On this week’s episode of That Peter Crouch Podcast, we’re joined by one of the Premier League’s original centre-forward royalty… Les Ferdinand. Before the goal compilations, before the Sky Sports montages, before strikers were measured by pressing data and heat maps, there was “Sir Les”. QPR icon. Newcastle hero. The man leading the line when the Premier League still felt brand new. A proper No.9. Power, presence, goals everywhere he went. If you grew up in the 90s, you knew exactly what Les Ferdinand meant. He joins Pete, Sids and Chris to talk about the journey from West London non-league graft to becoming one of the most feared forwards in the country. There’s the unbelievable story of starting out as a goalkeeper, the Turkey move that changed his mentality forever, and the sliding doors moment with Manchester United that could have rewritten football history. We get into loyalty, ambition, dressing room politics and the brutal advice from Ray Wilkins that stuck with him for life. It’s honest, funny, reflective and packed with the kind of insight only someone who’s lived it can give. We’ve split our conversation Les into two parts, and after we transition out of the nostalgia fuelled Part 1, things immediately descend into remote chaos. We build up to Macclesfield’s FA Cup tie and what it could mean for the pod, update the leaderboard as the pressure ramps up, and dive into this week’s Paddy Power predictions with a North London Derby thrown into the mix. There’s a live package opened on air that nobody fully understands, some technical mishaps, a bit of shouting about scores, and the sort of disorder that only seems to happen when we’re not all in the same room. Part 2 with Les drops next week. Trust us, you’ll want it. 00:00 – Intro: One of the Premier League’s original No.9s 02:12 – Early career doubts & never expecting to go pro 05:48 – Growing up in West London & early football influences 08:36 – Playing as a GOALKEEPER for three years 11:04 – The hat-trick that changed his position forever 14:22 – Non-league graft & the reality of rejection 17:10 – FA Vase Final at Wembley before the big time 20:45 – The move to Turkey: why he said yes 23:58 – First training session… 30,000+ fans watching 26:41 – Battling imposter syndrome abroad 29:55 – The mindset shift that transformed him 33:18 – Returning to QPR a completely different striker 37:42 – Becoming one of the Premier League’s most feared forwards 41:06 – Manchester United interest becomes real… 43:45 - Part 1 with Les ends 44:00 – Macclesfield FA Cup update ahead of kick-off 46:50 – Instagram shoutout (Greatest Kits) 50:30 – Catchphrase encounters in Soho 54:07 – Paddy Power segment begins 1:08:50 – On-air package chaos! 1:10:40 – Sign off… tune in for part 2 next week This episode is sponsored by The AA, the UK’s No.1 breakdown provider. It’s OK with the AA, they’re the fastest major breakdown provider with more patrols up and down the country, 24/7, 365 days a year. So, if you want that peace of mind and be back on the road in no time - Join today at www.theaa.com/Crouch T&Cs apply. Verify claims at theaa.com/best Follow our Clips page https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLNBLB3xr3LyiyAkhZEtiAA For more Peter Crouch: Twitter - https://twitter.com/petercrouch Therapy Crouch - https://www.youtube.com/@thetherapycrouch For more Chris Stark Twitter - https://twitter.com/Chris_Stark Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/chrisstark/ For more Steve Sidwell Twitter - https://twitter.com/sjsidwell Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/stevesidwell14 #PeterCrouch #ThatPeterCrouchPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
