Pep has done some strange things in his time.
Christian Benteke | BBC: Liverpool Agree £32.5m Fee
- Thread starter Sparky Rhiwabon
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Pep has done some strange things in his time.
Ok mate. This is why English players are so overrated.
The Bayern board wont sanction that. They sold Schweini, they wont sell another top quality player. There is a limit, also for Pep
Benteke is nothing more than a goal scorer, Kane is good in the buildup
SMH, this doesn't even make sense. Benteke has been playing with a team without a midfield basically and he's been their only goalscoring outlet for the last three seasons. Under Lambert Villa were playing route one and counter attacking football. Under Sherwood you can clearly see Benteke is also more than capable of being part of buildup play.
At this moment in time, I'd prefer Lukaku/Benteke to Kane just because they've shown year-on-year development. If you buy one of them at worst you're getting a 15 goal a year striker, but possibly 20+. Kane would cost nearly twice as much as either and it's impossible to say if he can replicate the sort of form which has his price tag so inflated. Give him another year, if he does it again, then spend £50m on him. Buying him this year makes no sense imo, also, he doesn't even want to leave.
I'm fairly certain that LVG isn't interested, in spite of what others have said I just don't see the extra dimension to his game. He is a good athlete with an eye for goal, but the build up play, touch and passing vision aren't of the required standard. I can see Kane developing into a player with far more to his game than Benteke, much bigger upside in my opinion.
People that want Benteke are actually desperate. He really isn't the answer!
How would you know? When we bought Yorke, we were also linked round that time to kluivert. How many people do you think would have wanted Kluivert? How many people would have changed their opinion after 5 games? The simple fact is that Benteke has just under a 1 in 2 goal record. We have Di Maria, Mata, Herrera, Bastian etc. LVG wants a striker in the box that will score goals. Seems reasonable?
The cost is irrelevent. Sometimes you get bargains and sometimes you over pay. If Wayne picked up an injury in the first game and we bought no one? Then getting bent out of shape about price would seem pretty silly wouldn't it. People have brought up names, some are just players with potential. In that instance we're as well sticking with Hernandez
Bentekes link up play is one of the strongest parts of his game.
To be honest build up play isn't our issue, we have plenty of the ball but no real target. I actually think benteke could come in and be pretty successful with us, but I don't think that should stop us pursuing other better targets in the future.
As a striker, he has a lot of strings to his bow. Its just his consistency and (sometimes) effort thats lacking.
If he could consistently bring together all the best parts of his game, he could be one hell of a player. A big if I guess, he is still only 24 though.
In his defence I think the lack of consistency comes with being surrounded by shite as well. You just don't know what Villa will turn up. With proper service on a consistent basis he can be unplayable.
Based on ?
He has the worst passing stats in the villa squad (and therefore the world) so not sure where people are getting good link up play from.
We do need a striker though and in terms of getting on the end of things and winning headers he could be a perfect fit for our creative players behind him.
We do need a striker though and in terms of getting on the end of things and winning headers he could be a perfect fit for our creative players behind him.
From watching him.
I'd hate to see the weakest part of his game then. We need to dream bigger than Benteke - we're building a side that should challenge in Europe, we need a more complete footballer. Leave this guy for Liverpool, that's about his level.
Yeah, Benteke is in no way good in the build up play. He can hold the ball up, as you'd expect from a lump, but he's nothing amazing technically. He'll need to be a lot better playing at a bigger side. Unlike Villa, who are almost always on the back foot, and as a result play constantly on the break. With many defenders tucked deep and the ball being played into his feet, he'd more likely than not struggle.
As I've said before, all about opinions which is what we're here on Redcafe for. I think he'd be a great signing for Liverpool or ourselves, time will tell.
With precision!
With precision!
Touché :-).
Why are people comparing to yorke!
Is it because he plays for villa and his skin colour?
Because he plays feck all like him
Is it because he plays for villa and his skin colour?
Because he plays feck all like him
I think its more to do with situation than actual playing type.
And tbf, a lot of people were thinking WTF when Yorke was signed (especially after the Kluivert link in 98)
Eh? He scored 7 goals in his last 12 Prem games.
Just checked the stats myself, its actually 2 in the last 9, my mistake. Not sure why I had 12 in my head.
Edit: The stats I saw probably included the 3 England Under 21 games, which takes the tally to 12.
Based on the fact that Benteke is in fact a very limited player. From the times numerous times I have seen him play I have seen a big player that has a fairly poor first touch, is unable to turn in tight spaces and looks rather clumsy. I would also argue that if you sign a player like this you are more prone to play it long and direct (the fellaini ball) and that is absolutely not what we should be trying to do. Simply put, Benteke is too slow to be a runner, and has too poor control to be a target man and so this leaves us with a perfectly average striker that should be nowhere near Utd or any other top teams unless in search of mediocrity.
