Peter Crouch was sent off tonight after a wild lunge at John Obi Mikel, as Liverpool crashed out of the Carling Cup at Stamford Bridge.
Regular EPL viewers would have noted that the Crouch tackle beared a striking similarity to another wild lunge from a Liverpool striker—that of Dirk Kuyt against Everton in the stormy October Merseyside derby.
Kuyt famously got away with just a yellow card after that incident—Crouch was not so fortunate this evening.
What strikes me from these two incidents is that neither case are the perpetrators violent players. While both are competitive, they are rarely involved in controversy. Crouch often gets poor treatment from referees, who seem to give free-kicks against him for the offence of being unusually tall—but he generally does not let this effect his perfomance in a negative way.
Perhaps there is another reason why these two previously calm players have let their tempers get the better of them this season. My theory is that they are frustrated at the rotation system their manager employs.
Strikers at any level need regular games to build a rhythm, a sharpness, and mostcrucially, confidence in front of goal. Crouch in particular has good reason to feel confused at his manager's treatment of him. Here we have a player signed for £7m, a statement of faith—a player who was on the field for 17 matches before scoring his first goal for the club, again, with great faith shown by his manager.
After that slow start to his Liverpool career, Crouch had a superb run last year, scoring goals for club and country. In the calendar year of 2006, he scored more goals than any other Premiership player.
What has changed since then?
Benitez appears to have fallen out of love with Crouch. The first sign was when he left him out of the Champions League final in May. Crouch had been Liverpool's top scorer in the competition, but Benitez only afforded him a place on the bench in Athens, and only introduced him as a late substitute when the game was all but lost.
This season Crouch has been patrolling the sidelines, waiting for his chance—he is yet to score a Premiership goal this season, and is only being used in games of less importance. Tonight, his patience finally snapped.
The tackle on Mikel was more than just frustration at not getting a free-kick. It was the summation of a season of frustration from a player who deserves better.
Kuyt showed the same frustration at Everton. Either of them, if played consistently with Torres, could form an excellent partnership with the Spaniard, as they both have qualities that complement his skills.
Rafa has to decide which one is his regular starter. If he doesn't, then their form will continue to suffer, and Liverpool's season could go from bad to worse very quickly.
5 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Sheikh Zakaria about 1 year ago
I think it's time out for Rafa...loose another game in the league and he will be shown the exit door by the co-owners. Damn his Rotation policy.
Why doesn't he understand this? In Europe, his rotation policy works, but in the league, he must stick to the best side.
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Simon Martin about 1 year ago
As a referee myself, I felt Martin Atkinson was spot-on with his decision to send off Crouch - a very dangerous tackle, it was badly timed and more akin to Tae-kwon-do than Football.
Rafa Benitez had the opportunity this year to make Liverpool push for a League win or at least 3rd place, and at the rate he is going he will not be around long enough to see the end of the season, and I agree entirely with your sentiments Sheikh, the EPL is not the same game as the Champions league, therefore he must adapt - or lose. Simple as.
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Karl Matchett about 1 year ago
with regards to strikers, yes, i (almost) always think the in form one should be playing, but with the rest of the team i fully back rotation, especially in the midfield. rafa will not be sacked and its getting rather tiresome repeatedly hearing it from people outside the club, 'we' dont want him sacked.
on a side note, good to see aurelio back yesterday and xabi, and hope they can both remain fit now because we need them in the team.
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Simon Williams about 1 year ago
Agree with all of that Karl, but I just think things seem to be coming to a head at the moment. Liverpool have some the most patient fans around, and have previously had the most patient of boards.
I don't think he will be sacked any time soon, nor do the majority of fans want that, but there is no doubt he will come under serious pressure in the near future if the team don't show some consistency and signs of progress in the Premier League.
Not pressure from the fans, but maybe he will begin to lose some of the players, and if you do that, its game over. Its going to be an interesting xmas period with difficult games against Portsmouth and Man City to come.
Simon, I am not disputing that Crouch deserved to go (and neither is anyone else) so don't really see the relevance of pointing that out.
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Mark Syrett about 1 year ago
well liverpool have been 3rd 4 seasons in a row (with a 5th somewhere in there). and 2nd the year before that. now they are destined for 4th. the fact is whilst chelsea were busy strolling to 2 titles man utd and Arsenal were busy gearing up for a big push to dethrone them and get their trophy back. now the push is on, and liverpool have been left behind, have played all the top 3 at home and have beaten none of them. I doubt rafa deserves to go, I mean Arsenal fans would love to win in Europe, but Liverpool fans can not go 20 years without the league, and it's 19 after this season.
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