How not to use Crouch, example A
Sep 21 2005
By Len Capeling, Daily Post
LIVERPOOL gave a perfect demonstration on Sunday of how not to use Peter Crouch.
Result? A near toothless Liverpool attack that offered Edwin van der Sar his easiest afternoon at Anfield.
Peter Crouch was the innocent party in all this muddle.
Asked to win every ball in the air, he did pretty much that.
But apparently no-one had told Liverpool's midfielders that they needed to be closer to the towering target-man for the tactic to work.
Most blame will be levelled at Luis Garcia, who was so far off the pace that you wondered whether he actually knew Crouch was on the pitch.
The Spaniard remains an enigma. He scored some terrific match-winning goals last season, and looked as alert as anyone.
Not here. All he achieved was a new record for losing the ball, receiving it 20 times and promptly losing it 19 times.
Add that frustrating ineffiiciency to the limpness of Florent Sinama-Pongolle and John Arne Riise and you get the bluntness which already threatens to blight a season floating on the exotic breezes of European triumph.
Only late on was Steven Gerrard freed from his defensive chores to buttist at the dull end of operations, but by that time the match had sunk into listlessness and couldn't be revived.
Manchester United were similarly slothful and the only winner was the special one, Jose Mourinho, who enjoyed every minute of this sleepfest.
* ONE of Liverpool's most pathetic performances last season came at St Andrews.
For that reason, and with Birmingham City in disarray, Saturday noon is payback time.
If not, questions will be asked - and loudly.
EVERY time Real Madrid stumble - which they do fairly regularly - the name Rafael Benitez is shoved into four-inch-high headlines.
No wonder Liverpool fans don't like to think too far ahead, while praying that Rafa keeps the faith and shuns the city of his birth.
Except for family holidays.
Lost for words
MICK McCARTHY has kept his sense of humour despite presiding over what must be the worst run of results in footballing history.
Reminded that his goalkeeper Kelvin Davies blamed laryngitis for the lack of communications that brought West Brom's last-second equaliser, the Sunderland manager said: "Un-fortunately, Kelvin couldn't tell me 'I've lost my voice' afterwards because he couldn't speak."
Quite so.
