Source: Page 116 of White Noise Keywords: "not," "moved," "anxiety," "seep"

From: "+Del+" <ohnoyoudon'tspamme@here.com> Subject: Local Evening Papers - 21 Nov (Long) Date: 21 Nov 2005 Newsgroups: uk.sport.football.clubs.liverpool

We're all desperate for Peter to score Nov 21 2005 By David Prior Daily Post Staff RAFAEL BENITEZ admitted all the Liverpool players were "desperate" for Peter Crouch to finally break his goalscoring duck after Saturday's penalty miss against Portsmouth. The £7million striker had his best chance yet to claim a first goal since arriving from Southampton in the summer but saw his kick saved before spurning several other excellent chances. Boudewijn Zenden spared Crouch further embarrassment by heading in the rebound while further goals from Djibril Cisse and Fernando Morientes sealed a comfortable win for the Anfield men. Cisse had initially been down to take penalties on Saturday but Crouch's determination to end his now infamous drought saw him grab the ball himself. And while Benitez believed it was probably the wrong stage of the match to take such liberties - adding that the crowd's deafening reaction had not helped - he was unstinting in support of Crouch's all-round contribution. He explained: "We always decide on two or three players and they can choose. It depends on the player that has the most confidence and in this case Steve (Gerrard) said to me 'Peter wants to shoot'. "I think he had confidence - if he decided to kick it he must have had confidence. The problem is that he is playing really well, but when he is close to the six-yard box people cheer him and try to support him, and then maybe he can hear their support and it is more difficult. "But I think when he scores the first goal it will be totally different. Maybe there is a little bit of anxiety, but I've said before that if he plays well it doesn't matter if Peter or Carra scores. The most important thing is to win and we are winning. "At the end of the day we scored, but next time it will maybe be better that another player should score." He added: "I will support him. I can see him training every day and he can score goals. "If you analyse this game, he was good in the air, good on the ground, dribbling, passing, keeping the ball. "I think that all players are trying to support him, he is a nice boy and all of them are desperate for the first goal. "When I speak to him he never says anything to me that would suggest he is really worried. "I will support him because he is playing well." Crouch himself claimed his decision to take the spot-kick reflected his determination not to hide from his current problems. He said: "I made the decision to take the penalty. I am so desperate to score I will take any chance I can that comes along. I am certainly not going to hide. "I picked up the ball and felt confident. But it was a fine save and I was just happy Bolo was there to finish it off. "Maybe the lads won't let me take another one now but I will always be confident and always want the opportunity. "I wanted it, and I have taken a few before and put it in that corner, but this time I changed my mind at the last minute over what I was going to do. "But I have contributed to a good win and that is what is most important, but obviously I am desperate to score at the moment." Rediscovering the lost knack of consistency Nov 21 2005 By Len Capeling, Daily Post BY the time the blue-clad Pompey fan reached the Shankly Gates he'd been travelling for eight hours. Portsmouth to Guildford. Guildford to Birmingham. Birmingham to Liverpool Lime Street, where two Merseyrail trains, followed by the Sandhills SoccerBus, delivered him to Stanley Park. He'd done the same journey a month before and seen his team deservedly win at Goodison Park Was he buoyed by that victory - one of only two on the road for Portsmouth so far? No, he wasn't, mainly because he'd witnessed the other Peter Crouch scoring goals for Portsmouth in Division One - 18 in 37 games -and couldn't understand how he'd lost his touch. "He scored all kinds of goals for us," he said.. "He was tremendous. And made lots of goals as well." He feared Crouch would end his barren spell against Pompey and sentence him to a long, miserable journey back to the south coast - ETA one o'clock Sunday morning. In fact, Peter Crouch was the name on everyone's lips on Saturday afternoon, and for all the wrong reasons. The man from the Telegraph - bearing a voice that would have duty at Twickenham - was frantic to find out how much playing time had elapsed since England's secret weapon scored what is known as a goal. Somebody suggested a clue might be found in the lines on the striker's face. One row back and too young to be mired in cynicism, a colleague went for broke, forecasting that the