Quotes from Peter Crouch

I know I can play, but people who haven't seen me and look at me on a football pitch think, 'He's tall, and he's there to head the ball.'

I've always felt comfortable on the ball, and I don't know why people are so surprised when you can control it well. It's not a disability. It's just that I'm a bit taller than everyone else.

I've always been the tallest; I didn't shoot up. That's who I am.

Because of how I looked, there was definitely a prejudice against me. People didn't think I could play. I could see why: I weighed about eight stone and was six foot bleeding seven.

At first, I was overwhelmed at moving up to international level, but the England lads are top class at making you feel welcome.

I've got a good record, but maybe, for whatever reason, it's not built up by people. I wouldn't say I'm hard done by. But it's true that I sometimes don't get the praise.

I was a million miles from being a Premier League player. You see some people, at 18 they are ready. At 21, I wasn't. Physically nowhere near.

There is one thing that I would really enjoy, and that is, of course, to get 100 Premier League goals.

You should never get ahead of yourself car-wise; no Merc when you're still in the youth team, no Porsche unless you're a Premier League regular.

I don't think I was ready for the Premier League until I was 24 at Southampton.

I was always quite technical as a player, but when you are the size I am, if you are crap in the air, it is going to look bad.

It was only when I got to Tottenham as a youth player that they said, 'You need to be good in the air.' It was made clear I was going be a target man, so I had to start working on my technique.

I thrive on quick players getting to the byline and sending over crosses. I just have to be quick enough to get on the end of things. In that regard, my job has always been the same, but if we have more wide, quick players, that can only be good for me.

I really enjoy tennis, but football's the game for me.

People tend to assume I was terribly self-conscious about my height. In fact, I've always been perfectly comfortable with the way I am. And if anyone gave me any stick, they soon found I was quite capable of giving it back.

The kit man is the heartbeat of the football club, really. He knows the lads. He's usually local, a fan, and he's got his finger on the pulse of the dressing room.

In this age of social media, it is easy to punch out a phrase 'thoughts are with the family' when something bad occurs, and at times, it is insincere.

I once walked out of a nightclub with my team-mates to see our star midfielder reclining across the bonnet of a Ferrari, arms folded, waiting for girls to come out so he could wink at them and then progress it from there. I have no idea how long he'd been waiting. I do know it wasn't even his Ferrari.

I'm very aware that you lead a very peculiar existence as a professional footballer, being flown everywhere first-class and never having to queue up for anything. Of course, that's attractive, but if you're not careful, you end up living in a world where nothing is really real.

I did a paper round as a kid, but the early mornings were too much. My dad took it over, so I was getting paid 15 quid a week, but he was doing it!

Ronaldo, the Brazilian one - incredible player. I met him once. I was in Ibiza on holiday and quite by chance ran into him in a club. He's the only man I'd go up to and ask for a picture. And I did.

The death of Cyrille Regis, a giant in so many ways, was such a shock and deeply upsetting.

I came from a good family and a nice area, but I went to a rough state school.

My dad got me my first pair of boots. It was a big occasion for us to go to the shopping centre. It was an exciting time to make sure you got the right ones.