Christian Benteke Player Thread (Liverpool -> Crystal Palace)

Bu bu bu benny and the jets....

Welcome big man. You have my full attention. Now go score tons of goals.

yup.  This is about as well put as can be said.

nothing we can do about it, good or bad.  He'll either be successful or not. 

But everything in his Villa career thus far suggests that he's a square peg in a round hole for us.  And that's not just my opinion, go read his transfer thread to see how the majority thought that.

too late to do anything about it now. 

I'm just worried about what's going to happen if this doesn't work out.  We owe Villa £32m over the next few years.  FSG aren't just going to write a cheque for another expensive striker if Benteke is a dud.

I don't see why people don't get how this is a massive risk that could absolutely do us in for years to come if it doesn't work out.

but, as you said, nothing we say really matters. 

I know one thing Fed , we'll look like right divvy's if he clicks .

Supposedly posted by a Villa fan on Reddit:

I honestly am certain with Benteke you guys will get Champions league next year. I've watched 90% of the games he's played for us and he is truly world class, the people who are doubting whether or not you've paid too much money for him will honestly be thinking it was the bargain of the century come the end of the season.

I was resigned to see him going to another club this transfer window as let's be honest, we're not the club we used to be. I hope he takes you were you want to be because he deserves it. I read someone say on the Villa forum comparing this transfer to Delph's, complete opposite end of the spectrum, nothing but pure class from him, just as you'll come to expect from him on the pitch. Hope he scores bags for you (obviously not against us)

Oh and 2-1! (I couldn't be all nice I am a little bitter )

I'm a lot of fun actually.   

I'm just tired of us being mediocre.

I'm trying to get to the Watford and West Ham games in December/January.  if you go to either of them I'll take you out for a pint afterwards.   

do you think saying "welcome Christian" on a forum is "backing" him?

he doesn't even know we exist.

He knows all about you Fed , i've given him the low down on you .

I've got to say I think his stature is getting him some unfair and stereotypical judgements and I was guilty of it to an extent not too long ago.

He is a hell of a lot more of a player than Andy Carroll. Benteke's harshest critic would have to at least admit this.

Thing is, when you actually sit and watch all of his goals, and I mean all of them, there aren't enough coming from crosses, long diagonals or blatant hoofs to make me worry that we will become a team totally dependant on one method of supplying our attack. He creates a lot for himself and is very nimble for a big lad and he has enough pace too. Only 9 cm bigger than Suarez you know? And he could get around the pitch just fine. Can link the play and create chances too. Definitely a player with more to his game than I gave him credit for.

What I can't stress enough, though, is what a hugely significant signing for Brendan Rodgers he is.

I look at Benteke and see the maker of Rodgers' destiny. He is the player that Rodgers wanted, got and will now live or die by in my opinion. No pressure lad, crack on.

Got a good feeling he will do alright though. If I was to force out a problem with this now, it would be that I'm not sure how happy he is to be here. Just a feeling that I've had and got that he would have dropped us like a hot potato had even a slightly more attractive offer came in.

I've come full circle on him anyway, so now I'm covered whether he's sh*t or not

Welcome to the club.

Seriously looking forward to this.

We've played a blinder this Summer..!! Delighted.

I'm just tired of us being mediocre.

We're not mediocre, mediocre in the professional game is Bristol City or Swindon Town.  You're, though not your disposition, more Katrina & The Waves than Gerry & The Pacemakers.

What I can't stress enough, though, is what a hugely significant signing for Brendan Rodgers he is.

I look at Benteke and see the maker of Rodgers' destiny. He is the player that Rodgers wanted, got and will now live or die by in my opinion. No pressure lad, crack on.

Couldn't agree more Dave, good article by Bascombe on that very subject mate:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/11754083/Christian-Benteke-will-determine-Brendan-Rodgers-fate-at-Liverpool.html

Seriously looking forward to this.

We've played a blinder this Summer..!! Delighted.

I said that last season.

Keeping it well and truly F***ing zipped this time.

Let's send the young guy some positive vibes!

He's a good player. Could be a legit beast for us!

 

Farewell to hopes of intricate pass and move football, farewell to Coutinho's pinpoint through-balls....

Think again
http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/four-big-reasons-why-christian-benteke-not-new-andy-carroll

Couldn't agree more Dave, good article by Bascombe on that very subject mate:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/11754083/Christian-Benteke-will-determine-Brendan-Rodgers-fate-at-Liverpool.html

Decent read. Much better than Carroll but again, we are all giving opinions on him.

