Liverpool FC Forum

[zarababe]

It's disrespect for the players in the 'team' and the manager - they're carving out moves for themselves in January - bunch of spoilt sulks, they can p*ss off, we need committed ppl willing to give it their all. Its right that players earn the RIGHT to wear the RED SHIRT - You need to show u deserve wearing itl can't blame this one on Rotataion !

[tonyeh]

The problem is that these are the days of the Man Utd / Chelsea inspired Megasquards, where teams are bloated beyond reasonable usage. This inevitably means that players who are in their prime and gagging for a game or two can miss out and sometimes through no fault of their own.

I don't remember the teams of yesteryear being so populous. Yes, there were reserves that could be called on, but first team squards were never so big were they?

[GYBS]

He has a choice- be a back up squad on the bench and starting the odd game for us (top 4 club) or play in the first team in a small club

[Owzat]

He will never displace Gerrard and essentially that is the role he would best fill so he's screwed. He's not effective enough on the wings and not consistent enough to command a regular place, if he chose to leave then I'd be indifferent towards his departure - pleased if he took Pennant with him!

[Bad Bob]

Already being discussed in another thread so I'll merge the two.

[SupitsJonF]

Why does no one think that losing both Benayoun and Babel won't be a problem?  Might not be the biggest of problems but they will need replacements.  We can't just have a squad of 11 players and expect to win anything.  FFS half of you keep bitching about depth, well how about a starting 11 and 2 subs, because thats the kind of team we will become if we keep selling players.  Imagine if instead of out strikers being injured Riera and Kuyt were swapping injuries, but wait we sold Benayoun and Babel, so Pennant and El Zhar are going to have to be starters, no matter what the game.  (Not just low league teams).

And according to the rumors, we want to buy Heinze, so thats already money out of a moneyless account if we want to purchase a RW.

[Zidane]

Why does no one think that losing both Benayoun and Babel won't be a problem?  Might not be the biggest of problems but they will need replacements.  We can't just have a squad of 11 players and expect to win anything.  FFS half of you keep bitching about depth, well how about a starting 11 and 2 subs, because thats the kind of team we will become if we keep selling players.  Imagine if instead of out strikers being injured Riera and Kuyt were swapping injuries, but wait we sold Benayoun and Babel, so Pennant and El Zhar are going to have to be starters, no matter what the game.  (Not just low league teams).

And according to the rumors, we want to buy Heinze, so thats already money out of a moneyless account if we want to purchase a RW.

It would be a problem, I see us losing Yossi for sure but I think we will keep Babel and maybe increase his role slightly.

[Bad Bob]

Why does no one think that losing both Benayoun and Babel won't be a problem?  Might not be the biggest of problems but they will need replacements.  We can't just have a squad of 11 players and expect to win anything.  FFS half of you keep bitching about depth, well how about a starting 11 and 2 subs, because thats the kind of team we will become if we keep selling players.  Imagine if instead of out strikers being injured Riera and Kuyt were swapping injuries, but wait we sold Benayoun and Babel, so Pennant and El Zhar are going to have to be starters, no matter what the game.  (Not just low league teams).

And according to the rumors, we want to buy Heinze, so thats already money out of a moneyless account if we want to purchase a RW.

it's a fair point, mate.  We can't sell all of our squad players and hope to grind results out all season in 3 competitions.  With that said, there's no point hanging on to players who aren't happy because they can't be relied upon when the chips are down.  Personally, I wouldn't wish to sell anyone in January except maybe Pennant.  We can reassess as we approach next summer.

[devaney]

He talks a great game and often just provides maximum frustration. Would not be a great loss in my opinion. Don't like his gobby attitude if he has been reported correctly.