waiting was over. Crouch would score. We wanted to believe him, but didn't. We didn't change our views even when a soft foul on Bolo Zenden brought Liverpool a penalty, and Crouch showed his courage by striding forward to take the spot-kick. Two things conspired against him at this vital time. His own nervousness - it looked as if the ball represented a suspicious package - and the deafening din from the Kop. Prayers and peace might have been a better option given Crouch's own pounding heart and the 40 tons of responsibility on his slim shoulders. As pulses raced and all but the sourest sportswriter begged the gods to smile, Crouch crashed the ball at keeper Jamie Ashdown. His cry of anguish was lost in the groans of 44,000 Liverpool fans, who, the very next second found the sighs turning to celebration as Crouch's appalling luck turned out to be good fortune for Zenden. As the ball spiralled upwards off Ashdown's arm, the Dutchman pounced to bundle the ball into the net. So Crouch's agony went on and on, stretching to 1,047 minutes for Liverpool and England. Twice more he might have scored - a header from a Steven Gerrard corner blocked by Ashdown and an exquisite reverse pass from Fernando Morientes prompting a tooearly drive at the keeper. With the derby match just over a month away, maybe Crouch is saving himself for local hero status. Not a bad aim, but the lanky front-man needs to fire before then. Having said that, his all-round play is fine. He works hard, shows a lot of fight and is so committed that only the mean-minded would wish him anything other than success where it matters most. He did well against Portsmouth in a Liverpool performance that the visitors couldn't handle. Some, like Lomana LuaLua and the wretched Laurent Robert, seemed to imagine their job only involved litle other than constant moaning and finger-pointing. However, when manager Alain Perrin finally lost patience with Lua-Lua, the travelling fans cheered and applauded him as he sulked off. Liverpool won their plaudits for the right reasons, although five or six goals would have been a more fitting scoreline. The only concerns for them were injuries to Luis Garcia - who lasted no time at all after his midweek hat-trick for Spain - and Xabi Alonso.. Alonso, initially on the bench, replaced the fading Cisse as Liverpool began to sit back and promptly suffered a painful knee injury leaving Rafael Benitez's side to finish the game with 10 men. Morientes had a terrific second half, his studied use of the ball setting up Crouch and the workaholic Steven Gerrard, who sadly shanked his shot from a good position. Zenden also had an impressive game and if he could trust his right foot a bit more he'd be even better. Twice he had chances on his wrong foot, and twice the openings closed around him. Dietmar Hamann was another who shone. Back in harness with Gerrard, he gave Liverpool near-total supremacy, Cisse adding to Zenden's opener with a looping cross that drifted into the net, and Morientes wrapping things up with a close-range stab. Three Premiership wins on the bounce, without a goal conceded, could this be the start of something called consistency? Benitez looks for Spanish heroics on England soil Nov 19 2005 By David Prior, Daily Post WHEN Rafael Benitez attempted to call Luis Garcia soon after the midfielder's hat-trick against Slovakia last weekend, it could simply have been a case of one Spaniard thanking another. After all, the diminutive midfielder's treble had helped establish a victory margin that drained most of the tension from the second leg and virtually guaranteed a path through the play-offs and on to the World Cup table. As it was, Benitez's call went unanswered as Garcia no doubt sought some solitude from the attention that followed his virtuoso performance in Madrid. But had the manager's mobile connected, it's mischievous to think any word of gratitude directed at his player would have been swiftly followed by a "so how's about doing it in the Premiership now Luis?" For if Garcia's Spanish heroics did one thing, they further bolstered the impression that the 27-year-old's best performances are to be found outside the more physical challenge of his adopted league. His extraordinary header against Anderlecht in the Champions League earlier this month hardly helped either. It's a form that has mirrored Liverpool's own Jekyll and Hyde displays at home and abroad for much of this season so far; only one of Garcia's seven goals has come in the Premiership so far this term. And after welcoming back to Melwood on Thursday, Benitez also sought to bring his player back down to earth with a reminder that greater consistency must be his true aim this season. "He is in form at the moment and he is happy," said Benitez.. "But we need