17 Aug 2009

Yossi Benayoun - Feeling the full force of the 'Benitez Effect'

Yossi Benayoun was superb in his 20 minute cameo against Spurs yesterday and looked like the only Liverpool player on the pitch who was capable of creating anything. After his excellent contribution last season, Benayoun should be starting every game but he continues to be ignored by Rafa Benitez.

I really can’t understand why Benayoun didn’t start at White Hart Lane; he really came into his own last season and the momentum he built up should have been allowed to continue. Instead, one of Liverpool’s only proven flair players was dumped on the bench. Again.

Take a look at Benayoun’s record from last season:

League/CL starts - 24 (21 league/3 CL)
Goals – 9
Assists – 6
Total: 15 goals scored/created in 24 games.

*Scores/created a goal in 63% of games in which he starts
* 8 of Benayoun ‘s goals and ALL assists came when he STARTED
* Last season: 15 sub appearances – Only 1 goal scored/created.

The stats speak for themselves: start Benyoun and he will score/create goals. Use him as a sub and he will score/create next to nothing.

Benitez undoubtedly has access to these figures but he still relegates Benayoun to the bench. A similar situation occurred with Peter Crouch, who at one point had a record of 38 goals scored/created in 43 starts. Despite such outstanding figures, he was still inexplicably dumped on the bench regularly.

People talk about Liverpool’s spine of Reina, Carra, Masch, Gerrard and Torres being so great - well, in my view, Benayoun should be part of that spine and should start as many games as possible.

It was clear from the Spurs game that Liverpool lost the battle in midfield; apart from being unable to retain possession, the famed Gerrard/Torres was nullified because the supply through to Gerrard was cut-off. As a result, Liverpool were tamed.

Until Albert Aquilani is available, Gerrard should be moved back into midfield and Benayoun should play behind Torres; this will bring more balance to the midfield and will make the best use of Benayoun’s talents:

---------------------------------- Reina

Johnson ------------ Agger ---------- Carra ------------------ Insua

-------------------------- Gerrard --- Masch

Kuyt --------------------- Benayoun ----------------- Riera

---------------------------- Torres

It is Benitez's job to manage Liverpool's playing assets in a way that benefits the club. That means starting those players who make the biggest creative impact as often as possible. Did he do this yesterday? Arguably no, and Liverpool suffered as a result.

This has to change: there is no excuse not to start Benayoun against Stoke, which now becomes a must-win game.


41 comments:

  1. Yosi could only be considered part of the spine if he's played in the centre which he won't be unless Gerrard is injured

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  2. Totally agree. I thought Benny was our best player yesterday

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  3. <span style="font-family: arial; line-height: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rafa, I hope you see this comment... I am a Pool fan from Singapore. I was thrilled when I saw Liverpool playing at the stadium a few weeks ago but last night match against Spurs left me in tears. Rafa, I beg you, please sell Lucas, Babel and Voronin now!. These players are liabilities and are not good enough for Pool. They have been given chances but lets face it, they dont cut. Instead of buying such players,. Can you do a good job for once in your life at liverpool and buy Var De Vaart or Wesley Sneijder (who are on sale at RM)? These guys are better than the hopeless Lucas. Rafa, please sell him. Sell Ryan and Voronin and get a really good player who can score goals. Lets be honest , results dont lie...can you tell me how many times have these guys scored in the EPL? Do you really believe that by playing these guys , you can bring the title back to Pool? Lets not kid ourselves. Enough is enough. To be winning the EPL, pool need guys that can give results...YES and that Includes YOU.</span>

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  4. Benayoun was man of the match even though he only played 23 minutes, which says it all really. But I can see why Benitez didn't start him - he's trying to get something out of Babel. He was bigging him up pre-season and after Babel had a decent game against England for Holland, it's not that bizarre of a selection. If he sticks with him for Stoke - well that's a different matter entirely...

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  5. Good article..totally agree. If Rafa is wise, and he certainly is, i thinkwe should have seen the end of Babbel yesterday. At least for premier league, he should not be a starter

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  6. Gerrard may well drop back into centre mid for the home games against stubborn teams.