Nobody knows anything for a fact. It's better to just get behind it now.

Tell you what I do know though: if I popped home from work early and caught him in bed with me bird I'd tuck him in.

Got to admit I have been one of those apprehensive if Benteke fits our style of play.
But he is here now and I hope he wins the golden boot.
At least he won't have any difficulty on improving our output from our strikers of last season, so only question is how many goals will he put away with Coutinho, Firmino supplying the beast.

He only scores 1 in every 6 goals with his left. That's shocking, very unbalanced......

Aye Mick and you also said Lovren was gonna be future Captain just as assertively!  And that the majority of last summers signings were gonna come good by season end! I hope your bang on the money with this one though coz we desperately need him to do the business.

Haha I did mate yep, and I still haven't changed my opinion on most of our signings from last season. Lovren I rated very highly before he signed, and I still think he's an excellent player. Yes he had a poor season but you get that sometimes, even when the was playing sh!te though (particularly in the second half of the season) you could see the quality shining through. He'll deservedly start the season as third choice, but my hunch is that before long I won't be the only one who thinks he's a good player.

Others such as Markovic and Lallana are obviously good players too, but like Lovren they have to either show it more consistently or they won't get a game. Balotelli was my rank bad call as I thought he'd work out, but there you go.

You've known me long enough to know though mate I'm happy to put my opinion out there, and without bags of caveats too. Equally I ain't shy of admitting I called it wrong, and I do get a few right occasionally. I'm right on thus one though, and lo and behold having a player like Benteke will suddenly make the likes of Lallana, Markovic and even Lovren look like better players too. Good players do that, they glue things together and make them work, just like Suarez did. Benteke isn't Suarez, but he IS a good player and he WILL work out, big style.

Suarez shooting accuracy is 53% I read somewhere,  but Benteke is 69%. They both have around 1 goal per 5 shots. It's wrong to expect Benteke to be anywhere near as good as Suarez but I think Benteke is a very good striker.  Strong,  can run, probably not so much drama and possibly one of the best strikers in the league. People who complain about this must be crazy,  Aguero is probably better but Benteke is on par with Costa, Kane and Sanchez. Some people will never be happy unless we sign Messi for £2.99 though.

I look at Benteke and see the maker of Rodgers' destiny. He is the player that Rodgers wanted, got and will now live or die by in my opinion. No pressure lad, crack on.

more unsubstantiated guesswork.

There's nothing to suggest Brendan Rodgers was ever under threat of being sacked.  We as supporters just assumed that his position was at risk considering how awful the season was, but that only makes sense if FSG see the club the same way we do.  They don't care if we lose 6-1 away to Stoke, if we lose all our big matches etc.  They care about sponsorships and kit deals and making profit on player sales.  Brendan's job isn't under threat.

And there's nothing to suggest it will be in the future either.

Unfortunately I think he's here to stay and FSG are happy with him as long as he does whatever they tell him, regardless of how well or poorly we do.

A lot of journalists well connected to the club were saying JWH was about to pull the plug on Rodgers last season at Chrustmas time.

more unsubstantiated guesswork.

There's nothing to suggest Brendan Rodgers was ever under threat of being sacked.  We as supporters just assumed that his position was at risk considering how awful the season was, but that only makes sense if FSG see the club the same way we do.  They don't care if we lose 6-1 away to Stoke, if we lose all our big matches etc.  They care about sponsorships and kit deals and making profit on player sales.  Brendan's job isn't under threat.

And there's nothing to suggest it will be in the future either.

Unfortunately I think he's here to stay and FSG are happy with him as long as he does whatever they tell him, regardless of how well or poorly we do.

Ha ha behave you miserable little tw*t. You can't start a post off with "more unsubstantiated guesswork" and then post a load of erm... more unsubstantiated guesswork.

Ha ha behave you miserable little tw*t. You can't start a post off with "more unsubstantiated guesswork" and then post a load of erm... more unsubstantiated guesswork.

Fed, you got.....

Sterling was rubbish half the time and went for £50m. I feel sorry for City fans since other than Aguero their fowards aren't so strong.  Jovetic and Dzeko is like Lambert and Balotelli....we've got depth in our attacking options now and with Benteke I would not be surprised at all to see Liverpool 4th and man city 5th.