to see over the next few games because the most important thing for me as a manager is the consistency. "Luis is a player that can play at a good level all season, but we need to see now over the next few games. In Spain he played a lot of seasons at a good level. In his first season in England last year he scored 13 goals which is not bad - I don't know whether too many players have done that in their first season in England. "But I want to see all that all around the season." Garcia's hat-trick brought back memories of another sterling piece of national service - one that also saw the country indebted to Liverpool. Four years ago it was Michael Owen's three goals and a goal apiece for Steven Gerrard and Emile Heskey that saw Germany humbled 5-1 on their own turf - spawning the memorable headline 'Germany 1 Liverpool 5'. The Spanish press worked themselves into a similar lather over the Anfield club's contribution to their own cause this time, and Benitez said: "He has to come back down to earth now, a lot of people are talking really well about him. "The Spanish press are talking about Liverpool - the same happened when England beat Germany 5-1. They say 'thank you' Liverpool. "Whenever the players play well I tell them to keep going. But the most important thing is not the manager - the people around him are more important - his wife, family, the people in Spain. He knows that he is in a good situation now, he has confidence and he must keep going." Fernando Morientes and Xabi Alonso, who also played a major role in the play-off, joined Garcia on a fog-delayed flight back from Spain this week and Benitez hopes they too will imbibe their club performances with the confidence gained from sealing a place in Germany. He added: "I hope the players who have done well this week will be full of confidence, will want to remain fit and in form and I hope that has a positive effect on Liverpool. "If they think they need to be fit for a World Cup and that helps Liverpool, fine. They are all happy people at the moment but if they do not win against Portsmouth it will be differ-ent." As for Alain Perrin's struggling side themselves, Benitez added: "They are under pressure but this is normal, we need to win. "I am sure they have been working all this week for this game, thinking about being strong in defence and playing for the counter-attack. I think they can press high up the pitch sometimes too. Watching videos I can see that they are organised and they have their own system." * MIDDLESBROUGH manager Steve McClaren has warned Liverpool to forget trying to sign defenders Franck Queudrue and Chris Riggott. Rafael Benitez has been reported as preparing a move for the 27-year-old Frenchman and his 25-year-old team-mate during the January transfer window. However, McClaren has told the Merseysiders that the two men are simply not for sale. "We are flattered, obviously, that such a big club is interested in two of our younger players," he said. "They are players who are doing very, very well for us and two players who we have got no intention of letting go. They are the future of Middlesbrough Football Club." Anxious wait on Alonso fitness Nov 21 2005 By Ian Doyle, Daily Post LIVERPOOL face an anxious wait to discover if Xabi Alonso will be available for Champions League duty on Wednesday. The Spanish midfielder was helped from the field five minutes before time of Saturday's 3-0 win over Portsmouth after suffering a knee injury. Alonso's damage is not serious, but Rafael Benitez is hopeful he will have recovered sufficiently to play in Wednesday's Champions League Group G clash with Real Betis at Anfield. Luis Garcia was substituted early on at the weekend with a hip injury but is expected to be fit. Betis, however, will definitely be without forward Dani after he sustained an ankle problem during the 1-0 derby defeat at Sevilla on Saturday night. Scans have shown the full extent of the injury and Dani is set to be sidelined for up to a month with the problem. "From the first minute the defenders of Sevilla have been chasing me clearly," said Dani. Meanwhile, Betis coach Lorenc Serra Ferrer has set his sights on a European upset. He said: "The derby is history now and I am already thinking about winning on Wednesday against Liverpool." Liverpool 3, Portsmouth 0 (D,Post) Nov 21 2005 By Ian Doyle at Anfield IF HE ever wants to jump into the Kop, Peter Crouch had better stop jumping on all those black cats. The newspapers should have been cluttered with images of a blissfully happy striker unfolding himself out of the front rows of Anfield's famous stand. Instead, they're full of the likes of Boudewijn Zenden, Djibril Cisse and Fernando Morientes - pictures that, while documenting an utterly hassle-free afternoon for Liverpool, also