Rafa Benitez defends Peter Crouch decision

Nov 5 2007 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post

RAFAEL BENITEZ has stood by his decision to field one striker at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, and again leave Peter Crouch out of the starting line-up.

Liverpool’s goalless draw was the fifth time they have managed just one point in their last seven Premier League games and it dropped them to seventh in the table.

They only managed to sustain a period of pressure after Crouch came on in the 72nd minute to partner Dirk Kuyt, who had previously been leading the line on his own.

But Benitez felt that the work his side had done in keeping Blackburn, who remain a point above Liverpool, at bay set the scene perfectly for the introduction of Crouch as well as Harry Kewell’s first league appearance since the end of last season.

“Sometimes when players play 20 minutes or half an hour, they are more important for the team,” said Benitez.

“At the end we were more dangerous for three reasons. They were more tired, Harry is a player who can beat players in a wide area and also because we had Crouch.

“So they are the three reasons why we had more options to attack.

“We were playing with the same idea, just with different players and different qualities.

“Harry was beating players, but Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun tend to go inside. With those, you don’t need a target man who can play in the air.

“But with a winger like Harry or players like Gerrard and Finnan, who can cross, you need a player who is good in the air.

“Today, Harry couldn’t play from the beginning, but when he came on his impact was very important for us and Crouch was the same.

“Maybe from the beginning would have been different because they were working hard between the lines and in the middle. We knew they were really dangerous in the middle, but when they were tired, we had more chances.

“Crouch is a target man, so we could play more long balls for him and win the second balls. In the first half, we had to do it with ability on the ground, so it’s different.

“You could talk about any player who didn’t play, Voronin or Lucas, the same with Arbeloa and Aurelio. People will talk and talk, but creating five chances is enough to win this game.”

Kuyt missed Liverpool’s best opportunity to win the game late on and his only goal in outfield play this season was in the Champions League at Porto.

The Dutchman, whose two Merseyside derby penalties are his only Premier League goals of the campaign so far, was able to drift into a more comfortable deep role behind Crouch and Liverpool instantly became more creative.

Benitez insists the encouraging finish to the game will give him confidence ahead of the vital home game against Besiktas tomorrow and he also hinted he will pair Kuyt alongside an out-and-out striker.

When asked if that role could be handed to Crouch, Benitez replied: “He could play and, with the competition I want with my strikers, he can be an option – but it is the same with Voronin.

“Each game depends on the players and Kuyt and Voronin have been playing well and creating enough chances to give them confidence.

“But you must be positive when you have so many chances, but cannot score. Okay, at least we had the chances and that’s positive.

“The keeper made two or three really good saves, so we are at least making the chances, and you can see some players like Kewell coming back. You must think of the positives.”

Kewell, who made his comeback as a substitute in last week’s Carling Cup tie with Cardiff, is still some way from a place in the Benitez’s first 11.

The manager added: “It’s too soon. He cannot have the tempo of the competition without playing but you cannot use him from the beginning, so you have to keep him on the bench.

“If Harry can play some games in a row, it could be easier for him. He has enough quality to play 20 or 25 minutes.”

Liverpool have been drawn away to Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup. The tie will be played on either December 18 or 19.