Premier League preivew: Dirk Kuyt ready to get in the goals for Liverpool

Feb 9 2008 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

DIRK KUYT returns to the scene of his first Liverpool start tomorrow searching for a fresh beginning to his faltering Anfield career.

The Holland international was handed his full debut when Rafael Benitez’s side last visited Stamford Bridge in a Premier League fixture in September 2006.

Only 16 minutes had gone when the ball was fed invitingly for Kuyt to open his account. But instead of ruffling the back of the net, the striker’s effort rattled the crossbar, setting the tone for a Liverpool tenure that has at times shown plenty of promise but frustratingly failed to deliver on that potential.

It hasn’t been without some success, of course.

Kuyt went on to net 14 goals during that first season, and etched his name into Anfield folklore by scoring the winning penalty in the Champions League semi-final against Chelsea and then finding the target in the final itself against AC Milan.

The striker had been expected to build on those encouraging foundations this campaign, particularly given the extra competition from new arrival Fernando Torres.

But, having scored just seven goals in 30 games – including a solitary strike from open play in the top-flight – Kuyt has struggled desperately for form and confidence since the summer.

His fortunes hit a new low this week when he was omitted from the Holland squad to face Croatia in a friendly, with national team coach Marco van Basten suggesting the striker’s performances were “not good enough”.

Kuyt’s downturn in fortunes has coincided with the passing of his father Gerrit, who lost a long battle with lung cancer in June.

And while quick to insist it isn’t the sole factor behind his ongoing spell of 12 games without a goal, Kuyt admits he is still finding it hard to cope with the loss of the most influential person on his career.

“My dad was my biggest supporter and I still find it difficult to set my mind at rest and move on,” says the striker. “There are still times in games where I look up to where he used to sit and wonder where he is. After a moment I remember, and it all comes back.

“I have got to try and get on with things but I cannot just shrug it aside as if nothing has happened.

“It has been so hard trying to get over it, but there have been other factors as well behind my form not being good enough.”

Kuyt has been hugely appreciative of the support he has received from within Anfield.

“The club and the manager have been great to me, Rafa said he would give me all the support I needed,” he adds. “That was hugely important. And even now the manager and the lads have continued to help me.

I truly believe I am at the right club to help me deal with this problem. And the fans have been great to me, they understand what I am going through. It is a special feeling when you are not at your best and they still support you.”

With Torres sidelined by a hamstring problem, Kuyt could be handed a starting role alongside Peter Crouch up front at Stamford Bridge tomorrow afternoon.

After playing 179 consecutive matches between March 2001 and April 2006 for FC Utrecht and then Feyenoord in the Dutch league, Kuyt arrived at Anfield having grown accustomed to regular first-team football.

And he admits: “I have found it difficult coping with the rotation policy at Liverpool. I want to be playing at least 35 games a season and I went to the manager to tell him that.

He pointed out that I played that number of games last season and could end up doing the same this time given the number of competitions we are in.

“He said it was about getting the balance right in the team and there would be games where he would need my qualities. I can live with that and I know as well that I have got to do my job to justify my selection. My performances just have not been good enough and I have got to concentrate on improving them.”

Benitez has been consistent in his support of Kuyt throughout his barren run, and has again backed the Dutchman to fill the breach left by Torres.

“Everybody was saying that Torres and (Peter) Crouch did well last week, but I will have to change that plan now with probably Dirk Kuyt involved,” says the Anfield manager. “It will not be rotation now, but something I will have to do.

“I have no problems with Kuyt. He is a fantastic professional, a worker, so he does an important job for the team. If Torres or (Steven) Gerrard score goals it is because Kuyt is working so hard.

He’s okay. He would like to score more goals and I would like him to score more but I have every confidence in him.

“There maybe is a problem with confidence, but if we create better chances he will score.

“When strikers score they are happy, they score the winner and everybody is happy and they get man of the match awards, and that is because when you are talking about strikers everybody only talks about goals, not the work they do.”

No Liverpool player has managed to find the target at Stamford Bridge in seven visits under Benitez, with Bruno Cheyrou the last to score in the club’s last win at Chelsea in January 2004. And Benitez acknowledges that his team must put and end to the profligacy that has hampered their league challenge during the past six weeks.

“I was asked a few weeks ago about why only Gerrard and Torres are scoring,” says the Spaniard. “But now we’ve lost Torres, we’ll see if Gerrard can score! But we need goalscorers from all over the team. I hope the team will be ready, but goalscoring has been a problem for us from other areas.

“We lost at West Ham, but overall our away record has been good. But I’ve said it many times, but we need to start taking our chances more often.”