Crouch and Kuyt Tackle Benitez Over Rotation

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.