speak of the latest trauma to befall a man whose run of bad luck will just not let up. But then again, is it bad luck? For while Crouch had possibly his best game for Liverpool on Saturday, his failure to convert at least one of many chances suggests his goalscoring duck is being fed more on stale crusts of profligacy than seeds of misfor-tune. After all, it's not just bad luck ensuring every gilt-edged header he is presented with goes down the goalkeeper's throat with unerring accuracy. It isn't just bad luck that sees Crouch swiping at fresh air whenever a close-range chance is presented or losing his head when put through on goal. And now, of course, there's a missed penalty to add into the equation. Luck inevitably plays a part in any spot-kick, but set alongside his welter of other misses and Peter Crouch, curse or not, is quickly in danger of becoming an expensive misjudgement from Rafael Benitez. The striker's saving grace is that time is on his side; his work-rate certainly deserves a break. That recurring issue aside, Benitez had plenty to smile about on Saturday. Portsmouth, with manager Alain Perrin a target for derision from not only his own fans but even his own chairman in the directors' box,, did little to suggest they were overly intent on extending the Frenchman's sojourn on the south coast. Liverpool seldom shifted from second gear but given that some Pompey performers - most notably Laurent Robert, who sulked his way through a disgracefully care-free hour - hardly bothered to switch the ignition on, the result was never in doubt. The aforementioned trio were on hand to provide the goals, but it was the defence - chalking up a sixth hour without conceding a goal and a 14th clean sheet in all this season - who increasingly justify Benitez's claim that his players do indeed represent an improvement from 12 months ago. The virtual ever-presents of the campaign - Jose Reina,, Sami Hyypia and Jamie Carragher - inhabit a triangle at the back that appears less penetrable by the week, while Steve Finnan continues to display a steadiness on the right that is more often than not a match for the rotating occupants on the other wing. In midfield, too, the strength in depth is now apparent. In the wake of some players' exhausting World Cup play-off commitments, Zenden and Dietman Hamann were drafted in but their performances served only to enhance Liverpool. Of those on international duty only Luis Garcia, the hat-trick hero as Spain booked their ticket to Germany, made it to the starting line-up but a hip injury - not serious, Benitez revealed later - forced his withdrawal after only 22 minutes. John Arne Riise, meanwhile, had perhaps not recovered from his head injury to the extent that Benitez had suggested in Friday's press conference, and did not feature in the squad. The game had started at a fairly leisurely pace before it burst into life with the kind of incident even the cruellest scripwriter would not have dared to insert. Crouch had already spurned an excellent chance to break his duck, rising like a salmon but heading Steven Gerrard's 12th-minute corner directly at the impressive Pompey goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown. But 10 minutes later it seemed the beleaguered striker's moment had finally arrived. When referee Peter Walton generously pointed to the spot after Zenden had been obstructed by Andy Griffin, Crouch grabbed the ball with all the confidence of a man looking to seal his hat-trick. The crowd, generating a thunderous roar that may actually have added to the pressure on the striker's spindly shoulders, could start to envisage a jubilant Crouch carrying out that threat to mark his first goal by launching himself into the Kop. But after what seemed an age - during which the confidence he had hinted at in grabbing the ball off Djibril Cisse appeared to almost visibly seep away by the second - Crouch stepped up and fired a low shot that Ashdown blocked. Fortuitously for the penalty-taker, the ball ricocheted into the path of the inrushing Zenden, who headed into the vacant net. Although Benitez saw little wrong in Crouch taking the penalty afterwards, it seemed more than a little odd that at such a stage of the match Steven Gerrard - having converted his last penalty at Aston Villa two weeks ago - did not simply take the kick himself. Surely the result takes precedence over an opportunity to remove a monkey off your striker's back, even if that monkey would give King Kong something to think about. Had the match taken a different course after Crouch's miss, the post-match analysis would have been considerably less tolerant of such fecklessness. As it was, Crouch was able to escape, and what could have been a shattering moment became simply an embarrassment