Ian Crook

[Paul Spector 0]

Watching the ''Premiership Years'' today, season 92/93, reminded me of just what an outstanding player Crooky was. For me, he is exactly the type of player we need at the moment. He could unlock a defence with killer ball''s time after time - something we haven''t seen in recent years. We would always score goals with Crook playing, and I just feel the likes of Rusty and Fozzy last season just aren''t creative enough at all. All the top teams have this type of player. If we are to return to our glory years in the top flight, we must bring someone in with this ability. Any suggestions?

He could also take a mean free-kick....

[pennywise 0]

darren huckerby

[Paul Spector 0]

Please, just no.

[colneycanary 0]

Kevin Mcdonald-Dundee

[can u sit down please 0]

A legend and my all time favourite player. Crook was a rare type of player that doesn''t come around often.His passing was immaculate and his reading of a game, immense.

Unfortunately, these types of player are a dying breed and you will be hard pushed to find one. Just thinking of the big 4 the only player i could possibly compare would be Alonso @ Liverpool.He drops deep to receive and can hit an awesome pass. Shame he will be leaving.

Happy Days....

[nutty nigel 7,645]

You call it right CUSDP, Crook was amazing for us and its a shame there''s no room for this type of player anymore. Progress doesn''t always mean improvement and midfield players have to be athletes now. Chippy was never one of those.

One thing that puzzles me though, how did Crook get this reputation for taking amazing free kicks?

 

[Branston Pickle 3,696]

I certainly remember Crook scoring with a free-kick at White Hart Lane, taken quickly and curled round the wall - but I don''t remember too many others.  He was a classy player, that''s for sure - also remember going to see us play at Hillsborough around New Year in c87/88 (Drinkell equalised late on for a 1-1 draw) - in the warm-up Chippy was pinging lofted crosses from the just inside his own half right under the crossbar, each and every one inch-perfect.

[Mook 0]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

You call it right CUSDP, Crook was amazing for us and its a shame there''s no room for this type of player anymore. Progress doesn''t always mean improvement and midfield players have to be athletes now. Chippy was never one of those.

One thing that puzzles me though, how did Crook get this reputation for taking amazing free kicks?

 

[/quote]Perhaps I''m having my memory clouded here, but not many people used to score from free kicks in those days did they? I remember John Barnes scoring a couple, Waddle and Hoddle, and gazza with a belter, but in general, free kicks weren''t treated the same as they are these days. Is that right, or is that just me remembering things badly?As I recall, Chippy''s free kicks were always aimed perfectly (obviously, cos it was Ian Crook) and usually got us a header at goal. Perhaps that was good enough back then!?I remember him scoring one, but I can''t remember who it was against.

[Paul Spector 0]

I was primarily referring to the accuracy of set-plays, not just scoring goals directly. Corners and free kicks would rarely be wasted by only reaching the first man, as is so often the case now.

[nutty nigel 7,645]

Yes the accuracy of delivery was there and I wasn''t criticising Crook or really referring to a post on this thread. I just meant he seems to have grown a reputation in general for scoring from free kicks thats grown out of nothing. Mulryne, although a lesser player for us, deserves a reputation for scoring from free kicks.

I reckon the only way Chippy would get a game in todays football would be if he was allowed to come off the bench to deliver a set play and then be immediately replaced by an athlete. He certainly wouldn''t be a valuable as a player like Etuhu or even Russell.

Different players for different times.

 

[Unlucky Fried Kitten 0]

Ian Crook was one of a few excellent buys (Bowen, Culverhouse and Drinkell immediately spring to mind as well) that the great Ken Brown managed to snap up at bargain prices before the 1985/6 season began, and what a highly entertaining season that turned out to be. How much would somebody of Ian Crook''s undoubted ability cost you now, though? 4 or 5 million pounds? The total cost of all 4 aforementioned players would probably be well over £10 million at today''s crazy prices.

[nutty nigel 7,645]

JJG - Chippy came the season after Culverhouse and Drinkell and then Bowen came the season after that. You are right though, they were all excellent buys by Ken Brown. 85/86 we walked the league after unluckily being relegated the season we won the Milk Cup. 86/87 we would have qualified for Europe for a second time when we finished 5th. My son was mascot that year when we played Sheffield Wednesday at home over Easter. Kevin Drinkell was his favourite player and I have some great photo''s from the day. He still tells the tale of how he scored a penalty past Gunny at the River End in the warm up! They were great days. Our team that day would surprise you. It was Gunn, Brown, Spearing, Elliott, Phelan, Butterworth, Crook, Drinkell, Rosario, Putney, Gordon. I scarcely remember Elliott but he came here at the same time as Crook and Putney. Putney scored the only goal that day after 2 mins and my son missed it because he was getting changed! Oh, and Chippy got sent off for fighting with Ian Snodin!! The Sheffield Wednesday team contained bot Gary megson and Nigel Worthington!!!

