Crystal Palace forward Christian Benteke says Roy Hodgson’s style of football is to blame for his lack of goals.
The 28-year-old has netted just four times in two years but has cited the lack of service for his drought.
Only Cardiff and Watford sent over fewer crosses than Palace last season, which Benteke believes has affected his chances.
“Yeah, I know that [Palace aren’t crossing the ball as much]. We’re more compact under Hodgson,” he told Sport Bible.
“We defend really deep, really hard, but I don’t blame him because he’s the boss. If the manager wants me to do something that is not in my game, then I’m going to play like it’s not me and I will not score, but he’s probably happy because I defend, I work hard.
“Then people will say, ‘Oh, he’s not confident’, and obviously you have to take part of the responsibility, but it’s not about really about your qualities.
“I’m fighting against myself to find the right way. It’s a team sport, but I need to think about myself too.”
When Benteke bagged 17 goals in his first season at Palace in 2016/17, only Southampton delivered more crosses. Asked if he has chatted with Hodgson about the issue, Benteke added: “No, I didn’t speak with him yet.
“But I spoke with him last season about the crosses and he agreed with me because it’s a fact. It’s not like I’m lying. I’ve got to change something, I’ve got to take a risk at some point.”
The former Liverpool star’s contract expires in the summer and he insists he’s not looking to move in the January window.
“No, it’s too soon to talk about this,” he said. “I don’t feel that I finished my job. I can do well here. A lot of things can happen, that’s the beauty of this game.”
If this is all accurately reported, I agree with him. In my mind, his greater asset was in the air and not nearly so many crosses are occurring these days. But to be fair, it’s been a very long time since he looked the part, clearly lacking in confidence to the extent his ability is now questioned. In any other employment, he may well have lost his job for a failure to fulfill his job description!