that the £7million man was able to shrug off with a wave to the Kop. A target for virtually everyone else, Crouch is understandably keen to maintain a good relationship with his own, forgiving fans. To his credit, Crouch dusted himself down and continued to plug away, and five minutes later he was even attempting an ambitious overhead kick that saw his propeller-like right leg reach places that no right leg has done before at Anfield. How he could have done, though, with the kind of fortune that then allowed Cisse to double Liverpool's lead six minutes before half-time. The Frenchman had been shunted out to the right when Garcia's withdrawal saw Morientes drafted in up front, but if he felt slightly peeved at the time, the Frenchman must have felt eternally grateful when his attempted cross sailed well wide of its intended target - and straight over Ashdown's head. Cisse's embarrassed face said it all. The second half saw Liverpool happily rest on the laurels provided by two goals that owed more to fortune than anything else. The visitors' search for a goal inevitably opened up the game and created just the kind of fertile occasion for Crouch to find the net. Three times such an opportunity presented itself. First he mistimed a tap-in after Morientes' set-up, then he fired gormlessly at Ashdown when Zenden's release had called for a far more cultured finish, before overhitting a delicate lob high into the Anfield Road End. His effort alone had earned some solace from the spate of near-misses, and with 10 minutes to go Crouch duly found some - albeit back in his more familiar role as provider. His far-post leap headed the ball back into the danger zone after Gerrard's cross, allowing Hyypia to turn the ball into Morientes's path. The Spaniard slotted Liverpool's third and his first Premiership goal of the season. LIVERPOOL (4-4-2): Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Warnock; Gerrard (Josemi 83), Hamann, Zenden, Luis Garcia (Morientes 22); Crouch, Cisse (Alonso 69). Subs: Dudek, Traore. BOOKING: Hamann (foul). PORTSMOUTH: Ashdown; Griffin, O'Brien, Priske, Vignal; Viafara, Hughes (Skopelitis 74), Taylor, Robert (Vukic 64); O'Neil, LuaLua (Mbesuma 70). Subs: Westerveld, Primus. BOOKING: Viafara (foul). REFEREE: P Walton (Northamptonshire) ATT: 44,394 NEXT GAME: Liverpool v Real Betis, Champions League Group G, Wednesday 7.45pm Rafa stays cool over Crouch's goal misery Nov 21 2005 By James Pearce, Liverpool Echo RAFA BENITEZ leapt to the defence of Liverpool striker Peter Crouch after Saturday's emphatic 3-0 win over Portsmouth and insisted: "I know he will score goals." A fourth straight win and the fact the Reds have gone more than six hours of football without conceding a goal was overshadowed by the frontman's continuing agony. Crouch has now played 15 games for his new club without finding the back of the net but he still has Benitez's full support. "It's a shame for Peter because he's playing well, but I'm happy with him and he knows the supporters are as well," Benitez said. "When you analyse the game he kept the ball well, he dribbled, passed well, was good in the air and his movement was good. "I hope to see his first goal because then he will play more relaxed, but in terms of his game, he's doing very well. "People try to cheer him on and support him. Maybe that makes it more difficult for him, but when he scores that first goal it will be totally different. "He's a nice boy and we're all desperate for him to score his first goal. If we keep creating chances like we did today then he will score. The only question is when. But whether Carra scores or Crouch scores is not important. The most important thing is we play well and win." Benitez insisted he had no concerns about Crouch taking the first-half spot-kick which was parried by keeper Jamie Ashdown but nodded home by Bolo Zenden. "We have two or three players who can take penalties and then it depends on the players and whether they have confidence," he said. "Peter decided to shoot and that was okay. At the end of the day it was a goal. Maybe if we are winning 2-0 in the next game then Crouch can take another penalty." From the moment Zenden netted the result was never in doubt and the performance delighted the Reds chief. He added: "As a manager, when you win, score three goals and keep a clean sheet, you are happy. "We controlled the game and for part of it we played really, really well. "We had some problems earlier in the season but we're looking more solid and being more consistent now." Under pressure Pompey boss Alain Perrin, who had to endure chants of 'You don't know what you're doing' from his own fans, admitted his side were outclassed. He said: "We didn't create enough chances to score in the first half and our build up play