Rafa: I prefer my strikers not to score goals

[Shaggy]

Anyone else totally disagree with the gaffer here?




Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has warned striker Peter Crouch that goals alone will not keep him in the side.

The 25-year-old has netted 11 times for club and country this term but continues to find himself regularly warming the bench for The Reds.

Crouch scored the winner in the UEFA Champions League clash in Bordeaux and will have been hoping his goal would be enough to keep him in the side for the trip to Old Trafford on Sunday.

However, Benitez has insisted that no number of goals will guarantee a starting place and has urged Crouch to improve his overall play.

"I don't think about it if somebody scores, you have to analyze how well they are playing for the team. It's not just about scoring a goal. That's not enough," he told the Daily Express.

"If you score and play well, then you will score even more goals.

"I was really happy with Crouch last season when he was not scoring goals and I was really happy with Craig Bellamy this season when he was not scoring. They weren't scoring, but we were using them because they were playing well for the team.

"Sometimes people only talk about strikers when they are scoring, but for me the most important thing is to see them working hard and playing for the team."

[Red_Polo]

IMO the only thing you can take from those comments is that he wants Bellamy to be under as little pressure to score as possible.

[Shaggy]

But does it not strike you as a little odd? Crouch couldn't score to save his life for 18 games last season yet was in the team every week with praise from his manager ringing in his ears.

This season, he's scoring goals for fun and finds himself on the bench more often than not and getting public dressing downs.

I don't care if a striker is invisble for 89 minutes every week so long as he scores the winner. I appreciate that Rafa likes his strikers to do more than just stand around waiting for chances, a la Lineker, but this is bit weird if you ask me...

[mick the click]

He certainly sees things differently to me - and look where that got him!

Nowt new from him really, he's been consistent on this from the start...just so long as he brings in number 19 soon - and ****s the mancs - he'll do me!

[NICKZS]

It's a ridiculous misrepresentation in that headline though. He doesn't say he doesn't want his strikers to score, simply that it doesn't matter if they score or not, as long as the result is right. I would agree with that

[Chris]

The quotes dont match the thread title to be fair. It's a difficult one, I think Crouch was playing far far better last season during his barren spell than he is now yet now he's adding a few goals to it. Utd look a better team without Nistelrooy, Chelsea look worse with Shevchenko (Although still have the ability to be doing well) so its a difficult one.

[Shaggy]

I should add that the headline/thread title is just me being facetious. What I take issue with is this quote:

"Sometimes people only talk about strikers when they are scoring, but for me the most important thing is to see them working hard and playing for the team."

I see what he's trying to say but for me, scoring goals is the most important thing. Obviously a balance is ideal (see Cisse last season), but goals win games - "decent, hard-working performances" don't. Not always anyway.

[Rich]

I suppose Rafa's philosophy is that an individual can score goals, but coupled with a poor team performance the chances are you'll lose more games, than a well drilled, and performing team that spreads it's goals around.

Rafa isn't as defensive minded as Houllier was at Anfield, but he's a definite stop the other team scoring kind of guy.

[Craig_H]

It's a ridiculous misrepresentation in that headline though. He doesn't say he doesn't want his strikers to score, simply that it doesn't matter if they score or not, as long as the result is right. I would agree with that

That's exactly right.

He doesnt say he doesnt want his strikers to score, he says he doesnt JUST want them to score.

Big difference, and he's right.

[Craig_H]

I should add that the headline/thread title is just me being facetious. What I take issue with is this quote:

"Sometimes people only talk about strikers when they are scoring, but for me the most important thing is to see them working hard and playing for the team."

I see what he's trying to say but for me, scoring goals is the most important thing. Obviously a balance is ideal (see Cisse last season), but goals win games - "decent, hard-working performances" don't. Not always anyway.

I think he sees it that if they're working hard and playing for the team, they'll get their rewards, eg 3 points.

His priority is that the team win, and he's saying that it doesnt matter WHO scores, if everyone works and we play as a team, we'll win more games.

Cant really disagree.

[Red_Polo]

But does it not strike you as a little odd? Crouch couldn't score to save his life for 18 games last season yet was in the team every week with praise from his manager ringing in his ears.

This season, he's scoring goals for fun and finds himself on the bench more often than not and getting public dressing downs.

I don't care if a striker is invisble for 89 minutes every week so long as he scores the winner. I appreciate that Rafa likes his strikers to do more than just stand around waiting for chances, a la Lineker, but this is bit weird if you ask me...

I definitely take your point mate. I think these comments seem to suggest that Crouch isn't working as well for the team as everyone else on top of scoring goals, but I don't think that's what Rafa thinks or wants to get across at all. The only striker who can reasonably claim to have had better team play is Kuyt. Bellamy's contribution has been the least of the three thus far.

I think it's obviously said as a way of taking the pressure off Bellamy, but Rafa should be more careful to say it in a way that doesn't risk damaging Crouchy's confidence.

[thesilverfoxlfc]

IMO the only thing you can take from those comments is that he wants Bellamy to be under as little pressure to score as possible.

Good shout Red, he doesnt want all the focus on his strikers not scoring.

They'll run riot soon good start would be Sunday

[Nic83]

I think he's right. He is talking about their overall contribution and the amount of goals we score on the whole because of it.

For example, if Crouch scored 10 goals in 15 games and we only won 3 or 4 of them because of the lack of goals from elsewhere, would it not be better if he only got 3 or 4 goals but was involved in creating a **** load more which won us 10 or 11 games?

Yes it would.

This is what he's trying to say. Ideally (obviously), the best of both worlds is the way to have it.

[redlancer]

If the strikers are doing an A1 job upfront but not scoring, we need someone to score.
Crouch went through a drought last year but i actually think that's when he played his best football for us, but we had Stevie scoring for us so alls OK.

If the midfield arn't chipping in with goals, then we need strikers who score weather they're playing well or not.

Its a team game but also a game that needs goals to win.

We need our strikers to work hard and either score or contribute to goals.

Think our problem now is we haven't a goal scorer as such as Fowler, who is injury prone and old and we're yet to see if Kuyt will fill that role.
And Rafa is sticking with 2 upfront and not one is yet a proven out and out goal scorer.

With 2 upfornt this is stopping us using Stevie or Garcia in that scoring midfield role which both can do and without pressure of blanking

[Red_Polo]

I think he's right. He is talking about their overall contribution and the amount of goals we score on the whole because of it.

For example, if Crouch scored 10 goals in 15 games and we only won 3 or 4 of them because of the lack of goals from elsewhere, would it not be better if he only got 3 or 4 goals but was involved in creating a **** load more which won us 10 or 11 games?

Yes it would.

This is what he's trying to say. Ideally (obviously), the best of both worlds is the way to have it.

I agree, but he's using that as an argument why Bellamy may play and Crouch not play - does that not unfairly imply that Crouchy's team play has not been up to scratch compared to the other strikers this season?