In catching up on the news I missed over the last couple days, Yossi Benayoun has completed the move to Chelsea that was first let out a couple weeks ago. The Daily Mail has reported the transfer to be worth £6 million, but officially, the fee has been undisclosed.
Over the past 3 years, Yossi has netted 18 goals in 92 league games. He was never a first team regular and made 40% of his appearances off of the bench. He will be remembered for scoring big goals when the team needed it most; breaking the tie vs. Fulham, giving Liverpool the lead in Madrid in the Champions League and a hat trick in the thumping of Besiktas. For those moments, he will be missed. He provided a creative spark that the team often lacked. The problem is Yossi would disappear for minutes and games at a time. As a strict tactical manager, Rafa Benitez seemed to be very uncomfortable with Benayoun. He free roamed and did not have a lot of positional sense. Benitez never knew what he was going to do on the pitch. I believe this is what led to Benayoun’s sporadic playing time.
Selling Yossi Benayoun now is a good decision for Liverpool. At the age of 30, he very likely has just 3 or 4 years of top flight soccer left in him. It was time to capitalize on Roman Abramovich’s interest.
Unlike some, I have no ill will towards Yossi. He became frustrated with the lack of playing time he received and decided to make a move that was best for him. I know as fans we only think of the team we root for, but these players only have so many years to play so they must get the most out of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment