Peter Crouch writing self-help book 'for ugly, lanky freaks' after years of 'bullying'

Posted Sunday, July 02, 2023 by Dailystar.co.uk

Since hanging up his boots in 2019, former Premier League ace Peter Crouch has forged a successful career as a novelist - and his latest book is set to reach new heights

Peter Crouch writing self-help book 'for ugly, lanky freaks' after years of 'bullying'
Peter Crouch is penning a self-help book 'for ugly, lanky freaks' (Image: Getty Images)

Peter Crouch is planning to write a self-help book for bullied beanpole blokes.

The 6ft 7in ex-England ace, 42, has faced so much abuse over his lanky looks he says fellow tall men see him as their "flagbearer".

He said a survival guide could help and added: "I hold it up for all the lanky gentleman out there! All the fellas who get the p**s ripped out of them for being tall."

The ex-Tottenham and Liverpool striker, once likened to "20ft chicken", said: "I didn’t look like a footballer and I had that my whole life. When I came on a pitch a lot of people laughed at me, didn’t take me seriously as a footballer.

"But I changed all that. I would go on a pitch and I’d win the ball to my feet and then I’d go, 'Right, I’m going to show you how good I am.'"

Crouchy said he used to hate looking at headlines calling him a "lanky hitman" and "beanpole striker" and said he felt like he was being "bullied on a global scale".

He said: "My wife Abbey found it really hard looking at those headlines. I suppose I blocked them out. As a young kid, it was hard to take."

Peter Crouch writing self-help book 'for ugly, lanky freaks' after years of 'bullying'
Peter and wife Abbey now host successful podcast The Therapy Crouch (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Sas)

Already well-versed in producing his own written material, Crouch released his first book 'Walking Tall: My Story' in 2007 and the autobiography paved the way for a plethora of novels during his retirement from the professional game.

His second book 'How to Be a Footballer' was shortlisted in The Telegraph Sports Book Awards 2019 and the sequel 'I Robot: How to Be a Footballer II' is now a Sunday Times bestseller.

After hanging up his boots in 2019, Crouch released his latest offering 'How to Be an Ex-Footballer' which was shortlisted for the Sports Entertainment Book of the Year at the British Sports Book Awards. Aside from his solo exploits, a novel with wife Abbey is in the works for later this year, riding on the back of their highly-successful Therapy Crouch podcast.