Crouch to Keane: “I know how you feel”

Portmouth striker Peter Crouch has empathised with Robbie Keane and admitted he felt the same when he was at Liverpool. Crouch was forced to flee Merseyside and return to Pompey last season after falling out of favour with Benitez, despite hitting 40 goals in 89 starts.

“There are a few similarities between what has happened with Robbie and my own situation. I feel sorry for him”, he said. “That is the way Rafa operates and it can be very frustrating because, when I was there, he never really explained why I was not playing”.