 

[Branston Pickle 3,696]

Don''t forget the signing of Steve Bruce as well, in 84,and did he not sign Dave Williams and Mike Phelan in 85 - Ken Brown certainly picked up some dead good players for not a lot 

[Punting Canary 0]

Crook was wonderful to watch when he had the ball at his feet, (not so good when tracking back to try and get a tackle in) but some of the passes he played were out of this world and its no suprise that he did all his learning whilst training with Glen Hoddle at Spurs which was the reason he couldn''t get into the side.  His free kick and ball in behind the full back routine yielded 3 or 4 goals and the opposition never seemed to learn from it.  In a similar vein I also have visions of David Williams virtually coming out retirement to play against QPR at home (not sure if he was already coach at the time) and spraying balls around with inch perfect precision from the centre circle......

[Canary Boy 0]

I remember Crook scoring a beautiful free kick against Forest in the 1992/3 season which put us top of the Premier League. Anyone else remember that? It was LIVE on Sky at the time. I think it was Mike Walker''s third or forth game in charge if my memory is working.

[Unlucky Fried Kitten 0]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

JJG - Chippy came the season after Culverhouse and Drinkell and then Bowen came the season after that. You are right though, they were all excellent buys by Ken Brown. 85/86 we walked the league after unluckily being relegated the season we won the Milk Cup. 86/87 we would have qualified for Europe for a second time when we finished 5th. My son was mascot that year when we played Sheffield Wednesday at home over Easter. Kevin Drinkell was his favourite player and I have some great photo''s from the day. He still tells the tale of how he scored a penalty past Gunny at the River End in the warm up! They were great days. Our team that day would surprise you. It was Gunn, Brown, Spearing, Elliott, Phelan, Butterworth, Crook, Drinkell, Rosario, Putney, Gordon. I scarcely remember Elliott but he came here at the same time as Crook and Putney. Putney scored the only goal that day after 2 mins and my son missed it because he was getting changed! Oh, and Chippy got sent off for fighting with Ian Snodin!! The Sheffield Wednesday team contained bot Gary megson and Nigel Worthington!!!

 

[/quote]

Thanks for correcting my deliberate mistakes as regards the timing of the signings of Chippy and Bowen, Nutty Nigel. I had to check on the Flown From The Nest website just to be sure. The old memory''s not what it used to be! It''s lucky I''ve never tried to write a book on the Ken Brown years from memory, isn''t it?

[scott 0]

We all took it for granted just how good we were during the 80''s and early 90''s and that we''d always be that good!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

[Shack Attack 0]

Chippy was an awesome player, the best passer of a ball I''ve ever seen in a City shirt, but Nutty and others are correct in saying that he wouldn''t be suited to modern day football. To be a central midfielder in the moderngame you have to have a certain physicality about your game and that''s something Ian Crook never had. The midfielder we really need to replace is Damien Francis and for me that''s sad.In South America they have a word for the playmaker in a side which is enganche. I think it''s named after a step inthe tango where the woman wraps a leg around the back of the mans''s leg, the literal translation is hook. The engancheacts as the hook that connects defence and attack as everything goes through him. I guess you could argue that Ian Crookwas our enganche in those great teams of the late eighties and early nineties as he always seemed to be pulling the stringsand turning defense into attack. Unfortunately even in South America this role is slowly dying out. Argentina used JuanRoman Riquelme as their enganche in the Copa America last year but in the end they were beaten by a Brazillian sidewho had abandoned the style that made them famous in favour of a more physical North European style. I find it prettysad but I guess some would argue that it''s progress [:''(]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

[Barclay_Boy 0]

[quote user="Canary Boy"]I remember Crook scoring a beautiful free kick against Forest in the 1992/3 season which put us top of the Premier League. Anyone else remember that? It was LIVE on Sky at the time. I think it was Mike Walker''s third or forth game in charge if my memory is working.
[/quote]

yeah, still got it on video, Andy Gray has just finished saying that Norwich were quite cute at free kicks when Crooky promptly went and scored. Think we won 2 -1 if I remember it right.

[Punting Canary 0]

In a moment whilst adverts on I saw Crook''s Wikapeadia statement which reads brilliantly as a Norwich fan

Crook was at the hub of the most successful team in Norwich''s history. During his eleven seasons at the club, he helped them to a series of top five finishes in England''s top division and playing in the club''s UEFA Cup run. He was a midfielder noted for his passing ability and accuracy from set-pieces. He famously agreed to leave Norwich to join their fierce rivals Ipswich Town F.C., even posing for photos with his new shirt, buying his children replica kits before changing his mind and re-signing for City days later. This was due to former Norwich manager Mike Walker taking over the helm at Carrow Road.

Ipswich Town F.C. took it to court. The local newspaper Evening Star carried the headline "Get out of Town Crook and take that man Walker with you".

..........It would have been a travesty to see him playing in the horrid blue.  I for one am looking forward to the day when he manages Norwich which I am sure will happen at some point.

[whoareyou? 0]

Not too dispute that Crook had a number of great abilities with his passing and ball control...but i think some of your rose-tinted spectacles are maybe a bit too rose-tinted! He was a good player but not a top Premier League player!

This was a time when our best players always moved on to bigger clubs but Crook wasn''t one of them.