was too poor. "In the second half we played better but Liverpool have great experience and controlled the game - it was easy for them." Benitez had some words of sympathy for the Frenchman and added: "When you are a foreign manager I know how difficult it is. He's trying to improve his team but it's not easy. He's experienced and is a good manager. He must keep going with his ideas." Penalty summed up Crouch's day Nov 21 2005 Analysis by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo IT wasn't the cold which caused the involuntary shaking of shoulders in an icy corner of Anfield on Saturday night. Rather, the unwitting words from the man of the moment. "Sorry, I've got to shoot," said Peter Crouch, stating the obvious as he politely rebuffed an interview request - causing widespread amusement amongst a cynical, shivering press pack. In fact, shooting isn't the problem for Liverpool's goal starved striker. He shot frequently all afternoon against a compliant Portsmouth side. But it was the bookies who wore the broadest smiles of all. Saturday was one of those curious afternoons when the world and his wife had decided Peter Crouch was going to score - and had backed that belief with hard cash. Ian St John declared his faith on local radio. Plenty of others followed suit. And appropriately skinny odds of 5-1 looked generous when Crouch confidently brushed aside his captain to demand the responsibility of taking a 21st minute penalty kick. His kick wasn't bad. But it wasn't anywhere near good enough to beat Jamie Ashdown either - and Bolo Zenden was the surprised beneficiary from the rebound. Crouch's performance all afternoon seemed to mimic that moment. His all-round display was solid enough - plenty of neat touches, some intelligent movement and a couple of on target efforts that were never well placed enough to threaten a goal. And against opposition as poor as Portsmouth, it didn't matter. Just like in victories over Aston Villa, Anderlecht and West Ham, Liverpool can afford a forward who doesn't look like he can score. But when December throws up tougher challenges against Wigan, Chelsea and Middlesbrough - not to mention the best teams in the world - that may not be a luxury they can continue to indulge. Of course, by then, Crouch may be up and running - in the midst of the sort of run that strikers often enjoy as soon as one goal bounces in off their backside. The type of goals, in fact, that Djibril Cisse seems to specialise in. In a twist of fate which Crouch must find particularly cruel, he can't score a goal despite his most strenuous efforts, while Cisse scores without even trying. He honestly admitted his 38th minute goal was a cross which he overhit, sweetly and perfectly over Ashdown's head. And despite the good fortune which accompanied his latest strike, the Frenchman still looks Liverpool's best bet in front of goal wherever he is employed. On Saturday it was wide right, once Luis Garcia had finally managed to convince the dug-out he really was injured and Fernando Morientes came on. Liverpool continued to create chances, while Portsmouth continued to contribute to their own demise with an appalling lack of ambition. Their football was pretty, precise and easy on the eye - but with Lomano LuaLua, not a man to take into the trenches with you, an isolated striker, the goal threat was minimal. That made life easier for Pepe Reina and co., but that still shouldn't detract from possibly the most significant statistic of the entire afternoon. The Spanish goalkeeper kept his eighth clean sheet of the season - 12 if Champions League clashes are included - and that is more than the Reds collected in the whole of last season. After the unbalanced early part of the season - when clean sheets were compiled at the expense of attacking options - Rafa Benitez increasingly looks like getting the balance right. And even arguments that it's only Portsmouth and it's only Aston Villa who have just been beaten have been rendered superfluous . . . Liverpool failed to win either of those corresponding clashes last season. The Reds are moving easily in the right direction - with only a goal for a desperate striker needed to make life complete right now. Alonso in race against time for Euro showdown Nov 21 2005 By Chris Bascombe and David Prentice, Liverpool Echo XABI ALONSO was today undergoing a knee scan to determine the extent of the injury sustained in the victory over Portsmouth. The Spanish midfielder is struggling to be fit to face Real Betis in the Champions League on Wednesday. However, Luis Garcia has been given the all-clear to face his compatriots. It's Alonso's condition which is of most concern, according to manager Rafa Benitez. "Luis is okay but we will discover more about Xabi today," said Benitez. "He