Peter Crouch: Les Ferdinand was my biggest inspiration at Spurs

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The Stoke City striker says the Queens Park Rangers man was someone he very much looked up to during his Tottenham Hotspur career.

Stoke target man Peter Crouch has revealed that Les Ferdinand was his biggest inspiration during his time at Tottenham, according to the Independent.

Crouch, who just like Ferdinand used to play for QPR and the north London side, has been looking back at his White Hart Lane career, revealing that the Spurs icon was someone he very much looked up to.

And Ferdinand even gave Crouch tips on his heading of the ball when he was signed by the club in 2009 – even though the experienced striker had by then forged a reputation as a deadly finisher in the air.

“Les was a player I really looked up to. He was such a top man. A fantastic player but someone you could speak to as well. I was a young player and no one had heard of me,” the Stoke striker said of the former QPR and Spurs forward.

“I remember him sticking up for me a few times and then also there was the heading. When I came back to Tottenham [in 2009] he was a coach with the academy lads but he would take me for the odd heading session. I was already on my way. I had been signed for £9m!”

As Opta stats show, no Premier League player has scored more headed goals over the last four seasons than the Stoke City striker.

In his rivals’ defence, however, Crouch has been given far more game time during those years – even more than the likes of John Terry and Wayne Rooney.

The Stoke man has obviously kept himself fit and utilised his natural prowess… Tottenham fans will no doubt have fond memories of the forward’s time at White Hart Lane.

As for Ferdinand, the former Spurs striker is now in a senior role at QPR – it’ll be interesting to see whether he ever tries to create a reunion with Crouch at Loftus Road…