[lfc-news] Cisse strikes on debut to usher in new Liverpool era - Telegraph

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Sunday Telegraph, 15 Aug 2004
Cisse strikes on debut to usher in new Liverpool era
By Patrick Barclay

The banner hanging from the upper tier of the visiting supporters' section
- "Merci, Gerard" - would have pleased the deposed Liverpool manager
Houllier, here in his new role as analyst for French television. As would
the contribution of one of his many parting gifts to the club: Djibril
Cisse's goal made it a memorable Premiership debut for the striker in whose
£14 million transfer from Auxerre this summer Houllier invested so much effort.

Cisse scored from close range in the businesslike manner often associated
with Michael Owen, whose move to Real Madrid went though yesterday, as if
to emphasise that one passage in Anfield history was over and another
beginning. The supporters, upon hearing an early inquiry as to where Owen
had gone, chanted the name of Houllier's successor, Rafa Benitez.
Afterwards Benitez was asked if Cisse could score more than 20 Premiership
goals in a season - a habit Owen had lost - and replied: "I think he has
the capacity. He will have to work hard, like he did today. If he does, I
am sure he will score a lot of goals."

Cisse was taken off in the 63rd minute - his partner up front, Milan Baros,
lasted 78 minutes - because Benitez, concerned by the ease with which
Tottenham were playing long balls from the back, wanted fresh legs to harry
Jacques Santini's defenders. So it was not Cisse's fault that Liverpool
were denied victory by an even more impressive demonstration than his of
the striker's craft from the ice-cool, low-slung and devilishly sinuous
Jermain Defoe, England's answer to Romario (except, we gather with relief,
in the nightclubs).

Cisse is a different sort of player from Defoe, happy to drop off and take
part in the build-up as well as take responsibility for being in at the
kill. Who can say yet what he will seem when summer turns to autumn and the
time for adjustment to the unique rhythm of the English game has expired?
But so far, so good; he and Baros, who underlined his prowess with a
splendid European Championship, have every chance of working successfully
together, if that is Benitez's intention.

Not that life without Owen is something with which Liverpool are wholly
unfamiliar. Indeed, his fitness record is one of the reasons negotiations
kept stalling; Liverpool wanted to keep him, but not at any price. Last
season he missed nine Premiership matches - nearly a quarter of the
programme - and that was not a bad return by the standards of the previous
four. Over the past five seasons, on average, he has failed to start 12
matches and while some of these absences may be classified as rests, it is
fair to say that comparisons with the likes of Thierry Henry, Ruud van
Nistelrooy and Alan Shearer had become increasingly unflattering. Now all
Owen has to do is outshine Ronaldo.

Cisse and Baros, meanwhile, have the not inconsiderable task - for all that
has just been said - of replacing Owen and Emile Heskey. They began
gingerly, being unable to obtain encouragement either from opponents -
Noureddine Naybet made sure his central defensive partnership with Ledley
King gelled swiftly - or a Liverpool midfield relying heavily on Steven
Gerrard for creative ideas. Defiantly, Cisse flexed his muscles. First he
shot from 40 yards and although the sweetly struck ball was still rising
when it encountered Paul Robinson, the goalkeeper fielded with ease. Then
Cisse employed his pace in reaching the byline, only for the crafty Naybet
to air the story of the tortoise and the hare in sliding across to take
possession.

The striker's game, though, is often one of patience - like that of the
riverside angler - and Cisse, when the opportunity came to demonstrate his
qualities in this respect, showed he had been concentrating. Jamie
Carragher went to nod the ball into the penalty area and Cisse made for the
spot he wanted it to land. It obliged - and was stroked past Robinson.
Excellent. You could see what Benitez meant: as long as Cisse keeps
working, ignoring the frustration of repeated runs in vain, he should
thrive as in France.

Shortly before being summoned to the bench, Cisse came short and spread the
ball wide for Harry Kewell, whose shot flashed across goal. Cisse may have
felt himself unlucky to give way to Florent Sinama-Pongolle but looked
tired more than anything else, surprisingly so for one who could not join
Santini's squad in Portugal because of suspension. Perhaps it was the heat.
At any rate he used up two shirts. One presented to Santini, the other to
Houllier.


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