If it was up to me we would have kept RVP for this season as I still think he had quality and there was still far more he could give, unfortunately that ship has now sailed and I now agree with others that we need a striker. What I don't agree with is panic buying a big lump of a player like Benteke when he is actually a worse player than RVP because what we need to be doing is going for absolute quality to elevate us to top dogs once again.
I understand why people are making the comparisons to Yorke, but unfortunately Yorke was a far more diverse player than Benteke ever will be due in part to his fantastic movement and excellent finishing ability. Now I have seen Benteke on numerous occasions and been highly underwhelmed and very much unable to see his qualities. In the game against Utd alone last season he looked slow, immobile, clumsy and overall just abit of a lump. You can also sit there and say that the price doesn't matter but paying over £30 million for such a limited player is madness.
Such BS in these lines I have to say. Too slow to be a runner? And you claim to have watched him play a full game (how many other than United games?). Right
What do you believe his qualities to be? Because I'm intrigued as to how you view him and I'm a huge football fan so whenever villa are on TV or any team for that matter I'll watch. Of course against UTD I would pay closer attention than others but that's probably normal for all fans. When I have watched Benteke play he doesn't strike any fear in me at all in the way that other top strikers can and I believe he would be the equivalent of our Andy Carroll signing of we were to get him for such huge money.
It's because you cannot fully judge a player playing for Villa. When you play with better players and when you are in an environment that challenges you, you can easily improve 5-10%. In Yorkes case, he was never a 25-30 goal striker when we signed him but he became one within a season.
So when people look at what he does for Villa, you have to think about how he will improve with the better players and the better mentality we have. He don't have to drop deep. We would want Rooney or someone high up top and score goals. We have in Mata, Di Maria, Depay and others plenty to give us quality from deep
Yeah but when Robin was poor he was poor. It's judgmental to call it panic buying.It's true we can bide our time. Do you think we will though? If Rooney get's injured or is out of form, we've only Hernandez who's extablished and LVG don't want him. Why that is? I don't know. So who would you guys go for? Muller? Not happening. That guy at Lyon? We're not getting linked to him. Lewandowski? Unlikely. I would go for Kane first choice but Glastonspurs don't want to sell him to us
. Benteke has a better record for Villa then Yorke had (if he maintains his crap level to date)...(Think we can move on from yorke comparisons now)
Honestly I don't know which striker we should go as I can only see a small number that would be able to come in and have a big impact, which is again the reason I would have stuck with RVP for one more season to see if the market livens up next year. I just think we should enquire about about every possible option on the market before we look at Benteke because I do believe he is distinctly average in his overall play and ability. I would really have hoped that Utds scouts could have found a striker somewhere in world football with the potential to in time replace Rooney as the top striker. Failing that I think the most realistic and attainable top strikers are Higuain and Cavani who would be available for £40-50.Yeah but when Robin was poor he was poor. It's judgmental to call it panic buying.It's true we can bide our time. Do you think we will though? If Rooney get's injured or is out of form, we've only Hernandez who's extablished and LVG don't want him. Why that is? I don't know. So who would you guys go for? Muller? Not happening. That guy at Lyon? We're not getting linked to him. Lewandowski? Unlikely. Benteke has a better record for Villa then Yorke had (if he maintains his crap level to date)...
(Think we can move on from yorke comparisons now)
He also has a fraction of Yorke's skill. The comparison is an insult to Dwight - I can't see Benteke moving into central midfield in his mid thirties and still playing Premiership football!
Did you even watch our attack last season ?! *slaps forehead*
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Yes, but you would expect to have Sturridge more readily available this season as your first choice forward. You have already added Firmino, Origi coming back from loan and have signed Ings as well.
I would say that another striker at this point is the last thing you need.
We can't rely on Sturridge being available though. Last season proved that.
Origi is new to the league and will need time.
I am not sure where Firmino is actually going to play (edit with Lallana, Coutinho, Markovic and Ibe it will be interesting how we line up).
Ings I think will do well for us.
We still need a top class striker.
If Sakho can stay fit and we get Flanagan back at some point defensively we should be okay.
We just need a good partner for Skrtel.
Moreno should be better in his second season, Clyne is an upgrade on Johnson.
Ilori and Gomez are 2 excellent prospects and you never know even Lovren may improve with a decent pre-season behind him (his words not mine).
If you cant rely on Sturridge to the extent that you basically discount him from the squad, then you might as well sell him. As it is, I would expect him to play substantially more next season.
Origi is an unknown but he has played for you on tour and scored last night I believe - it sounds like he had a poor season at Lille last year though, so there are still question marks. Firmino I would have thought would play as a false nine - but regardless of where they start, a fluid front three of Coutinho/Firmino/Sturridge is actually pretty good, and you arent short on backup options - Origi, Ings, Lambert, Balotelli, Borini. Surely some of those need to be sold before you can accommodate a starting striker?
I think he's nailed on for Liverpool. They'll spend their other 15 million from Sterling sale on some unknown youngish winger.
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