Either you love him or hate him. Peter Crouch has a unique rapport with the fans, he has been ridiculed, gain sympathy and genuine support. However, after his performance this week, there is not much symapthy now.
As Mathieu Valbuena scored a wonderful goal and condemned Liverpool to an unexpected defeat, Crouch is increasingly under pressure. So is manager Rafael Benitez, whose fixation with rotation is often baffling. In this match, he can be accused of delaying his changes too long but the initial problems came from his original selection.
Crouch was chief among the culprits for Liverpool's incoherent performance. Barring injuries, he should be excluded for the Premier League match against Tottenham on Sunday. Especially as his alliance with Fernando Torres was unproductive. There is the sense that the Spaniard prefers partnering either Dirk Kuyt or Andriy Voronin, and he is much the best striker at Benitez's disposal. And with Torres the focal point of the attack, Crouch had to roam around the Spaniard.
It is something that Kuyt and Voronin, with their greater mobility, are better suited to doing. The touchline is not his natural terrain and, even when in more central areas, holding the ball up proved easier than finding colleagues attuned to his thinking. It was not merely the Liverpool strikers who were on different wavelengths, but the sight of Crouch retreating towards the half-way line as he failed to find a team-mate to pass to was telling.
And while it is not Crouch's fault that his inclusion tends to prompt team-mates to opt for the long ball, his lack of pace does deter them from playing passes into the channels. He lasted 75 minutes, though there was a case for his removal at half-time. Sebastian Leto, meanwhile, managed 52 minutes, which is about par for Andriy Shevchenko these days, but hardly encouraging for anyone else. The young Argentine, like many Benitez imports, is taking time to acclimatise.
Whether a lack of dynamism will be resolved when he has settled remains to be seen, but he appeared worryingly one-paced. And the left of midfield is already shaping up to be Liverpool's problem position. Leto is the fourth incumbent already this season. Indeed, three were tried within 90 minutes with John Arne Riise and Yossi Benayoun taking turns there.
It was only with the Israeli in situ, Torres accompanied by Kuyt up front and Voronin on the right flank that Liverpool had a worthy attacking collective. Having barely threatened a goal all night, they came close on three occasions in added time. The previously unemployed Steve Mendanda produced fine saves from Benayoun and Kuyt, the latter leading to Torres striking the foot of the post.
Not, it should be said, that Liverpool's mediocrity was attributable solely to Crouch and Leto. Steven Gerrard misplaced several passes. Sami Hyypia was troubled by the pace of the excellent Mamadou Niang. Fabio Aurelio, predictably, was below par. And Momo Sissoko was guilty of a costly concession of possession before Marseille's goal, with Boudewijn Zenden, until recently of Liverpool, then supplying Valbuena for a fine curler that made its way into the net via the underside of the bar.
'It's not me that created history. It was created by my players,' said Eric Gerets, enabling Marseille to become the first French side to win at Anfield in his opening game in charge. 'What they did tonight was fantastic. We made a few technical errors, but what we did in terms of tactics was right.'
Benitez admitted: 'Today was a bad day. Everything was wrong. We were not playing well. It was clear from the beginning. We were not doing the right things, we were giving the ball away and we could not create a clear chance.' Was it their worst performance under him? 'It could be, especially at home.' Any positives at all? 'It's finished.' As, in a few months' time, could be Crouch's Liverpool career.
