It does not appear that the Liverpool forward has much choice in the matter, however, and, ironically, his hopes of reclaiming a place in Rafael Benitez's starting XI will simply suffer further if he continues to prove his manager's theory that he is the perfect substitute by performing as he did during the final 18 minutes against Blackburn.
Prior to Crouch's introduction as a replacement for the ineffective Yossi Benayoun, Liverpool's attacking threat was virtually non-existent. With Crouch, and his fellow substitute, Harry Kewell, it was a different story.
Where Blackburn had previously dominated, twice hitting the woodwork through David Bentley and David Dunn before having a strong penalty appeal turned down following a Jamie Carragher handball, Liverpool began to lay siege to the Rovers goal, with Crouch leading the line.
And therein lies Crouch's problem. In the six starts that he has made in all competitions this season, he has been little better than hopeless, but as a substitute, he causes chaos. He may yet start against Besiktas in the Champions League tomorrow night but when asked whether Crouch is more useful as a substitute than as a starter, Benitez did little to give the forward hope that he will leave the bench behind.
Benitez said: "He could be. Some players are like that. Sometimes, when players play 20 minutes or half an hour, they are more important for the team.
"We were more dangerous in the closing stage for three reasons. Blackburn were tired, Harry is a player who can beat players in a wide area and we also had Crouch. With a winger like Harry or players like Steven Gerrard who can cross, you need a player who is good in the air like Crouch."
Damned by faint praise perhaps, but during his brief involvement Crouch had a header cleared off the line and created two chances for Gerrard which produced superb saves by Brad Friedel.