How times change. At the dawn of the Premier League the news that Chelsea wanted a rugged English striker to hurl himself at crosses, preferably after smashing through a centre-half in the brusque style of Kerry Dixon or Mick Harford, would barely have caused a ripple. Yet when it emerged last week that they were lining up a £20m bid for Andy Carroll – and then started making eyes at Peter Crouch – their fans were entitled to check their calendars to make sure it was not 1 April.
Much of this, of course, was down to the incongruity of Chelsea chasing after a 29-year-old who, according to Physioroom.com, had eight injuries last season – and then, when he inevitably knackered his ankle (again), doubling down on Crouch, who has scored only 10 league goals in the last two and a half seasons and turns 37 next week.
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