Crouch and Co will rise to occasion - Benitez
Rafael Benitez will thrust Liverpool’s version of the odd couple -gangling Peter Crouch and flamboyant Frenchman Djibril Cisse – into a new-look front partnership at Tottenham.
The Anfield chief missed out on Michael Owen, has Fernando Morientes sidelined for a fortnight with a hamstring problem and has sold Milan Baros.
He sees Crouch, who has only played 30 minutes of a reserve game in a month, in the same light as England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson. Both managers feel the 6ft 7in striker can make a huge difference to a side, particularly in away games.
Benitez knows he needs to improve Liverpool’s away form from last season, while insisting he had no intention of spending over the odds on new signings in the transfer window.
He also dismissed claims of a rift with Cisse, who believed he was being offered for sale in the Owen saga.
All this puts immense pressure on Benitez as Liverpool return to Premiership action already two games behind their main rivals and with their Champions League campaign starting up again on Tuesday away to Real Betis.
Benitez said: “We may not have got Michael Owen, but for this game we have Cisse, Crouch and Sinama-Pongolle. That is enough for the moment.
“What we will be doing this season is playing a different way away from home than last season. We are trying to improve and we certainly have a better squad than last season. We have confidence.
“It is very important we improve our away form, which is why we have bought Peter Crouch. We want to change the idea of how we play in away matches. We must win more away.”
Benitez was unable to boost his squad further during the transfer window, but claims the prices quoted were “unbelievable.”
He said: “We tried until the end having worked for several months. But players said no or wanted more money, and clubs do not want to sell.
“Then we found some of the prices were unbelievable. We did not want to start spending more money than we felt was right. We instead have started already to work on what we will do in January.
“It is still hard to find players better that we already have because we have won the Champions League. That makes it more difficult.
“People ask why other teams sign some players. One reason is they are prepared to pay a lot of money, or they buy players for this level who are just not good enough for us.”
He added: “Clubs think because we’ve won the Champions League we’ve got a lot of money. They put a £7m (€10.3m) value on players who are no more than prospects.
“If people want me to buy players to finish in the middle of the table, okay, but I want to win trophies. I will only buy players to do this.”
On Cisse’s frame of mind, Benitez added: “The most important thing when the transfer window is closed is the players know they are staying.
“Cisse knows he can show everyone how good he is. He will do that by scoring goals, working hard and playing well. Cisse knows what I want from him and I don’t have any problem.
“As a manager, I just want to see my players scoring goals. I like players being angry when they’re not playing. If he’s angry, it’s good for the team. At the same time, I want a player to have respect for his team-mates.
“I will talk with all the players, not just Cisse. I know he scored two goals for us in Monaco and then two for France, so if he’s playing with some anger, that can be positive.”
For Crouch it is the chance to prove a few doubters wrong as he returns to one of his former clubs.
He said: “I’m fit again now and raring to go and I’m determined to get off to a good start.
“We need to get as many points on the board as possible in the early weeks of the season as we’ve got some crucial games coming up. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Crouch was a trainee at White Hart Lane in the late 1990s, before moving on to QPR, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Norwich and Southampton.
He said: “I started out there as a lad. I never made the grade but I still believe Spurs are a great club.”