received a kick on his patella and needs a scan before we know how serious he is. We can't say yet if he will be fit for Wednesday or not." Liverpool go into Wednesday's clash requiring a point to secure their passage into the knockout stages. One player who looks certain to start is the Reds Spanish keeper Pepe Reina. And he insists he would sacrifice his proud clean-sheet record at Anfield - for a continuance of the winning run which has now moved Liverpool into the top half of the Premiership. Reina kept his eighth Premiership clean-sheet of the season against Portsmouth on Saturday - already more than Liverpool managed in the whole of last season. He said: "If my counting is good, that's eight clean sheets now. But the important thing was just to win the game," he explained. "The most important thing is the team and the victories. I would be happy if we won every match 3-2 and kept no more clean sheets for the rest of the season. "I know clean sheets look good for the team and for the goalkeeper especially, but it's the team which is important." Reina never looked like conceding on Saturday, the fourth match in a row where he has kept his goal intact, and after a couple of early season scares he admits he has come to terms with the more physical nature of the English Premiership. "Yes, the Premiership is more physical for goalkeeper and the ball is in the air more, but for me it is not a problem," he added. "If I have to go for the ball, I go, and it's not a problem. It's a physical game, but for a keeper football is football and in all countries it's the same. "I think now we are playing well in the Premiership and the Champions League. We are working hard, playing as team, compact and deep and we are creating many chances in every game. "It's important for us to continue that. "We are playing well as a team right now, but it's not only the defence and the keeper, it's everyone together. It's important for me and for the defence to keep clean sheets and transmit assurance throughout the team. "But we must work at the same level to win the next game and win the right way." Liverpool 3, Portsmouth 0 (Echo) Nov 21 2005 By Chris Bascombe ANFIELD was treated to an all-too-rare modern phenomenon on Saturday. A routine Liverpool win. Unfortunately, the wait continues for a more elusive event. Having tried all other options, Peter Crouch may have no choice but to strike a deal with the devil in order to ensure he breaks his Liverpool duck. The Gods certainly aren't ready to answer his prayers. He'd talked before the match about jumping into The Kop if he scored. After seeing his penalty saved, he must have felt more like jumping off the roof of the famous stand. If goals were awarded for sympathy and were a reflection of effort, the forward would have left the stadium with the match ball. Instead, the story of Crouch's search for a goal is threatening to last longer than Liverpool's quest for investment. Has Crouch appointed Hawkpoint to help him put the ball into the net? Two excellent saves by Jamie Ash-down and a moment of blatant unprofessionalism prolonged the striker's agony this time. And when Djibril Cisse showed his team-mate how it's done with a cross which looped into the top corner at The Kop end, Crouch must have queried whether to celebrate or join the away fans (and a few home ones) in thinking 'you jammy so and so'. As the hitherto ineffective Fernando Morientes joined the party with the third, it merely added to the prevailing sense of injustice surrounding Crouch. The striker who most deserved a goal didn't get one. Trying to force the issue certainly isn't helping. Liverpool sacrificed an element of professional conduct by allowing Crouch to take the generous penalty which turned the game irreversibly their way. Had the points been secure at that stage, the crass sentimentality would have been appropriate. At a pivotal moment, however, Liverpool were dicing with fate. In missing the spot-kick, Crouch merely put more pressure on himself, ensuring that despite his fine performance in a comfortable win, it's what hasn't happened which remains the focus of attention. Everyone on Merseyside knows it isn't fair, but Liverpool's rivals don't need an invitation to mock. Earlier in the season, it was a lack of goalscoring opportunities which proved Crouch's undoing. That's not the case now. The frequency of chances means the goal isn't far away, so long as he and his team-mates aren't consumed by over-anxiety. Stage managing the penalty wasn't the only example of the side making life difficult for itself in an increasingly desperate bid to feed the striker. There were several occasions when a simple passing option was ignored in an attempt to put Crouch through on goal. Against sterner opposition, Liverpool