    With regards Babel, I think he knows it too in that this is make-or-break season

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  7. Where's Torres in ur starting line up.. Rafa may got problem in selecting his squad.. But I think he do what's right for the situation.. Let's see what will happen in our next game.. but i really think that the absence of xabi will cost us more than this.. hope this won't happen

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  8. forget one thing.. I think gerrard should change his position with benayoun in ur starting line up.. maybe it's a little bit difficult.. but i can see benayoun has the same quality as xabi has..

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  9. ha jamie, totally agree with the fact thath benyoun must be played espically as benitez has made no decent signings like silva or another striker to play  with torres or instead of him if he gets injured. i do worry that a 4-5-1 formation with gerrard supporting torres is not going to break down the more stubborn teams, so need to be able to play a 4-4-2 formation when needed this season with a decent striker to play with torres and players like benyuon who can slip passes through to them and decent wingers who can provide crosses as the best man i saw yesterday for crossing was johnson, kuyt and babel didi little and insua must improve though i do like insua and think he is a talent for the future who must play regularly to reach this potential. i also agree that reira is our best option on the left ath the minute

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  10. I agree and have been championing Benayoun since the start of 2008.

    I think he should be played in a way where he can just float around in front of Mascherano. He was doing it at the end of last year, just turning up out on the right and through the middle making great runs and passes. Having him there frees up Gerrard and Torres and make them so much more dangerous.

    Got to say though our best player yesterday was Reina, score would of been 4-1 without him.

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  11. I think yossi did terrific and showed when you take on defenders you will create opportunities, babel seem to submit to the pressure of expectations, but i expect he will rebound and triumph before the end of the season i think aggo should be present on the liverpool squad but he needs a lot more games, lucas also sufferd from the expectation and i also think he will show what he can do soon. Although we were battered in all fairness we did not look reaady in pre season, so i guess what you sow you will also reap. I hope this becomes a shock to the system and we will have awaken. GOOOOOOOOOO reds

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  12. gajendra from nepal3:01 pm, August 17, 2009

    WHAT AN ARTICLE.saying exactly what we all fans want to say .rafa are u listening!i too was left with so much pain in heart to see my liverpool losing like dat.damn lucas! he cant play.and benayoun is so creative  and quick.has gud understanding with gerrard and torres.why dnt u play him behind torres and garrard steps down like said above.plz think sensibly and use the team well.we hav players that is can make a team, gud enough to beat any team.plz do something rafa..i cant see my liverpool so pathetic in the team..bt no matter waht happens,we'll always support liverpool.."YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE"

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  13. gajendra from nepal3:10 pm, August 17, 2009

    are u listening rafa?throw lucas out of anfield.he isnt gd enough to play in these big matches..benayoun is such a gud player.i dont know what is ur problem !i cant see my liverpool losing like that.its a nice suggestion to play benayoun behind torres and gerrard steps down.i think it will sort out da problem..kuyt wasnt influencial bcoz the center midfield was so weak.reina was really impressive.the goals conceded wasnt da fault of reina.i hope benitez will ralise it..bt no matter what we'll always be with liverpool.."YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE"

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  14. With Rafa (inspite of his unpredictable and illogical behaviour), few things are predictable.

    1) Kuyt will play, even if it means the end of the world.
    2) We will play "not to lose", rather than playing to win as Arsenal showed so admirably... Hope Wenger is vindicated for his faith in his priniciples.
    3) He moans before the match about lack of funds, moans about poor refereeing afterwards (or some such thing), rather embarrassing when he is not doing his job right!

    If it was ridiculous to leave out Benny from the starting lineup, it was nothing short of criminal to not even include Reira in the squad! I wonder what sort of explanation is there for this...

    Unfortunately Kuyt, Mascherano are Rafa's preferred players. Creative players like Benny and Riera are not a part of his plans...

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  15. Completely agree with you.  The season is only one game old and already benitez is moaning.  Yes, the referee possibly made a mistake but that's not the reason we lost the game.  Making a fuss over the penalty decision just allows benitez to deflect attention from the real issues, i.e. Liverpool's inability to string two passes together and failure to create anything of note.

