Garth Crooks' iconic BBC Team of the Week column is AXED, as his replacement says the 66-year-old 'picked players in incorrect positions'

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Garth Crooks will no longer be the pundit in charge of picking the BBC's Premier League Team of the Week.

The 66-year-old former Stoke City and Tottenham forward had been selecting the weekly XIs for well over a decade.

His team's were famously unbalanced, often with players selected in unusual positions just to get them into the team.

It was announced on Tuesday morning that Crooks had been replaced by ex-Watford striker Troy Deeney ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

Deeney - who has recently worked as a pundit on talkSPORT and Sky Sports - introduced himself to BBC readers in a column, in which he praised his predecessor but also acknowledged the wackiness of his picks.

Troy Deeney, pictured working for Sky Sports, will have a new role with BBC Sport this season

Deeney, who has also recently worked for talkSPORT, will now pick the BBC's Team of the Week

Garth Crooks was in charge of the BBC's Premier League Team of the Week for over a decade

'I'm delighted to tell you that I am taking over from the legend that is Garth Crooks to select BBC Sport's Premier League Team of the Week every weekend, and it is a great honour to get to fill his shoes,' Deeney wrote.

'I've always had massive respect for Garth for his amazing career in the media after his playing days ended and, as someone who is following in his footsteps now, I've always looked up to him.

'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!'

Deeney later added: 'I know Garth was famous for sometimes choosing unusual formations like that, but I am going to do things a bit differently. In my team, I promise players will be in their correct positions for starters!'

One of the best examples of Crooks picking players out of position came in March 2016 when he put frontman Deeney in a holding midfield role in a 4-3-1-2 formation.

Crooks picked Deeney - who was a striker - as a holding midfielder in one of his teams in 2016

Crooks also once selected this team, with Alexis Sanchez and Marko Arnautovic as wing backs

Deeney scored 47 goals in 165 Premier League matches for Watford during his playing career

Deeney went on to reveal that his Team of the Week section will now also include a Manager of the Week, before he tipped three players to shine this season.

After saying that he was 'expecting big things' from Aston Villa frontman Ollie Watkins and Brentford's Ivan Toney, Deeney continued: 'The player I am looking forward to seeing most, however, is Chelsea's Cole Palmer. Last season he showed so much of that fearlessness on the ball that I love to see.

'Palmer was a bit of a surprise package after his move from Manchester City, and I don't think teams were always set up specifically to stop him.

'It will be different this time, and much harder now everyone knows how good he is, but he is so talented, I still think he will shine.'

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News of Deeney replacing Crooks as the BBC's chief Team of the Week selector gained a lot of traction via social media, where many fans did not seem impressed with the change.

One fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter): 'Troy Deeney has taken over Garth Crooks in the BBC team of the week segment, they really sat down in a boardroom and said how can we possibly make this more unpopular than before'.

Another added: 'There was me thinking that it was impossible to down grade from Garth Crooks. Look forward to seeing Troy Deeney up top in his own team of the week.'

A similar message from a different fan read: 'The fact the BBC have managed to find a downgrade to Garth Crooks in Troy Deeney is incredible. The bar just gets lower and lower.'

Deeney, 36, played 16 games for Forest Green last season before becoming the club's first-team manager in December.

He lasted just six games as manager and failed to deliver any wins.