Yossi Benayoun has revealed on Twitter that he is negotiating with several clubs over a possible transfer, one of which is rumoured to be Liverpool. If the chance arises, should the club re-sign the Israeli international?
Last summer, Benayoun left no ambiguity over why he wanted to leave Anfield:
"I made up my mind to leave a long time ago because of Benitez. He never treated me with the respect I deserved. If I played well, I never felt he gave me credit. When I scored, I still expected to be out of the team the next game. And when the fans wanted me to play, Benitez told me he couldn't understand why.
"There are many examples of him treating me badly...He tried to destroy my confidence. You can't treat a player like this and expect him to be happy. I felt so unhappy but, out of respect to the club, I never spoke out. The players and the people at the top of the club knew how I felt...Benitez tried to break me like he broke Riera.
"I was sure he wanted me to attack him in the press during the season so he could turn the fans against me, so I kept quiet. I felt he was waiting for me to make a mistake so he could use it against me."
"I knew I had to get away from Benitez. I could not risk waiting to see if he kept his job and I could not turn down such a massive club as Chelsea. It is good for Liverpool he has gone, but it was too late for me."
When he wasn't suffering from the impact of the 'Benitez Effect', Benayoun was often excellent for Liverpool. In his three years at the club, he scored/created 46 goals (29 goals/17 assists), and had a knack of popping up with vital goals.
With Joe Cole hopefully on the way out, Benayoun would be a top replacement - he is rarely injured (averages 36 games a season since 2005), knows the club, and has proved that he's got what it takes to make a difference. Benayoun would also enhance the overall strength of the squad, and the youngsters in the team could learn a lot from his experience.
Additionally, Benayoun is well equipped to cover Luis Suarez if he were to get injured this season (let's hope not!), which is another major plus.
When he was at Liverpool, Benayoun reminded me in some ways of Peter Beardsley. Like Benayoun, Beardsley wasn't the fastest of players, but he had electric pace over 10-15 yards; superb technique; peerless close-control skills, and the uncanny ability to pick out inch-perfect through balls.
The new Liverpool under Kenny Dalglish seems to prioritise creativity over dull, cautious anti-football, so Benayoun would fit right in.
The more creative players the better, so I say bring him back!
Any poster who fails to follow the comment policy will be banned.
Jaimie Kanwar
Last summer, Benayoun left no ambiguity over why he wanted to leave Anfield:
"I made up my mind to leave a long time ago because of Benitez. He never treated me with the respect I deserved. If I played well, I never felt he gave me credit. When I scored, I still expected to be out of the team the next game. And when the fans wanted me to play, Benitez told me he couldn't understand why.
"There are many examples of him treating me badly...He tried to destroy my confidence. You can't treat a player like this and expect him to be happy. I felt so unhappy but, out of respect to the club, I never spoke out. The players and the people at the top of the club knew how I felt...Benitez tried to break me like he broke Riera.
"I was sure he wanted me to attack him in the press during the season so he could turn the fans against me, so I kept quiet. I felt he was waiting for me to make a mistake so he could use it against me."
"I knew I had to get away from Benitez. I could not risk waiting to see if he kept his job and I could not turn down such a massive club as Chelsea. It is good for Liverpool he has gone, but it was too late for me."
When he wasn't suffering from the impact of the 'Benitez Effect', Benayoun was often excellent for Liverpool. In his three years at the club, he scored/created 46 goals (29 goals/17 assists), and had a knack of popping up with vital goals.
With Joe Cole hopefully on the way out, Benayoun would be a top replacement - he is rarely injured (averages 36 games a season since 2005), knows the club, and has proved that he's got what it takes to make a difference. Benayoun would also enhance the overall strength of the squad, and the youngsters in the team could learn a lot from his experience.
Additionally, Benayoun is well equipped to cover Luis Suarez if he were to get injured this season (let's hope not!), which is another major plus.
When he was at Liverpool, Benayoun reminded me in some ways of Peter Beardsley. Like Benayoun, Beardsley wasn't the fastest of players, but he had electric pace over 10-15 yards; superb technique; peerless close-control skills, and the uncanny ability to pick out inch-perfect through balls.
The new Liverpool under Kenny Dalglish seems to prioritise creativity over dull, cautious anti-football, so Benayoun would fit right in.
The more creative players the better, so I say bring him back!
Any poster who fails to follow the comment policy will be banned.
Jaimie Kanwar
Yossi is class. He sang YNWA in the blues dressing room. Never had a bad thing to say about Liverpool.
ReplyDeleteIronically I think although he fell out with Benitez, I think he'll get better use out of him than Kenny will. Could back that statement up, but don't have time now. Still a decent player and one of my favourites to watch.
ReplyDeleteFunny that Cole was a replacement for Benayoun. Cheers Purslow!!
Oh, and stop slagging off Rafa. Few people are directly doing the same towards Woy.
it was a sad day when he left, would be great to have him back. He was one of those that whenever he was on the pitch, you knew we were going to score.
