The notion that a little and large double act is a formula for success may owe more to fond memories of Laurel and Hardy and Morecambe and Wise than the realities of modern football. Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch played together for Portsmouth in a significant match for the first time yesterday and their most assured piece of link-up play came when they stood in the centre circle and kicked off in the second half.

Given the freshness of their partnership, it was understandable that they were not on the same wavelength, but is it an idea Portsmouth should be tuning into if they harbour ambitions of coming close enough to the top four to see them without a telescope?

From a Manchester United perspective, this curtain-raiser was not much help for curtain-twitchers. United’s lineup was so compromised by absences that their display yesterday was no use for nosy Barclays Premier League neighbours seeking a glimpse of how the champions may fare this season. But Portsmouth, knocking the ball up to Crouch, his first thought to flick it on to Defoe (something he first attempted after 90 seconds): this is how they will have to play because the tall-and-small tactic demands it.

A central problem at Wembley for Harry Redknapp’s team was that, with such a narrow and defensive midfield, no one launched crosses for Crouch from advanced wide positions. It was an issue during the striker’s time with Liverpool and on England duty.

Another issue is that the league’s best teams have replaced route one with Spaghetti Junction. The direct and predictable superseded by serpentine, sophisticated, interconnected trails.

Yesterday, United started with Ryan Giggs as centre forward, with Nani, Carlos Tévez and even Darren Fletcher taking turns to act as the apex of the attack. A dizzying multitude of movements, a squiggly organised chaos that is hard for a defence to comprehend, let alone control.

Rafael BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager, appeared to signal that Crouch’s presence does not encourage the flexibility and fluidity required of a top-four team when he dropped him to the bench last season. Now he has brought in Robbie Keane for his energy and intelligent running.

The evidence from 367 minutes together for England over nine matches since 2006 is inconclusive. The partnership has produced seven goals for Crouch and three for Defoe, but mainly against weak teams - Defoe’s strikes came against Andorra and Trinidad & Tobago. And if the theory is that Crouch will flick the ball through to the onrushing Defoe, why has the taller man scored so many more goals?

The long and the short of it is that with Crouch and Defoe there is an immediate expectation of how they will play. With United, all you know is that you will not know who will be where from one moment to the next.