Benitez arrives at Crouch end

RAFAEL Benitez will not confirm it, at least not publicly, but Peter Crouch’s days of starting games for Liverpool are all but over.

That was the conclusion to be drawn from another disappointing Liverpool draw, their sixth in 11 Premier League games this season, in which Benitez decided, too late, that the introduction of Crouch and winger Harry Kewell could turn one point into three.

During a rousing finale, in which Crouch played the final 18 minutes, Brad Friedel was required to make two stunning saves from Steven Gerrard, David Bentley cleared a Crouch header off the line and Dirk Kuyt completed a woeful afternoon with two bad misses.

Ironically, the impact Crouch had upon the match from the bench appears likely to work against him. With just one league start to his name this season, Crouch is clearly viewed as a specialist substitute by Benitez, who opted to start with Dutchman Kuyt as a lone striker at Ewood Park.

But there is a growing army of support for the 6’7” target man, an army which feels the England international is not receiving a fair opportunity to prove his worth under Benitez.

Stephen Warnock, the Blackburn full-back who suffered in a similar fashion from a lack of playing time when he was at Liverpool, can sympathise with Crouch’s position and also appreciate what an asset he can be to his team’s attacking play.

“It certainly made it more difficult for us and they went more direct with Crouchie and it seemed to suit them,” said Warnock. “Crouchie is a great player. He’s one of those that almost any team would love to have in their starting line-up.

“But they seem to use him in a different way and the manager there seems to think that works for him. He’s a real asset when he comes on and it must be frustrating for him when he’s not starting — as I know only too well.”

Unfortunately for Crouch, the only opinion that matters is that of Benitez and, without spelling it out following the game, the Spaniard hinted largely that the striker needs to become accustomed to his “super sub” status.

“He could be,” said Benitez when asked whether Crouch was better utilised off the bench. “Some players are like that. Harry couldn’t play from the beginning, but when he came on his impact was very important for us and Crouch was the same.”

At least Benitez could take consolation in the fact that his team continued their unbeaten start to the league campaign and also saw another useful outing from Kewell, who has yet to start his first game since the FA Cup Final 18 months ago.

But Blackburn, one of the surprise packages of the new season, could take equal satisfaction from a result that keeps them one point above their Merseyside opponents.

“They had chances at the end but if you look at the overall game, we feel disappointed,” added Warnock. “That shows how far we’ve come.

“A couple of years ago we’d have been happy with a point but here we feel disappointed to not have all three. For 70 minutes we were the better team and we probably let our foot off the gas a little bit.

“If we’ve got aspirations of finishing in the top four we’ve got to make sure we don’t lose against the so-called big four and we haven’t done that so far. With us being knocked out of Europe we can concentrate on the league and hopefully our players will stay fitter for every game.

“It would be more enjoyable for everyone if another club could break in to the top four and it’s not just ourselves, the likes of Portsmouth and Man City are also pushing. Three of four will be challenging them and if they slip up we hope we’ll be in there.”

BLACKBURN (4-2-3-1) Friedel 9, Ooijer 6, Samba 6, Nelsen 7, Warnock 6, Emerton 8, Dunn 7 (Tugay 57, 6), Bentley 7, McCarthy 6 (Derbyshire 89), Pedersen 7, Santa Cruz 8.

Subs Not Used: Brown, Khizanishvili, Treacey.

LIVERPOOL (4-4-1-1): Reina 7, Finnan 6, Carragher 6, Hyypia 6, Riise 6, Babel 6 (Kewell 63, 8), Mascherano 6, Sissoko 7, Benayoun 5 (Crouch 72, 8), Gerrard 8, Kuyt 5.

Subs Not Used: Martin, Arbeola, Leiva.

REFEREE: Martin Atkinson (West Yorks) 7: Blackburn claimed they should have had a first half penalty although, on balance, Atkinson’s decision was probably correct. Overall, the Yorkshireman performed solidly.

MATCH RATING: ** Not until Benitez realised he could win the game and threw on Kewell and Crouch did it start to live up to its potential.