[Sabre]

Why does no one think that losing both Benayoun and Babel won't be a problem?  Might not be the biggest of problems but they will need replacements.  We can't just have a squad of 11 players and expect to win anything.  FFS half of you keep bitching about depth, well how about a starting 11 and 2 subs, because thats the kind of team we will become if we keep selling players.  Imagine if instead of out strikers being injured Riera and Kuyt were swapping injuries, but wait we sold Benayoun and Babel, so Pennant and El Zhar are going to have to be starters, no matter what the game.  (Not just low league teams).

And according to the rumors, we want to buy Heinze, so thats already money out of a moneyless account if we want to purchase a RW.

it's a fair point, mate.  We can't sell all of our squad players and hope to grind results out all season in 3 competitions.  With that said, there's no point hanging on to players who aren't happy because they can't be relied upon when the chips are down.  Personally, I wouldn't wish to sell anyone in January except maybe Pennant.  We can reassess as we approach next summer.

I kind of agree Supits.

The other day I was reading your posts about Babel, and it was amazing how I agreed  in much of what you describe about him, yet I disagreed about offloading him.

We're having a bit (perhaps) the culture of "if the player doesn't work the first season then offload". We need a bit of patience. Look Alonso, yesteryear many were ready to sell him because they thought it was the correct time. He still had to give us good games. Look Kuyt, a scapegoat, this year he's being more than valid and we're looking for new scapegoats.

We could talk about Pongolles, we could talk about many players. We need a bit of patience, I simply disagree thinking of offloading Dossenas in November. First, because other players have proven that form and what they provide to the team can change. Second, because they're investments, and we cannot sell a player who we paid 7M in the winter for 3M.

If you want to put it this way, we cannot have massive rotation squad wise from one season to another.

On Benayoun, it proves one of the well known things about lack of rotation. Not only Benayoun, almost any decent player who's in the bench too much will start to feel unsettled.

Not saying rotation is best here, just saying what I've always have said, that nothing is for free. You cannot have not Benayoun, not Babel, not Mascherano nor Alonso happy forever in the bench. Some will be more professional than others but it's difficult to have a deep quality squad without using them.

[Rockthekop]

Not a fan of benayoun, be glad to see him go to be honest. 

He's nothing special, we can do a lot better.

[HacksawJimDuggin]

Benayoun needs to be sold on and the funds used to strengthen elsewhere.

Anyone suggesting Babel should be sold is off their trolley. The kid has the potential to make it big time. I agree that he can be frustrating at times but he has the potential to be a match winner. He isn't getting isn't getting a fair crack in the 1st team at the moment but he will before long. I still reckon he's best deployed up top rather than out wide.

[SupitsJonF]

Why does no one think that losing both Benayoun and Babel won't be a problem?  Might not be the biggest of problems but they will need replacements.  We can't just have a squad of 11 players and expect to win anything.  FFS half of you keep bitching about depth, well how about a starting 11 and 2 subs, because thats the kind of team we will become if we keep selling players.  Imagine if instead of out strikers being injured Riera and Kuyt were swapping injuries, but wait we sold Benayoun and Babel, so Pennant and El Zhar are going to have to be starters, no matter what the game.  (Not just low league teams).

And according to the rumors, we want to buy Heinze, so thats already money out of a moneyless account if we want to purchase a RW.

it's a fair point, mate.  We can't sell all of our squad players and hope to grind results out all season in 3 competitions.  With that said, there's no point hanging on to players who aren't happy because they can't be relied upon when the chips are down.  Personally, I wouldn't wish to sell anyone in January except maybe Pennant.  We can reassess as we approach next summer.

I kind of agree Supits.

The other day I was reading your posts about Babel, and it was amazing how I agreed  in much of what you describe about him, yet I disagreed about offloading him.

We're having a bit (perhaps) the culture of "if the player doesn't work the first season then offload". We need a bit of patience. Look Alonso, yesteryear many were ready to sell him because they thought it was the correct time. He still had to give us good games. Look Kuyt, a scapegoat, this year he's being more than valid and we're looking for new scapegoats.

