Christian Benteke

[AUSpur]

There is equal chance that he will get better as there is that he is a one season wonder IMO.

If you look at the comments from Villa forum's that have been posted in here, they all appear to rate him very highly despite the fact he wants to leave. None of the seem to have concerns that he is a one season wonder and they are the ones that watch him week in week out.

Hard to watch him play and think "one hit wonder." Incredibly skilled for his size and plays with aggression in the box.

 

[Limee]

Roque Santa Cruz only once managed to get double figures, 10 to be precise in 8 years at Bayern.

 

[Flashspur]

Roque Santa Cruz eh. Glad we dodged that bullet.

 

[Harry_Snatch]

My biggest worry with Spending big on Benteke is that we still need 3forwards and probably means Ade and JDS stay! In that case I could easily see Ade having a big season this year as he has had a full pre season and no can and a ad year last year.
A fully firing Adebayor means we'll have 20m on the bench!

 

[WhiteHart4Ever]

I agree that him not having played against a parked bus is a concern, but the same can be said for Damiao. All of his goals that I have seen have been on the counter. Saying that we cant judge him until he has faced it. His strength might help him get between the tight defense, though the most important attribute will be is movement.

On Benteke being figured out, that may happen, but you would have thought that would have happened in the second half of the season. In the first half of the season Benteke scored 8 goals in 17 games (15 starts & 2 subs) which is enough for the league to stand up and take note. Despite this he then went on to score 15 goals in the last 16 games he played. That is pretty impressive.

And he was pretty much the only Villa player they had to defend against as well I don't think the question is whether he'll flop, the concern would be that he's more a Bent than a Berba - he could keep scoring for fun, like Bent most of his career even with us, but not add enough to over overall play. Much will depend on how he's being used..

As for other options: Soldado is better, but older and more expensive. Benteke is (much like Bent was) exactly the kind of player we should go for, with no guarantee still that he'll be a smashing success.

 

[TottenhamMattSpur]

Just catching up with some skim reading.
When did we sign Santa Cruz?

 

[bsinghd]

I think Benteke will be good for us, we are a team that can create good chances for strikers but last season the chances weren't taken. Benteke and Michu both had very good seasons personally, however I would still have Benteke as he was consistently scoring goals whereas Michu's goals dried up after Feb. I remember not rating Berbatov until I saw him play against Besiktas and scoring the goal where he twisted the goalie left and right

 

[TottenhamMattSpur]

I think Benteke will be good for us, we are a team that can create good chances for strikers but last season the chances weren't taken. Benteke and Michu both had very good seasons personally, however I would still have Benteke as he was consistently scoring goals whereas Michu's goals dried up after Feb. I remember not rating Berbatov until I saw him play against Besiktas and scoring the goal where he twisted the goalie left and right

Not too mention Benteke is considerably younger.

 

[voxy28]

If we moce Ade for Benteke... we still need one more striker and one more to replace Ade.

 

[spurs9]

And he was pretty much the only Villa player they had to defend against as well I don't think the question is whether he'll flop, the concern would be that he's more a Bent than a Berba - he could keep scoring for fun, like Bent most of his career even with us, but not add enough to over overall play. Much will depend on how he's being used..

As for other options: Soldado is better, but older and more expensive. Benteke is (much like Bent was) exactly the kind of player we should go for, with no guarantee still that he'll be a smashing success.

I was reading a few comments in a Villa forum earlier (there is a link in another thread) and they were talking about Benteke's potential replacements and below is what they said:

Benteke and Lukaku are two different players. Lukaku is much more direct. Benteke is a more 'link up' type player.

So it seems Villa fans certainly consider he has more to his overall play. Stats also back this up a bit

Benteke - 33.6 Passes Per Game, 1.6 Key Passes Per Game.
Berbatov - 44.3 Passes Per Game, 1.4 Key Passes Per Game.
Soldado - 19.8 Passes Per Game, 0.9 Key Passes Per Game.
Lukaku - 16.3 Passes Per Game, 1 Key Passes Per Game.
Tevez - 35.3 Passes Per Game, 1.8 Key Passes Per Game.
Michu - 32 Passes Per Game, 1 Key Passes Per Game.