[Mook 0]

[quote user="whoareyou"]

Not too dispute that Crook had a number of great abilities with his passing and ball control...but i think some of your rose-tinted spectacles are maybe a bit too rose-tinted! He was a good player but not a top Premier League player!

This was a time when our best players always moved on to bigger clubs but Crook wasn''t one of them.

[/quote]Sorry but he certainly was one of our best players in that era. How would so many fans be wrong? You meet anyone that watched Norwich during that era and Crook''s name will be cited as one of our most important players.Perhaps he didn''t get noticed because he went about his business quietly but effectively. For example, look at Man Utd during the 90''s. Beckham, Giggs, Keane, Staam and many others were all constantly linked with big money moves. Why not Scholes, even though he was better than pretty much all of them? Perhaps Chippy was just happy here.

[whoareyou? 0]

I wouldn''t argue that he was one of our better players from his time.....but he wasn''t a top Premier League player as some seem to be claiming. He was certainly a delight to watch with a football on his day. Seem to remember one cracking goal he scored against ManUre at FCR which nearly got Alex Ferguson the sack as ManUre were struggling big time in those days and were close to the relegation places.

[Canary Boy 0]

[quote user="Barclay_Boy"]

[quote user="Canary Boy"]I remember Crook scoring a beautiful free kick against Forest in the 1992/3 season which put us top of the Premier League. Anyone else remember that? It was LIVE on Sky at the time. I think it was Mike Walker''s third or forth game in charge if my memory is working.[/quote]

yeah, still got it on video, Andy Gray has just finished saying that Norwich were quite cute at free kicks when Crooky promptly went and scored. Think we won 2 -1 if I remember it right.

[/quote]Hi Barclay Boy, I think it may have been 3-1...didn''t Crook, Phillips and Robins score? And a young Roy Keane for Forest?

[can u sit down please 0]

[quote user="Canary Boy"][quote user="Barclay_Boy"]

[quote user="Canary Boy"]I remember Crook scoring a beautiful free kick against Forest in the 1992/3 season which put us top of the Premier League. Anyone else remember that? It was LIVE on Sky at the time. I think it was Mike Walker''s third or forth game in charge if my memory is working.
[/quote]

yeah, still got it on video, Andy Gray has just finished saying that Norwich were quite cute at free kicks when Crooky promptly went and scored. Think we won 2 -1 if I remember it right.

[/quote]

Hi Barclay Boy, I think it may have been 3-1...didn''t Crook, Phillips and Robins score? And a young Roy Keane for Forest?
[/quote]

Nigel Clough for Forest. KWS sang at HT with there song Please Dont go! Happy days.

[Syteanric 1]

[quote user="WeWantWorthyBack"]Watching the ''Premiership Years'' today, season 92/93, reminded me of just what an outstanding player Crooky was. For me, he is exactly the type of player we need at the moment. He could unlock a defence with killer ball''s time after time - something we haven''t seen in recent years. We would always score goals with Crook playing, and I just feel the likes of Rusty and Fozzy last season just aren''t creative enough at all. All the top teams have this type of player. If we are to return to our glory years in the top flight, we must bring someone in with this ability. Any suggestions? He could also take a mean free-kick....[/quote]

a player who couldnt run, couldnt tackle, couldnt head, couldnt shoot.. the game has moved on since Chippys day.. he''d look woeful in todays fast paced game... he hardly ever scored free kicks for us too.

jas :)

[Mook 0]

[quote user="jas the barclay king"]

[quote user="WeWantWorthyBack"]Watching the ''Premiership Years'' today, season 92/93, reminded me of just what an outstanding player Crooky was. For me, he is exactly the type of player we need at the moment. He could unlock a defence with killer ball''s time after time - something we haven''t seen in recent years. We would always score goals with Crook playing, and I just feel the likes of Rusty and Fozzy last season just aren''t creative enough at all. All the top teams have this type of player. If we are to return to our glory years in the top flight, we must bring someone in with this ability. Any suggestions? He could also take a mean free-kick....[/quote]

a player who couldnt run, couldnt tackle, couldnt head, couldnt shoot.. the game has moved on since Chippys day.. he''d look woeful in todays fast paced game... he hardly ever scored free kicks for us too.

jas :)

[/quote]Jas, I used to think you weren''t afraid to tell it like it is. Now I realise you just slate everyone! Ian Crook could tackle better than Alonso and Scholes, he''s no slower than Gareth Barry and how many goals did (for example) Safri score??? I personally thought that Safri was the closest thing we''ve had to Crook, and players like that help the game tick over. Crook would NOT look woeful in the modern game. He made things happen.

[Robert N. LiM 4,511]

[quote user="jas the barclay king"]

a player who couldnt run, couldnt tackle, couldnt head, couldnt shoot.. the game has moved on since Chippys day.. he''d look woeful in todays fast paced game... he hardly ever scored free kicks for us too.

jas :)

[/quote]If ever there was a sentence that summed up what''s wrong with English football, there it is. Best user of the ball we''ve had at Carrow Road in the past 25 years. Yes, the Premiership might be too physical/athletic for him these days, but he would absolutely boss the Championship. Great, great player.