12 May 2016 10:29:16
I get the whole "he is lazy and doesn't work for the team" thing, I really do but you cannot argue with his stats! Benteke has now scored 10 goals in just 13 starts, why so much hate? Wether you like him or not most clubs would love a striker with them kind of stats. He may be lazy but if he scores goals should we not just love him for what he is? A proven goal scorer rather than what he isn't!

1.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 10:50:00
actually he is not lazy! its a petulant blame from some of our so called experts . if he is lazy than what's sturridge? This season lots of time I saw him waiting in the box for cross, pass or cut back . but unfortunately we don't have a system to support his game . we lack pace in the wings and how many good crossers do we have? or how many times do our wingers make cut back pass? moreover benteke himself lacks speed to move quickly through the spaces. the total scenario is a mess up. the system is contradictory .

2.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 10:55:47
I agree. I am one of Benteke`s supporters. He may not work on the high press, he may be what people presume lazy. But his stats prove he is a goal scorer. He hasn't had a great deal of chances and injuries this year yet still give a good return.

Baz.

3.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 10:36:15
You can have one none presser in the side. He has accepted sturridge for that, I struggle why he has this hate for benteke. The boys guarantees 20 a season that's for sure.

If he had of treated benteke like origi, game, games and more games. Confidence booster etc bentwke would be just behind hardy and Kane now, guarantee it.

4.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 10:44:56
Not going to rant,

Someone picked up a thought he doesn't fit in our style and I have been hearing it from past 4-5 years on this page. This has been ongoing under different manages all failing to win anything with thier style of play. Not sure which style did we play yesterday. After the 15 mts mark we busted like a balloon and were chasing Hazzard shadows all over. If you go by stats, Allen and Benteke would get inside the top 5 best players this season and I could see both moving out.

He is a physical monster who could surrender any defender due his sheer strength. For some strange season he hasn't scoring goals for fun. The first season excuse doesn't apply here unfortunately as people don't like him.

His over head kick against UTD wasn't a fluke, the lad is quality whether you like it or not that's a fact.

5.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 11:08:51
On a number of times this season Benteke been calling and pointing for the ball and he does not get it.

6.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 11:21:20
Can't believe all I've read. Benteke is crap and a waste of money. The biggest waste in Lfc history. He doesn't try to get on the end of crosses, he doesn't make runs behind, he doesn't offer anything in build up play. He wants the ball given directly to him wherever he is, to give him a chance of scoring.
Sooner he's gone the better with ings origi and sturridge fighting for cf.

7.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 11:22:52
When we say "lazy" we aren't necessarily saying he should be pressing as much as say Lallana, he's lazy in the he doesn't run the channels and isn't busting a gut to get in to the box to get on the end of the ball.

Also if we're comparing him to Sturridge, Sturridge actually tracks back significantly more than Benteke does. Sturridge also makes many more good runs than Benteke does.

8.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 11:41:07
So benteke gets a hard time yet our very own Jan Molby was class as great only moving 4 metres a match. Get real. Benteke asks for the ball in positions because he knows what he can do with it. The lad hasn't Bern given a fair crack at it.
Why are we looking for wingers? Wingers are they to beat a man and cross a ball. So with that you need a target man, who is that target man if Benteke isn't there? Benteke proved at Villa single handled that he could score big amounts of goals. He needs time to adapt to Klopp's style of play which I'm sure he can.

Baz.

9.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 11:41:27
Whether you call him lazy or not the majority of games he is VERY easy to mark and there is nothing defenders like more. I remember one Europa group game he literally trotted from penalty spot to the edge of the centre circle and back all game. There were 2 big slow lumbering centre backs who were in there element. With a bit of movement he would have made a massive impact on a dull game.

In tight defensive games where teams "park the bus" you have to move defenders around and pull them out of position - he does not do this. If you have 1 striker up top then Benteke does not work at all. With 2 strikers it is different.
Sturridge is actually a complete contrast in terms of movement and sometimes he'll be on the right wing instead of in the box. But at least it unsettles the defence.

The reason I don't think he suits Klopp's style of play is that Klopp often prefers 1 striker up top. No other reason IMO.

