield. The asking price for Barry is reportedly £18 million.
As for Crouch, he'll be having his nachos with a pretty solid strike force that includes Nwankwo Kanu, Jermain Defoe, John Utaka and David Nugent. That should serve Pompey pretty well for its first ever season playing in the UEFA Cup. All that's left is for the supporters to find a second line to follow, "He's big, he's blue..."