We could talk about Pongolles, we could talk about many players. We need a bit of patience, I simply disagree thinking of offloading Dossenas in November. First, because other players have proven that form and what they provide to the team can change. Second, because they're investments, and we cannot sell a player who we paid 7M in the winter for 3M.

If you want to put it this way, we cannot have massive rotation squad wise from one season to another.

On Benayoun, it proves one of the well known things about lack of rotation. Not only Benayoun, almost any decent player who's in the bench too much will start to feel unsettled.

Not saying rotation is best here, just saying what I've always have said, that nothing is for free. You cannot have not Benayoun, not Babel, not Mascherano nor Alonso happy forever in the bench. Some will be more professional than others but it's difficult to have a deep quality squad without using them.

What really worries me is the unsettling on the bench.  Now, Benayoun has more of a case then Babel does.  Benayoun is 28, he isn't old but he also really isn't young.  He is at the age where he wont improve that much more so maybe he does bring up a point where he wants to play first team football until he retires.

Babel on the other hand, is 21.  He still has more years to improve, and is young.  He is the kind of player that shouldn't be getting frustrated over not playing first team football for a club like Liverpool.  He should be focused on improving in training and when coming on as a sub (which he does A LOT this season, I think he is being unreasonable) proving his worth. 

I'm hoping Babel is just going through a phase, and will come to his senses he has it good right now.  If anything HE should be telling US to be patient.  As a lot of members on here get frustrated with Babel.

[DanAn]

Why does no one think that losing both Benayoun and Babel won't be a problem?  Might not be the biggest of problems but they will need replacements.  We can't just have a squad of 11 players and expect to win anything.  FFS half of you keep bitching about depth, well how about a starting 11 and 2 subs, because thats the kind of team we will become if we keep selling players.  Imagine if instead of out strikers being injured Riera and Kuyt were swapping injuries, but wait we sold Benayoun and Babel, so Pennant and El Zhar are going to have to be starters, no matter what the game.  (Not just low league teams).

And according to the rumors, we want to buy Heinze, so thats already money out of a moneyless account if we want to purchase a RW.

I'd be much happier giving games to Lucas, El Zhar, Insua, N'gog and Babel than Pennant and Benayoun. Pennant and Benayoun have little impact now and offer us nothing in the future so I don't see the point in keeping them.

Babel is a different story though. He's young, often has impact when he subs on, and may prove to be very valuable to our team going forward. He's a player we need to retain.

I' m all for selling Benayoun and Pennant and bringing in a young talent like Dos Santos.

[LFC2007]

Why does no one think that losing both Benayoun and Babel won't be a problem?  Might not be the biggest of problems but they will need replacements.  We can't just have a squad of 11 players and expect to win anything.  FFS half of you keep bitching about depth, well how about a starting 11 and 2 subs, because thats the kind of team we will become if we keep selling players.  Imagine if instead of out strikers being injured Riera and Kuyt were swapping injuries, but wait we sold Benayoun and Babel, so Pennant and El Zhar are going to have to be starters, no matter what the game.  (Not just low league teams).

And according to the rumors, we want to buy Heinze, so thats already money out of a moneyless account if we want to purchase a RW.

I'd be much happier giving games to Lucas, El Zhar, Insua, N'gog and Babel than Pennant and Benayoun. Pennant and Benayoun have little impact now and offer us nothing in the future so I don't see the point in keeping them.

I think Benayoun's more valuable to us than any of the other players you mentioned.

He's too inconsistent to be considered a regular starter, but he has his uses and has made some very important contributions so far this season.

He played really well against the Manc's early on, before helping to change the games against City and Wigan which were absolutely crucial wins, and he was also solid against WBA. He's an intlligent player with decent ability, he's experienced - which I think counts for a lot, and he works a lot harder than the others.

I'm not convinced by El Zhar yet. Insua is a decent back up. Lucas I don't think is anything more either. Ngog just isn't good enough, while Pennant and Babel don't seem arsed.