Dirk Kuyt making an impression with his goals

Nick Smith
Liverpool Daily Post
Tuesday 21 October 2008

'Good job' Dirk Kuyt is prepared to do a passable impersonation of Fernando Torres. Not even the impressionist who’s been making his mark on YouTube this week has been able to take on that task.

He’s nailed Rafael Benitez, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Peter Crouch and (almost) Jamie Carragher.

But on the evidence of that video clip, emulating the Spanish striker is just too big an ask.

So Kuyt should take a bow for delivering the best performance of the week – becoming a dead ringer for the Spaniard to inspire yet another pulsating fightback.

No wonder he thrived so much in the absence of Torres – he was probably glad to see the back of him. Well, maybe not. But that record signing did, on an individual level, lead to Kuyt’s star fading somewhat.

The ‘Dutch Master’ banner at the side of the Kop was soon plastered over by the ‘El Nino’ icon when Torres and his army of goals descended on Anfield last season as the supporters realised they had previously been a bit hasty in their hero-worship.

Which wasn’t Kuyt’s fault – his flag was flown far too early and he shouldn’t have been built up that much in the first place. There was a ridiculous over-reaction to his cameo debut and there was even some hysterical nonsense being bandied about that he was looking like a new Dalglish.

In short, the hype was completely out of proportion and his debut season ultimately proved that as while it yielded a perfectly respectable 12 league goals, most came against abject opposition that caved in as soon as they spotted the menacing ‘This Is Anfield’ sign lurking over their heads.

Yes, he had a decent first season but the reality is Torres has since showed up his limitations as a striker. That deadly burst of pace, ability to finish from all angles, to relentlessly terrorise defences with skill and speed. Not really Kuyt’s game.

But then is his game being shifted out to the right, tracking attacking full-backs, putting in the tackles and being prepared to play out of position to accommodate the more dangerous attacking threats? Not what the £12million was paid for really.

Yet that is exactly what he was asked to do in the second half of last season as Rafael Benitez hit on his winning formula and – Champions League excluded – the penalty area prowess of Kuyt was sacrificed as a result.

He just got on with it, of course, because his attitude is like that. If you asked him to play in goal his immediate reaction would be: “Where are the gloves?”

But back in a central role on Saturday, he gave Benitez yet another indication that he has the strength in depth and quality of reinforcements to cope without the likes of Torres, even if he will be less encouraged by his players’ phobia of going in front any time before the final 10 minutes.

But then if you are going to take the lead, better to leave it late than peak too early. And the interventions of Kuyt in each of the last two games have secured a precious six points in terms of staying neck and neck with next Sunday’s hosts Chelsea.

The Dutchman has now scored more goals in his last two league games than he managed in open play in the entirety of last season.

He is stepping out of Torres’s shadow back into the spotlight and revelling in the fact that he is now finally being seen for what he is – a reliable, hard-working and effective centre-forward. Simple as that.

And while the Torres impression might need some work (not sure the Spaniard has ever scuffed in a volley via shin, goalkeeper’s fingertips and crossbar) the stage might be set for them to form a double act of equally crowd-pleasing proportions.

The fact is, both are on form and scoring goals. When Torres does return from injury, the temptation to pair him with Kuyt might be too much for Benitez to resist if he keeps up the kind of form he is in at the moment.

But one thing is for certain, he needs to resume his role at the heart of the attacking formation at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have had far too easy a ride from opposition forwards in their ominous march to the top of the Premier League table.

The challenge now for Kuyt is to give them as uncomfortable an afternoon as possible and keep it up for the full 90 minutes.

Because this is one game in which another last-gasp victory won’t concern anybody.