    Also agree that it was stupid to leave Riera out of the squad.  He's not injured (as far as I know) and he's one of Liverpool's few creative players, so what was the point?

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  16. It's good that Benitez started Babel - anything that boosts his confidence has to be a good thing.  I wasn't suggesting that it was a mistake to start him; having said that, you should always start your strongest team, and a team with Babel instead of Benayoun is (arguably) not our strongest team.  You just have to compare the creative contributions of Babel and Benayoun to see that's true.

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  17. He hadnt trainned all week and would have started if he was fully fit. guess this is as good a reason to prematurely get up on your soapbox as any i guess.

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  18. No doubt Benayoun really changed the game when he came on. For some reason the manager prefers him to be an impact player off the bench as opposed to an impact player from the start Don't know y but i think that his play at the end of last season should mean he starts.

    Just wanted to point out that the referee DID make a mistake with the foul on Voronin. The handle by the LB was questionable. And while the manager did mention the officiating he also mentioned our inability to string passes to gether and control the ball in midfield. Reading the interview the manageer spent one line possibly 2 on the penalty issue and more on our lack of possession and other aspects of th game. If thats trying to deflect from our poor play etc then .

    Also Riera still hasn't recovered from his injury he picked up vs FC Lyn........1 game in Jaimie - wait till u get a real reason to pull out the knives.

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  19. No doubt Benayoun really changed the game when he came on. For some reason the manager prefers him to be an impact player off the bench as opposed to an impact player from the start Don't know y but i think that his play at the end of last season should mean he starts.

    Just wanted to point out that the referee DID make a mistake with the foul on Voronin. The handle by the LB was questionable. And while the manager did mention the officiating he also mentioned our inability to string passes to gether and control the ball in midfield. Reading the interview the manageer spent one line possibly 2 on the penalty issue and more on our lack of possession and other aspects of th game. If thats trying to deflect from our poor play etc then .

    Also Riera still hasn't recovered from his injury he picked up vs FC Lyn........1 game in Jaimie - wait till u get a real reason to pull out the knives.

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  20. Great insight on Benny. He's certainly earned his stripes and should be promoted to more than just a secret weapon. Far better to have him in there rather than Lucas or Babel.

    Despite the train wreck yesterday, we can certainly take away great performances from Glen Johnson and Pepe.

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  21. Great insight on Benny. He's certainly earned his stripes and should be promoted to more than just a secret weapon. Far better to have him in there rather than Lucas or Babel.

    Despite the train wreck yesterday, we can certainly take away great performances from Glen Johnson and Pepe.

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  22. Jaimie.

    Just wanted to say that my son and I were watching your gollum transmutation and laughing like crazy. Scary good!

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  23. Hi Ken - I never tire of seeing that Gollum/Moyes pic - it has me stitches every time  :-D  

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  24. Hi Garvin - I agree that Voronin was fouled, but we shouldn't be relying on penalties to help us get something out of the game. Re Riera - I only mentioned that in the comments and not in the article, so it's not like I made a big deal out of it O:-)

    And my knives are not out yet!  Come on, if I wanted to I could've really got stuck in about the defeat, but I just wrote about not utilising Benayoun; I didn't go the route of the mainstream media and suggest our season is over/we're not good enough/missing Alonso etc.

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  25. Having said, if we fail to beat Stoke then my knives will definitely be unsheathed ;)

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  26. Agree Ken - Johnson and especially Reina were excellent yesterday.  I shudder to think about the potential scoreline had Spurs been more clinical in front of goal.

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  27. I have always said I wanted Yossi to start every game. He's simply an amazing player. You will never get less than 100% with him.

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  28. i must say i agree very much with the sentiments of the folks on the blog. Yossi has continously raised his level and has showen the level of creativity that not many players in the premier leage have shown. For liverpool to Win this year they will need the 3 creative players-Torres, Geranrd and Benayoun in full force.

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  29. Also, riera is injured
    http://www.empireofthekop.com/anfield/?p=2453
    we are facing a serious injury problem

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  30. "After his excellent contribution last season, Benayoun should be starting every game but he continues to be ignored by Rafa Benitez."