10.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 11:45:50
Seriously Benny? The biggest waste in LFC history? I'd post a list of players to argue that statement but the servers would likely blow up from too much data.
I can't stand statistics but one area where they rarely lie is goals per game and Bentekes look pretty solid on that front. He has scored those goals in a system that doesn't suit his strengths too.
Don't get me wrong, I don't see him fitting in as neatly as Ings or Firmino but he has plenty of ability and he is certainly no Balotelli. Or Carroll. Or Aquilani. Or Cole. Or Keane. Best I stop there.

11.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 11:49:15
I was going to do my own post but saw this and thought I'd join in. Benteke's scored a respectable amount of goals with his game time but what shines through is that he's been rubbish when he starts but brilliant off the bench. He's only managed 3 goals and 1 assist from his 13 starts (1078 minutes) but 6 goals and 2 assists from his 15 appearances from the bench (352 minutes) . I can only assume that this is because when he starts he tries to play Klopp's game (and fails, he's scored just one goal in the league when he's started for Klopp) but plays his natural game off the bench.

I think Benteke wants to be the leading man so if he leaves I'll wish him well but if he does stay I'll be delighted that we have such a potent weapon on the bench,

12.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 11:58:28
Pretty sure Carroll can safely take that title Benny.

13.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 12:04:02
i liked benteke, liked him at villa. no doubt he has tons of ability and whilst his goal scoring is not in in doubt the question is can we get more from someone else, if we got 25 mil or so can we get someone that gets the same amount of goals but offers more to the team as a whole? if he goes and someone comes in that can deliver that then so be it. if not maybe is it worth giving him a full season under klopp and moulding him into that? (if that's possible! )

14.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 12:06:23
add to that the number of one on ones he has missed this seasons because he lacks the confidence. IF he is properly backed he is a supreme player. But when the coach just doesn't see it we cannot help it. All said i still believe it is Benteke who will stay and sturridge who will leave this summer.
Klopp hasn't trusted him a lot this season tbh. If benteke also starts pressing like what klopp wants which i can't see why he can't actually he will be a hell of a player. and klopp would know that too. he likes origi for his strength and pace.
I mean the sheer number of times he wins the ball of a corner is just incredible. i don't want to see him go. But one of either him or studger will go or rather has to go because we have 4 first team strikers.

15.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 12:52:56
Benny, you're owed some grief for that comment. Annie and Fornax have already tackled your 'biggest waste of money' claim, I'm going to take issue with your 'he doesn't offer anything in build up play' claim.

Benteke creates a chance every 45 mins compared to Studge (139) and Origi (116). According to Squawka scoring system he does much better in possession than either Studge or Origi. He draws more fouls from the others, he attempts more passes, he wins a huge amount of headers. Basically he offers far more in build up play than our other forwards.

16.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 12:59:36
If we do make the decision to move him on I hope to God it's a team abroad. He will hunt us if he goes to a premiership team.

Baz.

17.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 13:11:57
Benny is probs the only outfield player that I have slated this season. I see strikers from other teams lead hard and strong when a cross comes in. They overpower defences in doing so. Even Andy Carroll will have a powerful burst when the path of the cross can be predicted. Jenny does not have this. 10 goals in 13 games is a great stat, but it is misleading. When the ball is served up on a silver platter he will score. More or less. But if he has to run for it, then it is to much effort and he won't make a burst for it.

In my opinion, the difference has been that recently he has ventured past the penalty spot and sat on the last man, for a player of his work ethos, this is exactly where he should be.

Benny is valuable in a 2 striker situation. I believe that in a striking partnership you need a poacher and a creator. Sturridge, Ings and Origi are all creators. Be my is a fantastic poacher. In my opinion.

{Ed023's Note - I'm curious... Who's Jenny?}

18.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 13:16:51
Moreover, Benny was given a pretty decent run of games when he was our only fit striker. But that seems to have been lost in many people's convenient memory lapses.

19.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 13:36:29
You can have an endless number of arguments about why Benteke should or should not stay. But at the end of the day, it is results that are the most meaningful and for a striker it's goals scored. A 20 goal striker is a must. This is Liverpool Football club. A club with a rich successful history and aspirations to reach those earlier heights again. Without a 20 goal striker, we will never reach those aspirations. So Benteke must leave. To make place for a striker who'll get us those goals. Sturridge may do it of course, because he's done it before. But his injury record is too risky to depend on.

