The Benayoun Appreciation Thread

[BigChief]

Shame we can't have a Yossi- LilLuis hybid really.

We do, his name is Yossi Benayoun!!!

[BigChief]

Yossi: Intelligence, Consistency, Dribbling, Passing.

LL: Shooting, Heading, Poaching, Match-winning.


FAir?

UNfair...

Yossi: Intelligence, Consistency, Dribbling, Passing, Shooting, Heading, Poaching, Match-winning.

LL: Intelligence, Dribbling, Shooting, Poaching, Match-winning.

[BigChief]

He hasnt surpassed my expectations as such, he's exactly what I thought he'd be; an intelligent player that offers more than we had going forward. He still isn't anywhere near the calibre of Ronaldo/Giggs/Rosicky/Hleb though, which is unfortunate for us. Need more pace.

Where are you going to find those players for £5 million? Tell Rafa.

[Fiddy]

Revo's about the only one I've seen who's actually held his hands up on this one though.

I think Gazzla did as well to be fair to him

[Charlie_B]

Where are you going to find those players for £5 million? Tell Rafa.

Value for money wasn't what I was getting at, stop picking for the sake of it. What I meant was that ultimately he isn't going to be good enough as he doesn't offer enough of a direct threat; pace, running at defenders, etc.

[Roboklopp]

UNfair...

Yossi: Intelligence, Consistency, Dribbling, Passing, Shooting, Heading, Poaching, Match-winning.

LL: Intelligence, Dribbling, Shooting, Poaching, Match-winning.

Wasnt saying Yossi (or LL) lacked those things I missed off, more that any given trait listed under one player meant that he was stronger in that department than the other- eg, both LL & YB can shoot, but LL can do so better, therefore that quality was assigned to him & not YB. All of this was with a (admittedly fanciful view) to creating a hypothetical YB/LL hybrid.

OK?

[Fiddy]

Value for money wasn't what I was getting at, stop picking for the sake of it. What I meant was that ultimately he isn't going to be good enough as he doesn't offer enough of a direct threat; pace, running at defenders, etc.

what was he doing for the goal against derby then, he used his pace to beat the defender then put a great ball in that led to a goal. From the left side too.

Yossi's directness is one of his best qualities, he's skilful without trying to overdo it all the time and he has that priceless ability to play killer balls. The only reason you'd say he 'wasn't good enough' is that I think his physique holds him back at times and he isn't able to run the show all game - he just has his moments, which if they lead to goals isn't too bad for the £££ we paid for him

[Roboklopp]

what was he doing for the goal against derby then, he used his pace to beat the defender then put a great ball in that led to a goal. From the left side too.

Yossi's directness is one of his best qualities, he's skilful without trying to overdo it all the time and he has that priceless ability to play killer balls. The only reason you'd say he 'wasn't good enough' is that I think his physique holds him back at times and he isn't able to run the show all game - he just has his moments, which if they lead to goals isn't too bad for the £££ we paid for him

THat's the point he's making tho isnt it? He's a very good player & well worth the £5-7m (?) we paid, but he not a top-class game-changing player which is what we need 2-3 more of to be at the level we desire.

[The Erectile Banana]

He hasnt surpassed my expectations as such, he's exactly what I thought he'd be; an intelligent player that offers more than we had going forward. He still isn't anywhere near the calibre of Ronaldo/Giggs/Rosicky/Hleb though, which is unfortunate for us. Need more pace.

I don't think he's lacking pace but I agree that while Yossi is undoubtedly a good player he's a cut belwo the other wide men mentioned above.

[Fiddy]

I don't think he's lacking pace but I agree that while Yossi is undoubtedly a good player he's a cut belwo the other wide men mentioned above.

Ronaldo and Giggs maybe, but Rosicky and Hleb? Rosicky is even less of a wide man and Hleb overdoes things too much even though he's got great skill and is very quick

[Fiddy]

THat's the point he's making tho isnt it? He's a very good player & well worth the £5-7m (?) we paid, but he not a top-class game-changing player which is what we need 2-3 more of to be at the level we desire.

you don't need to be 'top class' to change games though, and you need players like that because unless you're chelski no-one can afford to have 5 players that cost Torres-type money in the attacking positions.

