In recent weeks I have noticed that Peter Crouch is starting to get more game time at Liverpool and in my view he has impressed. I'll be perfectly honest and say I'm not a fan of Crouch and I think the £12 million price tag put on him by Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is obscured.The 26 year old has been linked with a move away from Anfield for months now but Benitez insists he has a future at the club and I think Reds fans and Benitez are starting to see more from the lanky guy.
Last season Crouch was Liverpool's top scorer with 18 goals in all competitions, four more than Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt. Crouch has made eleven appearances this season but the majority of those have come as a substitute or in Champions League/Carling Cup. He has scored two goals this season, both in Tuesdays 8-0 win over Besiktas but I feel in the last few games he's starting to show the critics what he's made of.
Many people thought Crouch's Liverpool days were over when they went out and bought Fernando Torres (£26 million from Atletico Madrid) and Andriy Voronin ( free from Bayern Leverkusen). Torres is in my view, Liverpool's best striker and it is between Voronin, Crouch and Kuyt for Liverpool's second man up front.
Kuyt has disappointed me this season. He has scored two Premier League goals, both in the mersey side derby and both of which were penalties and he has three goals in the Champions League. He, in my mind was rubbish against Blackburn last week, wasting every chance that fell to him, although most of the Liverpool players played crap that night.
I feel Crouch needs to be given more first team starts at Liverpool because Kuyt has been rubbish (apart from the Everton game). People say that Kuyt doesn't score goals, but he battles.. but sorry, that's not good enough for a top side like Liverpool who need their strikers scoring week in, week out to give them a realistic chance of challenging for the league.
I think Crouch and Torres should be given a chance as a strike partnership because with Fernando's pace and Crouch's aerial ability, I for one think they would be a good pairing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the pair have played at all together this season. So what I propose is for Benitez rotates (which he likes to do a lot of) and give Torres and Crouch a go up front for one of Liverpool's up coming Premier League games.