20.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 13:58:38
Benteke's goal stats are undeniable and I am happy for him, however his all round game play is lacking. We can't expect to play to one players strengths when that limits everyone else.

The problem is what does Benteke have that Origi doesn't, I would argue Origi looks stronger, better at holding up play and can head the ball which is what Benteke is supposed to bring to the team. But Origi then has so much more with his pace, runs and skill on the ball.

Selling Sturridge would be stupid, because he has such ability, imo the only English player who plays with a level of class and composure shown by the very top players.

21.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 15:20:38
Wow, now this is funny. Benteke scores 2 goals in two and a half games and now suddenly, he will guarantee us 20 a season and all the other nonsense. Give it a rest. Benteke is lazy as in, he doesn`t do what other strikers who are big and strong like him do. He is as Ron said, VERY easy to mark. I have watched countless times when we are ready to cross, he is either at the back post or not yet even in the box hence, the cross is put in to no one. He doesn`t press, doesn`t work hard enuff for the team, and DEFO doesn`t make the runs needed to move his markers around. Origi is the exact opposite of all that. He is big, strong powerful, has aerial ability, bullies CB`s for fun (go ask the great Hummels if he wants to see Origi in his face again) and is lethal in front of goal with both feet. Benteke thought he was just going to play regardless of how good or bad he was BUT ther`s a new Sheriff in town and that crap won`t fly under Klopp and the fact that a green horn like Origi is now ahead of him on the pecking order, says it all and NO, Klopp doesn`t hate him. he`s just not doing what the other forwards are doing so if he`s not playing often, it`s his fault, not Klopp`s. I don`t care for his stats because they mean nothing.

22.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 15:22:16
Still think we could get a pretty penny for him from a side expecting to be on the lower half of the table next year. He can keep a side in the league, no question about it. Since everyone is getting a truckload of TV-money, 25 mil is not too much for that kind of "insurance". He is not a Klopp-style player and will never be. Sturridge in not a perfect player in our current system either, but he is getting there.

23.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 17:33:31
I watched him when we played Exeter, both games.
He was woefull statuesque if you like, just standing on the corner of the 18 yard box waiting for something to drop for him.
Now this was a league 2 side. He should of been pulling and spreading their center backs but he didn't. It should of been easy for him to do that against that level of opponent.

I feel he just has not got enough movement to his game, and we have better players in Origi and Ings that both run the channels off the ball into space and make theirselves available for the pass or pull defenders out of position creating space for others.
Thank you but goodbye Benners.

24.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 19:08:24
Ha ha stats don't mean anything this makes me chuckle. I appreciate that some obscure stats mean nothing but goals scored is one that can't be ignored. I think back to Heskey, when playing with confidence he was capable of some great goals and play, when not. Well we have all seen those YouTube clips.
I would like to see Big Ben get a chance, he is no lost cause like a certain Italian. If nothing else it will boost his sell on value.
Oh and I am calling it now, watch him come off the bench and win us the Europa League with one of those goals scored that don't mean anything. ;-)

25.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 20:24:07
Your stat is pointless. 10 goals in 13 starts, which nonviolently includes his goals scored when coming on as a substitute, but not the game. The only stat that matters for Benteke is that 40 appearances and 10 goals for LFC.

26.) 12 May 2016
12 May 2016 23:30:32
Baz, in relation to an earlier post, the reason you have wingers isn't just to send in crosses for a target man, they are used to make the field of play as wide as possible. By staying wide by the touch line it creates more space in the middle for players like coutinho firmino and Sturbridge to work their magic. Currently Moreno and Clyne are trying to supply that width but a real winger will allow them to focus more on their defensive duties and should be more creative in the final third.

That's why we need wingers.

27.) 13 May 2016
12 May 2016 23:53:52
Your stats mean nothing, Higgins because as AG pointed out, it doesn't include all the other stuff strikers do that don't show on the stat sheet nor does it include all the sitters and open goals he missed. Your post just proved my point. Anyone who uses manipulative stats to, prove a football point already lost the argument. Use your eyes more and maybe you will see what doesn't show up on the stat sheet.

28.) 13 May 2016
13 May 2016 01:59:41
Spot on benny and others, got to be the first out the door. Dosnt give us any more of a goal threat than Sturridge origi or Ings. He will not win us titles.