Peter Crouch on his admiration for former Portsmouth team-mate Robert Prosinecki, his Harry Redknapp compliment and how Kev the Kitman came to his rescue

And in another revealing insight the striker said his former Blues boss, Harry Redknapp, was good enough to manage both Real Madrid and England – and be successful.

Crouch, who made 88 Pompey appearances and scored 35 times during two spells with the club, spoke specifically about Prosinecki and Redknapp for his column in the Daily Mail.

He also said the Blues were a club for whom he still had ‘great affection’, while adding Fratton Park kitman, Kev McCormack, once carried a sofa up a ladder to get it into the now retired England front man’s flat.

Responding to questions from Mail readers, Crouch wasn’t asked directly about Prosinecki – the former Croatia, Barcelona and Red Madrid midfielder who was sensationally lured to the south coast by Milan Mandaric.

However, he couldn’t resist talking about the then 32-year-old when the question ‘which of your former team-mates would have most trouble avoiding the biscuit tin in isolation?’ was put to him.

Crouch replied: ‘I had someone in mind, but I'll use this question as a chance to talk about Robert Prosinecki who was not – shall we say – the most committed to physical activity.

‘Robert fitted the word “maverick” perfectly and the only time he wasn't smoking a Marlboro Red was when he was on the pitch.

‘We would barely see him at training during the week but, my God, when he played for Portsmouth he was unbelievable.

‘He had this trick where he would shape to shoot, feint and then roll his foot over the ball to leave the defender absolutely bamboozled.

‘You knew it was coming, you could see a mile off what he was going to do, but it was just impossible to stop.

‘He must have been some sight in his pomp, when he played for Red Star Belgrade and Real Madrid.

‘He was a one-man band for Portsmouth, a joy to behold.’

When asked about Redknapp – the manager who sold him to Aston Villa in March 2002, before bringing him back to Fratton Park from Liverpool in 2005, Crouch paid the Blues’ 2008 FA Cup-winning boss the ‘biggest compliment’.

He said: The “wheeler dealer” tag that gets trotted out about Harry is a load of nonsense.

‘Harry understands people and he understands football and the biggest compliment I could give him is that he could manage Real Madrid, England or Dagenham & Redbridge and be successful in all three jobs.

‘Harry's strongest point is getting the right players to play to their strengths and not complicating things.’

Crouch then admitted a story about him once asking Kev the Kitman to lift a sofa up a ladder to get it into his Southsea flat was accurate.

He added: ‘I can confirm that it is indeed true.

‘Kev is a legend - as is his partner-in-crime, Barry (Harris) – and he is the spirit of Portsmouth, a club for whom I have great affection.

‘I was 19 when I first turned up there and, in all honesty, I didn't have a clue about life.

‘I'd got myself a flat down by the seafront and the first thing I thought I needed was a big couch.

‘I bought it without giving any thought to how I'd get it home.

‘Kev came to my rescue. He's an ex-boxer, as strong as anything, and away he went up the ladder with the couch in a harness.

‘He is still there now, 20 years on. Chairmen and managers have come and gone but he is a big reason why the spirit at the club is so good.’