ReplyDeleteI think Yossi would be great signing. However whilst it was very close to happening Chelsea arr asking from Liverpool than other clubs. My source tells me he will be a Spurs player come Tuesday sadly
ReplyDeleteNot Good Enough and too old must be better options. Give a youngster a chance from reserves
ReplyDeleteSorry meant to say Chelsea are asking for more from Liverpool than other clubs. He was not a free for Chelsea as quoted he cost 5mill
ReplyDeleteYes Yossi was poorly treated by Rafa, thankfuly we finaly have the right Manager in Kenny Dalglish.
ReplyDeleteIf we get Benayoun back I would be pleased but I still think we need a good striker and we need to get rid of Poulson, Cole and Ngog first.
Yossi lost form wasnt picked in 1st team and spat his dummy out blamed Rafa and oh yeah signed for Chelsea for a shed load of cash PLEASE DONT RESIGN HIM
ReplyDeleteBenayoun tried to stab Rafa and the club in the back. That does not mean that Rafa did anything wrong. He brought him into the club, played him wisely, got the best out of him, and then, contrary to your usual anti-Rafa fixation, made a nice profit on him. His judgement in getting rid was borne out by the miserable time Yossi has had at Chelsea. It would be the same if he returned - a couple of good games, sour comments, complainst about playing time,injuries, talk to the Israeil press about how other teams want him.
ReplyDeleteshed load of cash???? please enlighten us poor folk who dont have your inside knowledge or beter still shut up!!
ReplyDeletehis earnings increased by a reported 20k per week guest and he stillisnt good enough
ReplyDeletecouldnt agree more adefinate backward step
ReplyDeletewell for what ever reason he left, that s history and the fact is since he left he hardly played for Chelsea which means that he is not as good as he was and I think getting him back is a big mistake. I also think that Mierles is a better player that him and his energy suits Dalglish style of football so we should under any circumtances let him go and if want to sell him, then sell him to outside UK. he has a very good reputation in Europe. a rafa s good signing.
ReplyDeleteAlways amazes me when idiots say "sell him overseas". Football is an entertainment and our league needs and deserves the best players to be HERE, whether playing for Liverpool, Newcastle, Chelsea, Man City or Everton. If it's so important to you to deny good players to rivals, perhaps you'd be happier if Liverpool were playing Championship games where the opposition has lesser players for you to watch.
ReplyDeleteCesil you knob ! Youronly saying that cos you want raul at your beloved chavskis !!! Go and get a life and a new name ! Stop waving your plasti flag and eating your prawn sandwiches and trying to sound intelligent !!! The fact is kenny wont let this happen again!! We ripped you off with Torres and now we are lauding at you !!!! Hahahahahaha the chavskis will not do anything this year and will struggle . Oh well on wards and up wards for us at LFC !!! :-P
ReplyDeleteFirstly, let me make it perfectly clear that I am a BIG Rafa fan not a Rafa basher. I think Rafa is a world class tactician of a manager who was unfortunate enough to have circumstances conspire against him during his final season in chrarge. I'd happily welcome Rafa back as manager in around 10yrs time when KD retires. However, Rafa did have his flaws and his style of man-management was certainly one of those. So now you ask how I may know that more than most. Well, the only reason I have some further insight is due the man in question, Benny Onion. I met Benny the day Rafa left the club while i was away on holiday and staying at the same hotel. As you can imagine i was bursting to find out the scoop from the inside and Benny was good enough to engage in conversation with me. I was already aware that Benny and Rafa were not the best of friends which was obvious by Benny's less than bothered reaction, so I kept that in mind. However, Benny did enlighten me and told me that a number of the senior players in our squad respected Rafa's astuteness as a tactician, however very few actually iiked the man and that goes for more or less ALL LFC's senior players at the time. He also explained how Rafa had told him he wasn't good enough to play for the club (perhaps fair, perhaps not?) and subsequently had hardly played him when Benny had abeen an effective player (albeit from the bench) earlier that season and the season before. Benny also cited a particular incident during a european tie when Rafa introduced Benny as a second half sub away against Benfica in Europa Cup. This was in response to Babel's sending off and Benny tells me that when Rafa called him off the bench there was a heated exchange of words between the two. Benny had said to Rafa: "I'll play but remember, i am not playing for you, I'll never play for you....I am only playing only for the LFC fans." Read into this what you like but the reason I'm mentioning this is for two reasons: 1. Benny told me he loves LFC over every other Prem club and HAD to leave as a result of his reationship with Rafa. The deal was already done way before Rafa had left by 'mutual consent'. 2. He is a seasoned Prem player who can be extremely effective coming off the bench and we know he can do a job. So if this deal does transpire, don't jump on his back as a so-called Judas because that is not the case from what I could tell. ps: I am NOT Benny's agent.
