Christian Benteke

[aRTy]

What's his first touch like? compared to say, Ade who's has been pretty woeful alot of the time. I think it was Justin who said something along the lines of us maybe going for either an expensive striker + cheapish wing cover or cheapish striker (Villa) and a more expensive WF in say Bernard. But could that also be said about who we sell? If we pay alot for a front man i could possibly see Ade being moved on to get him off the wage bill. Vice-Versa if we buy cheaper option.

 

[Flashspur]

You can't really compare Messi to Bernard. We wouldn't even be discussing buying him if he was in the same league.

FYI Messi is 5 ft 7. Bernard is 5 ft 4.

size does count....3 inches can makes all the difference or so my wife says

 

[Pete Spur]

What's his first touch like? compared to say, Ade who's has been pretty woeful alot of the time. I think it was Justin who said something along the lines of us maybe going for either an expensive striker + cheapish wing cover or cheapish striker (Villa) and a more expensive WF in say Bernard. But could that also be said about who we sell? If we pay alot for a front man i could possibly see Ade being moved on to get him off the wage bill. Vice-Versa if we buy cheaper option.

Not great imo, probably one of his worst attacking attributes. Which worries me as for a 20+ mil striker it should be quality. He's definitley no Drogba.

 

[sbrustad]

What's his first touch like? compared to say, Ade who's has been pretty woeful alot of the time. I think it was Justin who said something along the lines of us maybe going for either an expensive striker + cheapish wing cover or cheapish striker (Villa) and a more expensive WF in say Bernard. But could that also be said about who we sell? If we pay alot for a front man i could possibly see Ade being moved on to get him off the wage bill. Vice-Versa if we buy cheaper option.

My impression from watching between 5 and 10 Villa games last season is it's not great, but at least it's somewhat better than that of a Hippo. Looking at the stats he sees much more of the ball and looses the ball less often (as compared to amount of touches/min) than Defoe and Adebayor.

I guess we can go by touches of the ball and how often he was dispossessed, though this obviously doesn't tell the whole story.

Defoe: 749 touches - 47 unsuccessful touches - was dispossessed 42 times
Adebayor: 891 touches - 60 unsuccessful touches - was dispossessed 60 times
Benteke: 1575 touches - 76 unsuccessful touches - was dispossessed 83 times

Out of the three Benteke is the runaway winner in the "total losses of possession" category, but this is due to his low passing accuracy more than poor ball control.

 

[Pete Spur]

My impression from watching between 5 and 10 Villa games last season is it's not great, but at least it's somewhat better than that of a Hippo. Looking at the stats he sees much more of the ball and looses the ball less often (as compared to amount of touches/min) than Defoe and Adebayor.

I guess we can go by touches of the ball and how often he was dispossessed, though this obviously doesn't tell the whole story.

Defoe: 749 touches - 47 unsuccessful touches - was dispossessed 42 times
Adebayor: 891 touches - 60 unsuccessful touches - was dispossessed 60 times
Benteke: 1575 touches - 76 unsuccessful touches - was dispossessed 83 times

Out of the three Benteke is the runaway winner in the "total losses of possession" category, but this is due to his low passing accuracy more than poor ball control.

I'd compare him to Bale rather than our 2 out n out strikers as he was there go to guy like Bale for us. Even then though it wouldn't tell much as we spent the season at opposite ends of the table and opposing teams approached us very differently.

 

[sbrustad]

I'd compare him to Bale rather than our 2 out n out strikers as he was there go to guy like Bale for us. Even then though it wouldn't tell much as we spent the season at opposite ends of the table and opposing teams approached us very differently.

You're right, but as the two didn't really play in similar positions it wouldn't be fair to compare them. Having said that Bale saw much more of the ball than Benteke, but he also lost possession a good deal more than Benteke. I don't think anyone doubts Bales ability though.

 

[Pete Spur]

You're right, but as the two didn't really play in similar positions it wouldn't be fair to compare them. Having said that Bale saw much more of the ball than Benteke, but he also lost possession a good deal more than Benteke. I don't think anyone doubts Bales ability though.

both attacking players and their respective teams main goal threats

Bale pretty much plays were he likes

 

[sbrustad]

both attacking players and their respective teams main goal threats

Bale pretty much plays were he likes

Which is why it wouldn't be fair to compare him to Benteke in this respect, as the latter is an out and out striker.

 

[Pete Spur]

Which is why it wouldn't be fair to compare him to Benteke in this respect, as the latter is an out and out striker.

