Bentexit

For West Ham?

Must be the new expanded Champions League they're planning.

 

Be interesting if he goes to West Ham. I imagine he'll spend all of training chasing around after James Collins like my lab chases after a bitch on heat.

 

Hes going to barca. Swap for busquets a mate of a mate who paints houses where robbie fowler owns next door overheard all this.

 

My gut feeling from the start was that it was a poor signing, and an expensive one.

He's not, and never will be, Liverpool standard.

In a way I'm glad he's come out and whinging.

Hopefully confirms his exit.

 

Bentexit.

 

Someone change the thread title to this

 

Done

 

Bentexit

 

Very good at being not very good?
He did ok at Villa. He's a bad fit with us- no more, no less.

 

While I can't deny that he's not been a good fit so far, I think it's the ultimate Liverpool move to get rid of a big name player before giving them time to settle. This is his first season for us. I know he's had chances. I know he doesn't do the things that we expect of him. But deep down inside you still see the flashes of why he was tearing up the prem and that if he got a bit of confidence/energy out there he could be awesome.

The problem with players like Benteke, Carroll, and even Balotelli are that they only deliver when the rest of the team does. They can't carry the team on their backs. If they're isolated up front, they can knock the ball down all they like but no one is going to run up to pick it up. No one is going to give him proper service. I call it the Carroll effect because it was painfully clear when he was with us that this was happening. The moment he stepped on the pitch the mentality of every other player out there switched from "I have a striker to play with" to "I have a target to lump it to". They pass and stop running. They launch it up and expect others to do the rest. And the big target man is stuck in the middle and often gets scapegoated. I liked Carroll. I was a minority then and a minority now but I felt that he had good performances when the rest of the team treated him the same way they would have treated Suarez. He couldn't do the things Suarez could do, but being treated like he could gave him the service needed to lay it on for someone, chest it down, set up for a shot, etc. Instead, people would launch it to him, alone, and then 3-4 defenders would swarm him and everyone would go "oh he's useless". But had everyone pushed up, he wouldn't have 4 defenders on him, he would have a strike partner, etc.
Look at Balotelli's good performance(s?). Spurs against Liverpool. Sturridge up front with him - he did what he was capable of.

Not all of this applies to Benteke. Not all of it applied to the other two as well. But it's something I keep in mind and it prevents me from jumping on the "Benteke is a ****ing **** player" bandwagon. I don't think he's lost his talent. He just needs a system that works with him in it. Managers need to be brave and utilise target men differently. It's unpopular now as 4-5-1 has become the norm, and I know Klopp is a big fan of that formation too Recently though he's played Origi with Sturridge up front together lately and it's been good which implies he wants to move away from a target striker formation, but he can't if Benteke doesn't adapt to being a wide mobile striker (as explained below).

Do we have the time and need to adapt our system to fit Benteke? I don't think so, and for that reason I think he should go (with caveats at the bottom). But it isn't 100% his fault.

In the words and opinion of Cruyff, the best formation is the 4-4-2 diamond. It's versatile in any situation and it switches from a 4 at the back defence to a 4 in the middle, 3 up top in attack. The lack of width due to the 4 central midfielders is rectified with fullbacks that rush forward, while the defensive midfielder drops back to make a back 3 in attack. The two strikers up front HAVE to play as wide strikers though - so it effectively is a mix of 4-4-2, 3-4-3, and 4-3-3 at times.

The ultimate failing with this system is not that it becomes obsolete (the opposite actually, it's too flexible to adapt to counter) but that it requires extremely dedicated personnel who know their roles and specialise in them. Cruyff spoke about this in relation to Barcelona, who are the best example of the effectiveness of the tactic. They have 4 defenders - Alba + Alves on the flanks, with Pique + Masch in the middle. Busquets is DM, with Iniesta/Rakitic ahead of him. Messi is a CF/10 and then Neymar pairs with Suarez as the wide forwards.

Why is this relevant? Well, if we wish to play this system, and I think that Klopp does (recent weeks have moved into a diamond formation) then Benteke has to adapt. He has to change from a typical target man to a wide striker, and for that he needs to become more mobile. He needs to show that he's ready to adapt. That will help the rest of the team start treating him like a proper striker and give him the service he needs, which would give him confidence in those one on one situations.

If you look back at the 13/14 season, we played that formation above with Suarez/Sturridge up top. Today, Sturridge plays the Suarez finisher role while his partner has to play the counterpart, while retaining mobility. It's not something I think Benteke can do. And for that reason we should sell him. But not because he's "****" or because he doesn't deserve to wear the shirt or anything like that. We don't need to have a nasty falling out with every one of our departing players. If he's up for the challenge, he needs to show that in training and on the pitch to Klopp. If he isn't, then his question has been answered.

If he starts showing that he wants to play in the formation Klopp demands of him, I'd give him the opportunity to stay and prove himself. If he keeps up with the interviews then he can find himself a new club.

 

David Cameron is against bentexit isn't he?

Worrying as he's a hammers man

 

This is a post bomb Frank is proud of.....

 

****ing hell. Welcome back Tolstoy, is this part of the draft of your new novel ??

#summaryplease

 

Love the title but shared ain't playing wide man at barca now.

Busquets has also been pushed a bit more forward this season.

In any event.... benteke is a very good player, very very good but he's clearly given up and you can see it in every brief appearance and he's made his feelings clear.

So has Lukaku and courtois.....

For a team who's country has suffered a terrible event they really are the most shallow greedy nasty little ****s.

Distinctly unimpressed with the Belgian mentality so far.

 

He's a donkey would have sufficed mate

 

He certainly likes ham.

 

There's a rumour Athletico Madrid might be interested in signing him

 

What have you been reading?

 

He has a big Tory ham face

 

Alright I've learned my lesson.

Benteke is a donkey.