Garth Crooks replaced as BBC Team of the Week columnist by former Premier League striker

The end of an era

Garth Crooks has been replaced as BBC Sport’s Team of the Week columnist ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League season.

The former Stoke and Tottenham striker has become a stalwart of BBC Sport, both in TV and online, over the years.

Along with being a regular on Final Score, he was famous for his weekly Team of the Week column, in which he picked his – yep, you’ve guessed it – Premier League team of the week.

And he built up quite the reputation with his column, thanks largely to his pretty rogue and often very attacking picks.

But this era of unique footballing thinking is now at an end, as he has been replaced Troy Deeney as BBC Sport’s Team of the Week columnist.

The news was announced this morning in the former Watford striker’s first column in the new role.

Deeney said it “is a great honour to get to fill his [Crooks’] shoes” and said he has “always had massive respect for Garth for his amazing career in the media after his playing days ended.”

He continued: “I also really admire his approach because, when he has an opinion, he is not afraid to say it and he is always able to back it up – yet he never comes across as someone who is trying to be controversial just to get likes or views on social media or anywhere else.

“Garth genuinely believes in what he says, and the same applies to me, or at least I’d like to think so!”

But Deeney warned it would be a bold new era for the Team of the Week column, as he promised to pick players in their “correct positions.”

He recalled that he was once picked in Crooks’ Team of the Week, but in a holding midfielder role.

Classic Garth.

Explaining what he would be looking for in his Team of the Week picks, Deeney said: “I am going to be looking out for in a player is their bravery or fearlessness on the ball, but I am also going to try to recognise some of the unsung heroes each week.”

But he added that he wouldn’t ignore “the obvious candidates either.”

The Premier League gets underway this weekend, so we’ll all be able to judge Deeney’s first team of the week in a few days time.