Bale's an out n out attacker, which is similar lol

 

[MirinJaw]

Ade is the most pussy header of the ball for someone of his stature! I'd hate to see his aerial duel stats Jesus Christ.

i agree with you but in all honesty him being in the positions to receive the crosses he is bound to score more than he does!
Every game i see him out wide i actually rip hair out my head screaming get in the fooking box you're supposed to be a fooking striker

 

[Gedson100]

I've been looking into home and away performances over at whoscored.com via their ratings.

It's interesting stuff and it kind of explains why a few opinions become steadfast in the minds of our fans notably those who hold home season tickets.
For example, I think Lennon is a massive weak link in the team. If you watched him at home this year, you will no doubt disagree with me, however, there is a massive drop off in the quality of his performances away from home. Ditto Dawson & Walker & Ekotto. All 4 of these players play comparatively badly away from WHL.
Intriguingly, a few marmite players rated better away from home, Huddlestone, Adebayor in particular.

These are players and areas that you can improve upon. Mentality is key as is consistancy of performance.

Home or away, Bale, Vertonghen, Sandro, Dembele all performed consistently very well & at a lower level Defoe, Dempsey and Parker were at least consistent, if consistently moderate. These lower level players can also be improved upon.

So what the fuck am I ranting on about this shit in a Benteke thread for?

Well. He was by far and away Villa's best player & was Man of the Match (for either team) in 8 of 32 matches. Significantly, he was MOTM in 6 AWAY fixtures from 15 starts, all the while playing for a shit Villa team. Some have said that he underperformed against the bigger teams. I'll forgive him that due to the lack of class in Villa's squad. But what it shows is that he is consistent and he is consistently good; something we can't level at the 2012/13 models of Adebayor and Defoe.
He also brings aerial power only rivalled in the league by one-dimensional battering ram Andy Carroll and 3 Metre Peter. No other player even approaches these 3 in the league and Benteke has significantly greater variation to his game than these two put together. No other potentially available striker in the league offers anywhere near what Benteke does, so it's easy to understand if he's top of Levy's list.

Anyway; I waffle.

TL: DR, Benteke is a good buy.

 

[sunnydelight786]

@HLNinEngeland: #THFC hopes to sign Christian #Benteke before wednesday, when #AVFC deadline will end.But Villa will play hardball: they wont sell for £20m.

 

[allatsea]

Sell Dempsey for say £8-10 million bring in Benteke for say £22-23million (including add ones). Keep Defoe and Adebayor job done ?

 

[jonnyp]

Sell Dempsey for say £8-10 million bring in Benteke for say £22-23million (including add ones). Keep Defoe and Adebayor job done ?

Who the hell is going to pay 8-10 mill for Dempsey?

 

[degoose]

Who the hell is going to pay 8-10 mill for Dempsey?

Probably liverpool

 

[mark87]

Who the hell is going to pay 8-10 mill for Dempsey?

Stoke. They paid 10mil for Crouch, surely Danny boy can work his magic on them again with Clint.

 

[Francis Gibbs]

I'd be happy with that, Ade would probably have to go anyway to help pay for Benteke. There's a chance Ade could be brilliant but you just never know and i'm not sure it's worth taking the chance anymore considering his wages.

If he goes we need to add another striker along with Benteke if that happens

 

[JerryGarcia]

We should have a sweepstake on which hour of the day Villa tell us to stick our £20m up our collective arses.

 

[Francis Gibbs]

My impression from watching between 5 and 10 Villa games last season is it's not great, but at least it's somewhat better than that of a Hippo. Looking at the stats he sees much more of the ball and looses the ball less often (as compared to amount of touches/min) than Defoe and Adebayor.

I guess we can go by touches of the ball and how often he was dispossessed, though this obviously doesn't tell the whole story.

Defoe: 749 touches - 47 unsuccessful touches - was dispossessed 42 times
Adebayor: 891 touches - 60 unsuccessful touches - was dispossessed 60 times
Benteke: 1575 touches - 76 unsuccessful touches - was dispossessed 83 times

Out of the three Benteke is the runaway winner in the "total losses of possession" category, but this is due to his low passing accuracy more than poor ball control.

I like him but I do think it may be like adding a blunt instrument to a to a box of precision tools - which may not be a totally bad thing

 

[jonnyp]

Stoke. They paid 10mil for Crouch, surely Danny boy can work his magic on them again with Clint.

That's only because Crouch was perfect for their shitty style of football. No way is anyone going to spend that much on Clint, not Liverpool either.

I doubt we'll even recoup our investment.