may have been punished for their over-indulgence. Fortunately, Portsmouth are relegation fodder and never showed much inclination to stop Liverpool doing whatever they liked. The lively Bolo Zenden made amends for the missed penalty, and by the time Cisse put a gloss on an embarrassingly easy first half, the only issue remaining was whether Gregory Vignal could maintain his habit of being photo-graphed at the core of Liverpool's celebrations. Under pressure manager Alain Perrin's response to going two goals down was generously negative, as he persisted with a sole striker. He then took off his most dangerous player, LuaLua, as well as Laurent Robert, whose set-pieces may have provided an unlikely way back. Perrin might as well have ran onto the pitch waving a white flag as his side let Liverpool dominate without leaving second gear. With the opposition timidly conceding possession at will, this was a no thrills, no problems, lowkey win for Liverpool. The only headache for Rafa Benitez was the injuries to his Spanish duo Luis Garcia and Xabi Alonso. The trouble with games like this is it's hard to fathom if the convincing nature of the victory was a consequence of Liverpool's increased sense of superiority over lower sides, or due to the more crude fact Portsmouth are an appalling team. Probably both. One is always tempted to accentuate the positive, but it certainly didn't take much to beat the visitors. Benitez's side have played much better than this recently, but it's hard to recall when they last strolled so effortlessly through a Premiership game. The ability to win by a big margin without breaking sweat has its merits, but there will have to be an improvement against Real Betis and Manchester City to keep this winning run going. Benitez can still find much to be content with. Pepe Reina's fumble was the only moment of anxiety as Liverpool's defensive solidity continued. Eight clean sheets in 11 Premiership fixtures is a record for Reina to be proud of. Didi Hamann shone in midfield, controlling the tempo of a match which contained trickles rather than waves of excitement. And once again, Zenden was a bundle of energy throughout the game. He is starting to look a canny purchase on a free transfer. Benitez will also take satisfaction in the contrast with the corresponding fixture last year. Liverpool dropped two points to Portsmouth 12 months ago having failed to assert any superiority over the visitors. It was their inability to finish off teams like this which contributed to such a poor league position. This win was a triumph of organisation and, the penalty blunder aside, disciplined football. Few sides are creating chances against Liverpool, while the Reds are carving out openings with more encour-aging regularity. There isn't yet panache about their game, but the roots of improvement are clear. We may now be in the midst of a significant run which will allay any fears of failing to qualify for next year's Champions League. LIVERPOOL (4-4-2): Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Warnock; Gerrard (Josemi 83), Hamann, Zenden, Luis Garcia (Morientes 22); Crouch, Cisse (Alonso 69). Subs: Dudek, Traore. BOOKING: Hamann (foul). PORTSMOUTH: Ashdown; Griffin, O'Brien, Priske, Vignal; Viafara, Hughes (Skopelitis 74), Taylor, Robert (Vukic 64); O'Neil, LuaLua (Mbesuma 70). Subs: Westerveld, Primus. BOOKING: Viafara (foul). REFEREE: P Walton (Northamptonshire) ATT: 44,394 Crouch must be greedy - Rush Nov 21 2005 LIVERPOOL legend Ian Rush has urged goal-shy Peter Crouch to forget team ethics and start being selfish - just as the Welshman was once told by Bob Paisley. Crouch has now gone 19 hours without finding the net for the Reds following his £7million summer move from Southampton. "He's just lacking confidence," said Rush. "He needs a goal and he's got to be greedy and he's got to be selfish." The personal crisis hit new heights on Saturday when Crouch bravely stepped forward to take a first-half penalty in the 3-0 Premiership victory over Portsmouth at Anfield. But the 24-year-old saw his spot-kick saved, albeit with his blushes spared as Boudewijn Zenden followed up on the rebound. Crouch is adamant he will not shy away from taking another penalty should the opportunity arise, and is confident his barren run will soon come to an end. Rush, who scored 346 goals in his 658 appearances over two spells for Liverpool, is of the same mind and is backing Crouch to come good - providing he starts getting greedy. He added: "You have to tell yourself, 'I'm a good player, and I'm going to score.' "It's all about mental toughness. Once he gets that first goal, he'll be up and running. "He's no different to last year when he scored a lot of goals."

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