Have to admit it came as something of a shock to me when discovering that less than one per cent of the 1700 plus who voted in a recent ClaretandHugh poll wanted Christian Benteke as the club’s summer signing.
Ok, he hasn’t shown himself to be he striker he was at Villa a couple of seasons ago when grabbing 25 goals or indeed when he managed 11 from 28 in 2013-14.
The following year it was up to 16 from 38 whilst under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool – which by the striker’s own admission has been a ‘mare – he’s managed just eight from 36.
There’s reasons for that which he mentioned himself recently: “When your coach says he wanted to take you to Dortmund and a little later you sit at the same club and he ignores you it is hard to understand.”
Benteke’s apparent unsuitability for Klopp’s intensive, high-pressing tactics has been debated for some time but the player rejects accusations he cannot fit in.
“I find it bizarre, I do not understand why people say that,” he added. “I can play pressing and moving a lot. It is not that we play in the Barcelona style.
“In January I didn’t want to leave and it’s still my desire to do well here. We’ll see at the end of the season.”
Personally, I don’t believe players at his age – 25 -with a track record of scoring plenty of goals – suddenly go bad. Life ain’t like that.
There may be better options around but I don’t know enough about the alternatives being mentioned to make a genuinely valuable judgement.
What I do know is that Benteke has scored a lot of Premier League goals and that Slaven Bilic is an admirer as are several others in the West Ham hierachy.
And that – given Slav’s first season record with this club – really should be enough to convince us shouldn’t it?
“There may be better options around but I don’t know enough about the alternatives being mentioned to make a genuinely valuable judgement.”
So you can’t write them off then… I think Slav rates a lot of players and my own view is simply that it all depends on the price and, given the excellent talent spotters we seem to have on board these days, we could probably get much more value by signing up an “unknown” from one of the lesser known European leagues.
Boleyn you are right imo.Slav does rate other players and posts like these are only mischievous.For a start the last player we got from Liverpool hasn’t exactly delivered on the pitch.The money is obscene also.
He was not Slavs first choice,both Turkish strikers he wanted never arrived either,
I just think he overpriced and there are better players around for the money
We are not rushing into giving our manager a rise so why not wait until the end of the season and see who is available,he may not even be for sale and not want to come to our side,if A C andSak play every game until the end of the season and we carry on winning there will be no rush,
If he arrives I won’t protest but if he does not I won’t cry
Liverpool fans claim that he was born offside lol,it sums up his season.
He got a small % because we were asked who are choice would be.With players like Lukaku,Lacazette & Batshuayi in the list it ain’t surprising people went for them.Doesn’t mean people don’t trust Bilics judgement does ffs,lol
as long as we make sure he’s not a one season wonder. Don’t want to give a contract to a one season wonder do we?
Make sure bent eke is not a one season wonder I mean, not Slav.