 

[matthew.absurdum]

I was reading a few comments in a Villa forum earlier (there is a link in another thread) and they were talking about Benteke's potential replacements and below is what they said:

Benteke and Lukaku are two different players. Lukaku is much more direct. Benteke is a more 'link up' type player.

So it seems Villa fans certainly consider he has more to his overall play. Stats also back this up a bit

Benteke - 33.6 Passes Per Game, 1.6 Key Passes Per Game.
Berbatov - 44.3 Passes Per Game, 1.4 Key Passes Per Game.
Soldado - 19.8 Passes Per Game, 0.9 Key Passes Per Game.
Lukaku - 16.3 Passes Per Game, 1 Key Passes Per Game.
Tevez - 35.3 Passes Per Game, 1.8 Key Passes Per Game.
Michu - 32 Passes Per Game, 1 Key Passes Per Game.

While admitting Soldado is a good player, it seems that Benteke is the player who fits our system. I thinks AVB love his forward can be a part of link-up play, but not just a poacher

 

[thfc1989]

I was reading a few comments in a Villa forum earlier (there is a link in another thread) and they were talking about Benteke's potential replacements and below is what they said:

Benteke and Lukaku are two different players. Lukaku is much more direct. Benteke is a more 'link up' type player.

So it seems Villa fans certainly consider he has more to his overall play. Stats also back this up a bit

Benteke - 33.6 Passes Per Game, 1.6 Key Passes Per Game.
Berbatov - 44.3 Passes Per Game, 1.4 Key Passes Per Game.
Soldado - 19.8 Passes Per Game, 0.9 Key Passes Per Game.
Lukaku - 16.3 Passes Per Game, 1 Key Passes Per Game.
Tevez - 35.3 Passes Per Game, 1.8 Key Passes Per Game.
Michu - 32 Passes Per Game, 1 Key Passes Per Game.

Out of curiosity, what are Defoe's statistics?

 

[spurs9]

While admitting Soldado is a good player, it seems that Benteke is the player who fits our system. I thinks AVB love his forward can be a part of link-up play, but not just a poacher

And that is without taking it into account his awesome aerial ability. He won 7.9 Aerial battles per game. The next best on the list was Michu with 3.3.

 

[wirE]

What's this beef Villa got with us I keep hearing about in the media? We screwed them over cause of Jenas injury.....

 

[spurs9]

Out of curiosity, what are Defoe's statistics?

Defoe - 12.9 Passes Per Game, 0.9 Key Passes Per Game.
Ade - 24.6 Passes Per Game, 1.1 Key Passes Per Game.

 

[Eric_s]

Out of curiosity, what are Defoe's statistics?

Defoe : 9.1 side passes, 13.6 offsides Per Game

 

[davidmatzdorf]

And that is without taking it into account his awesome aerial ability. He won 7.9 Aerial battles per game. The next best on the list was Michu with 3.3.

That's very good, but you have to bear in mind that Michu was playing in a team that relied upon link-up play and passing, whereas Benteke was a lone target man on a side that played without an effective no. 10 or a strike partner. Villa spent rather a lot of time aiming at Benteke's head...

 

[Real_madyidd]

If we moce Ade for Benteke... we still need one more striker and one more to replace Ade.

?

 

[matthew.absurdum]

Defoe - 12.9 Passes Per Game, 0.9 Key Passes Per Game.
Ade - 24.6 Passes Per Game, 1.1 Key Passes Per Game.

I cannot believe that defoe has 12.9 passes per game

 

[Mr Pink]

I was reading a few comments in a Villa forum earlier (there is a link in another thread) and they were talking about Benteke's potential replacements and below is what they said:

Benteke and Lukaku are two different players. Lukaku is much more direct. Benteke is a more 'link up' type player.

So it seems Villa fans certainly consider he has more to his overall play. Stats also back this up a bit

Benteke - 33.6 Passes Per Game, 1.6 Key Passes Per Game.
Berbatov - 44.3 Passes Per Game, 1.4 Key Passes Per Game.
Soldado - 19.8 Passes Per Game, 0.9 Key Passes Per Game.
Lukaku - 16.3 Passes Per Game, 1 Key Passes Per Game.
Tevez - 35.3 Passes Per Game, 1.8 Key Passes Per Game.
Michu - 32 Passes Per Game, 1 Key Passes Per Game.

Its what I've been saying as well.