I don't see what people's problem is anyway, overall Yossi has done great since he came and we should be glad we got a bargain, instead of whinging that he isn't good enough. Who's a better option then, Quaresma

Until we buy someone else who comes in and proves they can do a better job, I'm not gonna cry every time I see his name on the team sheet. There's just no pleasing some is there?!

[BigChief]

Wasnt saying Yossi (or LL) lacked those things I missed off, more that any given trait listed under one player meant that he was stronger in that department than the other- eg, both LL & YB can shoot, but LL can do so better, therefore that quality was assigned to him & not YB. All of this was with a (admittedly fanciful view) to creating a hypothetical YB/LL hybrid.

OK?

[BigChief]

what was he doing for the goal against derby then, he used his pace to beat the defender then put a great ball in that led to a goal. From the left side too.

Yossi's directness is one of his best qualities, he's skilful without trying to overdo it all the time and he has that priceless ability to play killer balls. The only reason you'd say he 'wasn't good enough' is that I think his physique holds him back at times and he isn't able to run the show all game - he just has his moments, which if they lead to goals isn't too bad for the £££ we paid for him

I also think people don't see Yossi as the next Hleb/Rosicky (lets leave Ronaldo out of this) because of his build and unfashionable background (West Ham / Israel). For the minutes played, Yossi has done more for us this season than Rosicky/Hleb have for Arsenal. And that's no slight at Rosicky/Hleb.

But if he's being such a contributor almost unnoticed (even by some of our own fans) then that's fine by me and by Rafa.

EDIT: In fact I'll go as far as to say if we had paid £11-15 million for him and he performed exactly like he has done now, the same fans would be saying at last we have our own Rosicky/Hleb. Fickle? ;-)

[the rev leeroy brown]

I also think people don't see Yossi as the next Hleb/Rosicky (lets leave Ronaldo out of this) because of his build and unfashionable background (West Ham / Israel). For the minutes played, Yossi has done more for us this season than Rosicky/Hleb have for Arsenal. And that's no slight at Rosicky/Hleb.

But if he's being such a contributor almost unnoticed (even by some of our own fans) then that's fine by me and by Rafa.

EDIT: In fact I'll go as far as to say if we had paid £11-15 million for him and he performed exactly like he has done now, the same fans would be saying at last we have our own Rosicky/Hleb. Fickle? ;-)

I'm not a fan of arsenal....just the football they play. hleb and rosicky have been amense this year so far. all the plaudits go fabregas cause he only 20 yrs old and scoring all the goals, but imo hleb and rosicky have been better players for them....they create much much more than fabregas does and little bits of skill or talent that go un-noticed in games this year. i love benni for us, he has been our 3rd best player in my opinion this season so far but i beleive, even through minutes played, that the arsenal boys have done so much more.....i would pay through the nose to have these boys in our team.

[dww]

I also think people don't see Yossi as the next Hleb/Rosicky (lets leave Ronaldo out of this) because of his build and unfashionable background (West Ham / Israel). For the minutes played, Yossi has done more for us this season than Rosicky/Hleb have for Arsenal. And that's no slight at Rosicky/Hleb.

But if he's being such a contributor almost unnoticed (even by some of our own fans) then that's fine by me and by Rafa.

EDIT: In fact I'll go as far as to say if we had paid £11-15 million for him and he performed exactly like he has done now, the same fans would be saying at last we have our own Rosicky/Hleb. Fickle? ;-)

He has been a solid contributor and fantastic value but I really think that Hleb in particular for Arsenal has been streets ahead of him. He has looked class this season, just about every time I've seen him.

The fact is though that Hleb took two seasons to bed in and to some degree the step up from a team with limited ambition like West Ham to a big team in the same league can take as much adaptation as moving from another country. Maybe there is more to come.

I think it is very hard to argue with a hypothetical and so I'll let the last point go.