14 June 2010

What does Benayoun's sale mean?

I see sacking Benitez isn't going to stop the exodus of players. Awesome. Like that ever was the case.

Yes, it's not official yet, but it's been mooted so long it's bound to happen. Benayoun's on his way to Chelsea, and all that's left is figuring how much more than £5m Liverpool will get. It certainly won't be double that, the supposed asking price. And I know it's shouting into the wind, but maybe let's not let Broughton take part in negotiations?

It'll be a shame to see Benayoun leave. It's even worse to see him on his way to Chelsea. The squad's already paper-thin. There's already a dearth of useful creative players who can change a game. And Yossi was unforgettably one of Liverpool's best two seasons ago – you know, when the team was good.

This is the new Anfield, the new Liverpool, under its two loving owners.

My sole consolation was the sale was evidently in the works before Benitez was fired. Maybe it's part of 'the plan' (not saying there is a plan, as going two weeks without Rafa's replacement suggests a lack of one). Maybe it's not the first trickle of the incredible awfulness that would be a fire sale of Liverpool's top players.

We honestly don't know the full extent of Liverpool's woes – just that we're woeful right now. My cynical suspicion is that the owners want to sell a bunch of big names this summer in an attempt to pay down the debt before selling the club, but my hope is that selling the main assets when you're trying to sell the club is stupidity beyond even Hicks and Gillett.

Regardless of the situation, it's still infuriating and was avoidable, and the owners still need to be held accountable more than ever – which is why I keep bringing up the likes of Spirit of Shankly. Supporters, no matter where they live, need to have some sort of representation in the fight to oust the cancerous owners. Spirit of Shankly seems the best hope of that by some distance.

In an ideal world, Liverpool would be able to keep Benayoun and add to the squad, and we'd have never heard the names of Thomas Hicks and George Gillett. Sadly, that's not reality. The reality is that Yossi Benayoun is 30 years old, and Liverpool paid £5m for him three years ago. While I wish moving from Liverpool to Chelsea weren't a step up, that's the situation we're in after this season. He'll probably get a nice pay raise, signing his last big contract. It's hard to begrudge that, and if he wants out, so be it. Liverpool's fairly compensated – or as fairly compensated as they're gonna be – and it's crucial that every player actually wants to be here, willing to fight for the shirt, with the situation the club's in. See: almost everything Pepe Reina says.

If selling him helps avoid selling the likes of Gerrard or Torres, it's for the "best." As key as Yossi's been in the past, he's still more expendable than others. Liverpool has Kuyt and Maxi on the right, Gerrard in the hole, and Benayoun's rarely been at his best on the left. There's also the chance Pacheco will get more opportunities – and I'm almost positive Dani counts as a homegrown player starting next season (having joined in July 2007).

And honestly, the real reality of the situation is that £6m, which is what the fee will probably end up being, only covers Liverpool's interest payments for 54 and a half days.

Again, thanks for everything, George and Tommy.

6 comments :

Shane said...

Good post, agree with everything.

Not too pushed with him leaving; though he was flashy he didnt suit our style of play. We were far better with Riera.

Only thing is that apparently he was close to moving to Moscow earlier in the year for 8million. Quite a bit off what we're now getting.

I suspect he is to pay for Rafa's compensation and a year of our next manager's contract/compensation/signing-on fee(ie just until it wont be H&G's concern). Apparently they want Hodgson and Hodgson wants the approach this week. Such a week hand on our side probably explains the drop from 8m to a quicksale 5.5m.

BackBergtt said...

Yossi has been rumored to leave each summer. He always seemed to have the look on his face that he expected to be a regular when he was brought in to be a squad player, even if he played like he deserved to be a regular. Always liked him but I think this is a horrible move on his part and reeks of Sidwell. If he is going to be starting for Chelsea, seems like Roman is still not willing to make a massive deal like he used to. If they bring in guys like Aguero and Di Maria, have fun on the bench Yossi.

Frankly if Aquilani and Gerrard are both kept, and Jovanovic actually comes in, there wasn't a spot in the first choice XI for him. Yay dealing in "ifs"!

Unknown said...

"And honestly, the real reality of the situation is that £6m, which is what the fee will probably end up being, only covers Liverpool's interest payments for 54 and a half days."

And here I was feeling generally fatalistic, resigned, and apathetic about Yossi leaving when you go and remind me that everything is somehow so much worse than I could possibly imagine.

Here's to hoping this is nothing more than a player who was already on the way out before Rafa got poached by those thieving Italians (that's what happened, right?), rather than the start of a fire sale.

Anonymous said...

Well it's disappointing, no doubt about it. But will things start to go jenga now?

This needs to be stressed, heavily: we have a directing manager right now who is a life-long Chelsea fan. A season ticket holder. Broughton attended the end-of-season-celebration and wined and dined with the team.

And now Torres is heavily linked to Chelsea. Does anyone remember how the team played w/o Torres? His loss will be absolutely devastating for the team. For win/losses, for spirit, for financial reasons...just devastating. Fat Scouser has a nice post on RAWK about the situation that I heavily recommend. Frightening stuff. Fish rot from the head.

-jp2

Amirah Azhar said...

Those 2 traitors should just LEAVE the team alone! They've destroyed Liverpool!

-Amirah
http://heartlessnutter.blogspot.com/

football gifts said...

can’t see him being a regular for Chelsea, maybe just to fill in while they bring a few youngsters through the ranks.