Peter Crouch praises Rafael van der Vaart
Tottenham Hotspur striker Peter Crouch says Rafael van der Vaart is the man to take the club into a new era.
Spurs performed above expectations last season to finish in fourth place and secure Champions League football. The club then moved quickly to sign van der Vaart on the last day of the summer transfer window.
Van der Vaart is still going through a settling in process at the club after making the move from Spanish giants Real Madrid. Crouch believes the Dutchman can help every single player at the club to improve.
Crouch said: "Rafael is different class, especially the way he plays off the front man, finds little pockets and just picks up the ball.
He goes quite deep and is a fantastic player, although I'd say he's more similar to Luka Modric than Wayne Rooney
when he plays in that position. He picks up possession and creates things from nothing."
Van der Vaart can help Spurs in a number of different ways. However, it's important the club and team moves forward together and doesn't place too much pressure on a single player.
Help the club
Van der Vaart will help the club perform better because he is one of the best players in the squad. He has the ability to keep the ball for long spells during matches and he can bring other players into
play and create chances.
He is a versatile player that can play in any position in the midfield. His best position is central midfield but there will be times when the Spurs squad is stretched because of injury and suspension.
Van der Vaart is close to the peak of his playing career at the age of 27. He has enjoyed long spells with other big European clubs including Madrid and Ajax. He can use his experience to help improve
younger players in the youth teams.
A team effort
If Spurs is going to go up another level and win trophies then it has to be a team effort. The reason there is so much focus on van der Vaart is because his arrival at
Spurs is still very surprising to a lot of people.
It's naive for Crouch and the team to think that van der Vaart alone will turn Tottenham into an enormous club. He is a very good player but every member of the first team
has to play a part in taking Spurs forward.
Crouch added: "I think the fact that he's chosen to come to us shows our ambition.
He's come from Real Madrid; he must have had options but he's come in and he's a good lad to have round the place as well. He's settled in right away.
We have the ability to compete against anyone. I look around our dressing room and we have fantastic players."
Betting advice
Despite van der Vaart's arrival and Crouch's optimism, many pundits still expect Spurs will struggle to make the top four in the Premier League this season. The odds will
be tempting so have a small punt if you think the side can pull it off.
Van der Vaart is by far one of the best players at Spurs. He can score from virtually any position, at any time and against any opponent. Back him to do so before sides
work out how to counter his influence.
Crouch also seems very energetic and enthusiastic at the moment. If van der Vaart is as good as Crouch says then the big striker should be scoring a few goals over the
next few weeks. Take advantage of this because it won't last forever.
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