    Continues?????

    You didnt do your homework.

    Last ten competitive games.

    Yossi started 7.

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  31. Actually, I did do my homework.  I'm looking at Benayoun's role in the side over the last 2 seasons, not just over the last 7 games, and since he arrived he has been in and out of he side.  This was the same last season too. He is not consistently being given a run in the side.

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  32. Good article Jamie. I completly agree.

    Heres a good point for all us to think on...

    If Xabi told Rafa he wanted to leave back in MAY,(as stated by rafa himself) why did Rafa wait untill now to get an injured replacment?? surely he could have set up a deal with a decent player to replace him back in may/june at the start of the window when we could of had a better pick of suitors???

    we need to shift, in my opinion, a lot of squad players, el zhar, voronin, n'gog, babel, lucas, doss....i think our summer has been a disaster.

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  33. Excellent points drezperado - I totally agree.  This summer has been a shambles just like last summer, and the squad continues to be full of hopeless journeymen.  5 years have passed now - it is benitez's squad.  Contrary to popular myth, he has had plenty of money to spend; he has just spent alot of it badly.

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  34. that formation with Benny in the center looks our most efective team at the moment. alot of responsibility but thats why we got a player with such experience in the first place- you can be sure benny will not lok out of place and will give his all to the position. besides he played that position for israel whe he got captancy and thrived. he only moved to the wing because older retiring players left gaps in the national team that needed to be filled.

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  35. How do you know Yossi was ready for 90 minuts? How do you know he was fit enough?

    Why do you say he IS consistently left on the bench when you know he started majority of last competitive games? Yes he was left on the bench when he played rubbish. When he got his form he was given a run of first team appearances.

    Didnt cross your mind Yossi omnision in last game was  somehow related to his fittness? Maybe he was not ready for 90 minutes?

    For me there is a very clear rule: Yossi is ready/in form - Yossi plays. Yossi is not ready/not in form - Yossi doesnt play.

    Simples.

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  36. Although I agree that not starting with Benny was a mistake, it's ok by me if Raffa had his reasons to start with Babel. What bothers me is that after such a poor performance from Babel in the 1st half, why wait so long with the substituting? Good men make mistakes, great man are not afraid to admit them. Benny should have come on at half time.

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  37. Please. If you're going to slag at least do the research - Yossi had a sore rib and was never going to be played for the full match. 

    Most of the articles on this site are criticism that's neither founded or justified.

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  38. No - it is opinion; making inferences based on the available evidence.

    And the rib story is nonsense.  If benyoun was fit enough to put in the performance he did then he was fit enough to start.

    and if you don't like this site, don't come here and waste time leaving comments.

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  39. yes bennas play fast

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  40. hi guys

    ofourse with the current scenario yossi shud start for liverpool...he is one of the most under estimated of the anfield players... while everyone tries to glorify the lesser talented kuyt , yossi gets left behind... he dont get accolades... bt we shud be grateful to him for helping us finish 2nd last season..
    i still cant understand the logic of kuyt staring at the right...this guys is not a winger plzz.. rafa.. y dnt u understand.. the best position he can play is juz behind torres... and the wings shud go to riera and benayoun who select themselves as the natural choice.

    and 4 kuyt.. he is the poor man's rooney.. juz trying to imitate the english superstar...the only thng tat i found gud in kuyt is tat he is a complete team man and a totally committed player...full credit to rafa for developing an average p[layer into one of the most improved players in the league..
    but i still have concerns about babel.. y is he played in the wings.. he is an out and out striker.. in all means.. be it his physique or playing style.. he shud be getting a chance ahead of kuyt in the position along tores or juz behind him..
    we shud remember tat rafa was fighting out wth wenger for signing babel.. juz imagine if wenger had signed him.. we wud ve seen anothe henry playin in arsenal...

    so rafa shud have patience and confidence in babel.. realise his potential.. and even more his playin position in the team..rather than toying wth him in the wings.. he shud play yossi and riera in the wings.. gerad shud cum back to mid fiels.. and babel shud play in the position of the 2nd striker.. sorry mr.kuyt you shud wait or try to improve ....

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