ReplyDeleteYossi Benayoun is approaching his 32nd birthday,I have read comments on various sites saying at 33 Jamie Carragher a stalwart of LFC is to old, and yet we are having a conversation about bringing Yossi back! get real. We are a club with a new idea,which involves buying young talent,with resale value if they don't make it.May I also say,to suggest Yossi (who I do like) is"well equipped to cover Luis Suarez if he gets injured" is absolutely hilarious,with respect to Yossi,he couldn't lace Suarez boots.
ReplyDeleteP.S. to my above comment. I beleive LFC should be looking at players of the quality of Adam Johnson,who is going to be finding it increasingly difficult to get game time at Citeh!
ReplyDeleteNo, Liverpool does not need him at all.
ReplyDeletejamie stop your benitez labelling. you are boring and worth-less other wise you will know that you can never amount to what benitez has in your life time.
ReplyDeleteyossi is too weak for the epl so die with your hope
i thought you died with roy and purslow, where did yourghost come from. do well to delete my comment as you did in your earlier post! loser!
Yossi would only be short term in the hope he assist our qualification in the champions league. I feel he is spurs bound.
ReplyDeleteOne of the grouches he had when he left was that he wanted to play more frequently. Rafa usually used him to spark creativity after the opponents start to tire. Certainly appreciated the few late goals he scored for us which won us precious three points instead of one point.
ReplyDeleteBut what has he achieved with Chelsea? Has he met his personal goals by sitting on the bench for the best part of his time there?
We would benefit from his return as a bit part player who could come him and do Giggs type of role. But certainly Raul is more valuable to us now than Yossi.
Like Bellamy we should only seriously consider these transfers if they're on a 'free'. Both players are at the twilight of their careers and are only going to be brought in for cover.
ReplyDeleteI always liked Yossi as an impact player, coming off the bench, though obviously he didn't appreciate being used like this so left to (ironically) become the same at Chelsea, though with less impact. Would he be happy to return as cover, considering what he's said about how he was used by Benitez?
I'm not sure I agree with your statement that he'd be perfect cover for Suarez, I see his best position as just behind a striker rather than leading the line, he doesn't have the pace and ability to make darting runs in behind the defence that Suarez does.
And I'm glad to see we've apparently rejected a cash + swap deal for Merielles involving Benayoun. This would be a step backwards.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm glad to see we've apparently rejected a cash + swap deal for Merielles involving Benayoun. This would be a step backwards.
ReplyDeleteYossi could occasionally do a job for us but not in place of Meireles and certainly not in Luis Suarez position, we could maybe take him on a free
ReplyDeleteIf Chelsea want Meireles they can give us Sturridge plus a shed load of cash. Sturridge could possibly play in Suarez's role if he gets injured
Rafa gave Yossi the opportunity to step up to Champion's League level, he also made 144 appearences in 3 years for us, which is an incredible amount. Torres made only 142 in 3 and a half years
Yossi also reneged on his word to West Ham to join us, that was how tempting Liverpool was
Your list of "Benitez Effect" victims is utterly implausible but I'm sure it's been covered in depth before
I'd love to have Benayoun back but not at the expense of meireles.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of apperances, though I think Yoiss's main issue was that he felt too many of them were as a sub. I'd be interested to see what proportion of his appearances were from the bench?
ReplyDeleteI would guess at least a 2-1 majority from bench, but he must have been happy with the arrangement at some stage, just sounds like an excuse to me to move back to London on higher wages
ReplyDeleteI just can't feel sympathy for an "unloved" footballer on at least £2 million gross per year
Yossi is a good player and he is welcome back but not at the expense of Meireles. I am glad LFC rejected the offer and please keep it that way. Chelski can have Poulsen, for FREE plus 2 other deadwood but definitely not Meireles.
ReplyDeleteSelling him would be 2 steps backward.
Benayoun appearance stats:
ReplyDeleteTotal = 134 (according to LFC history)
From the bench = 50 (37%)
Substituted = 47 (35%)
On the bench or subbed in 73% of games overall.
That's the Benitez effect for you.
Interesting, so he started for the majority of his appearances. I was always suprised when he joined Chelsea, as I didn't think he could expect to get more game time there as competitions was more fierce.
ReplyDeleteSo he was involved in the majority of Liverpool's games over a three year period? Aww, poor guy!
ReplyDeleteI'll resist challenging the "Benitez Effect" cos I'll be here all night and we'll just go around in circles
ReplyDeleteI think kenny should re-sign him, I thought he was a great for player us. He may not be the strongest of players but he makes up for that in his creativity and smartness. (I use to love him giving the dummy and fooling defenders). He may not get alot of first team opportunities but he would be a great back player who can player in multiple positions and I'm sure he'd love to return and play for us again and with kenny in charge he could bring out the best in him.
ReplyDeleteso he was a victim of the 'benitez effect', but he was still impressive?
ReplyDelete