20 Jun 2015 07:56:43
Morning EDS, great work on all your updates.what are your thoughts on ray Houghton comments about us going all out for benteke and him being our big main target? contrary to rh I don't really think he'd suit the system and style Brentan wants or like to play.he's a target man essentially who thrived on crosses last year of which were lowest in league or something,i would have thought we'd want a runner with the ball? we do lack power and presence all over the field however.
{Ed001's Note - I have no idea what Houghton has said, nor would I look at him for insight. Benteke would not suit the way we play, he needs early balls hit to him or crossed to him, to be effective. He is suited to long ball, direct football, not passing.}
20 Jun 2015 11:09:06
Yesil and Sinclair would be far better utilised and would save £30m. I see no hope if we sign Benteke.
20 Jun 2015 11:23:24
All Benteke is is another Andy Carroll with a more exotic name. He relies on route 1 kick and rush football (if you could call it that)
20 Jun 2015 11:45:14
Villa have been a counter attacking team for most of Benteke's time there. He's very mobile. Not saying he's made for us but your portayal of him is completely wrong. And surely its his goalscoring ability that should be judged first and foremost.
{Ed001's Note - counter attacks can be route 1 you know. He may be mobile but he doesn't use his mobility enough. He needs the ball played early to him to have any real effect, which is exactly what Sherwood did.}
20 Jun 2015 12:18:37
Exactly right Ed01 and so a player that would allow us to mix it up and hit it forward early might be a good thing as clearly Benteke can also play in a team that relies on speedy counter attacks (see his goals against us as part of a three with Agbonlahor & Weimann).
Nothing route one (in the up-to-the-big-man sense) about those goals.
He scores all sorts.
{Ed001's Note - how would he allow us to mix it up? We either play to his strengths or we don't. He needs early crosses, we don't play with a single player who can cross the ball. He is lazy, got an attitude problem and would be a terrible buy for us, unless we intend to go loan ball. He scores all sorts on a very rare basis, but you continue basing your assumptions on one match, as it is clear you have MOTD fever regarding him. If we want a player like that then we would be better off getting Austin for a lot less, he has a much better attitude and will actually try.}
20 Jun 2015 12:42:41
Go watch any Aston Villa match were Lambert tried to control the ball more and tell me how good Benteke plays and how many he scored ?
This mix it up it useless players tend to be able to play one system, we saw a lot last year that constantly changing it doesn't work within a match.
And we have Zero people in the squad who can actually wip a ball in the box, well hendo maybe but I mean more from the wings.
Every other signing we have made has with (hope) been brought in to play a possession /pressing game. They couldn't work with Benteke.
There's one place that boy should go and its Chelsea. Or wherever Mourinho goes, although he might not last long with his attitude problem.
Please Steer clear Liverpool.
20 Jun 2015 13:42:58
What's all this crossing nonsense about. Please go and research how he scores his goals, his shot accuracy and the fact he has more than 40 PL goals in 3 (injury affected) seasons with a relegation candidate side. My point is he's rather different than the caricature on these pages.
{Ed001's Note - nonsense? Why is it nonsense? Stats are nonsense used by people with no real ability to understand and analyse to cover their shortcomings. I get so sick of reading stats. They are irrelevant if you have no understanding of them and how to put them in context, which you clearly do not. He struggled badly when the team was not playing long ball direct football, whether on a counter or otherwise, it is still direct long ball football. We do not play direct long ball football, so he would not suit us. He wants it quickly played into the corner to be whipped in where he can attack it from the cross, or, because the attack is direct, control it and shoot as there is time before the defence can get back. Again not our style. He is a caricature because he will never make the most out of his pace and power.}
20 Jun 2015 14:00:30
he scored 23 goals under lambert in his first season??? Not saying we should buy him but you asked the question.
20 Jun 2015 14:12:11
You don't fancy him then Ed?
{Ed001's Note - he is not my type. Oh you mean as a player? No, not in the slightest, he doesn't use his ability. He is just a tiny upgrade on Balotelli. Shame because he has more in his locker but he will never use it to its full.}
20 Jun 2015 15:17:16
So. nearly 100 career goals, aged 24.
Always double figures in the FAPL in a struggling side.
At international level, 1in 3 rate (7 in 24) for Belgium who are ranked 2 in the world.
Blimey, I'd like to see what he could achieve if he really tried.
{Ed001's Note - if you took the time to look at the way Villa are set up, they have set up specifically to give him chances. In a similar way to the way we used to be under Ged with Owen, where everything was built around getting the ball into Owen. Mind Villa wouldn't have struggled so badly if they didn't persist with Agbonlahor who is such a poor striker that he makes Ngog look clinical.}
20 Jun 2015 20:54:24
Even his manager in the National team doesn't rate him. Says it all, really.