This striker should avoid a Liverpool move at all costs
There’s something about Liverpool and target men that just doesn’t quite work. Managers and their philosophies come and go but every club has an inherent style of play; the brand of football their youth products are bred upon; and the Reds’, for whatever reason, seems incompatible with big and burly centre-forwards.
So amid reports claiming Liverpool are targeting 6ft. 3″ Belgian battering-ram Christian Benteke, the question must be asked; will the Aston Villa striker become the next target man whose size subdues his scoring tally at Anfield?
No doubt, Benteke is a talented striker. In fact, for a 24-year-old he’s an absolute phenomenon; arguably the most physically intimidating centre-forward in the English top flight, boasting three straight Premier League campaigns of double figures and an overall return of 49 goals in 100 appearances since arriving at Villa Park from Genk in the summer of 2012.
Yes, the Belgium international’s scoring form takes disturbing dips from time to time – last season he went seven Premier League appearances without a goal and had only recorded three prior to the appointment of Tim Sherwood in February, while the season before, he endured an eleven-game baron spell – but when you’re playing a style of football that reduces every game to a spate of attritional half chances, as Villa endured under Paul Lambert, dry patches are inevitable. I have little doubt Benteke would score with increasing consistency – in excess of 15 goals per season – at a major club with creativity in midfield and good service from the flanks.
That major club, however, should not be Liverpool. They say history is doomed to repeat itself and the narrative of target men struggling at Anfield is a convincingly consistent one, starting with Emile Heskey and ending with Rickie Lambert.
The former bagged 60 goals in 223 outings for the Reds, making him arguably the most successful target man in their recent history. But even Heskey’s Anfield tenure left lingering tones of underwhelm considering he was once the club’s record signing at £11m, lasting just four seasons before being cast off to Birmingham City.
Peter Crouch produced a superior strike-rate of almost one-in-three during his three terms on Merseyside, yet Liverpool never truly got best use out of the 6ft. 7″ striker and only half of his 42 goals actually came in the Premier League. Although he produced some memorable displays against Chelsea, Arsenal and in the Champions League, the England international failed to score in his first 20 appearances and never reached double figures in the top flight.
Which brings us onto Andy Carroll. A 6ft. 4″ centre-forward Brendan Rodgers wasted no time in booting as far away from Anfield as possible during his first summer as Liverpool boss. We all know how atrociously the now-West Ham star’s Reds spell turned out, so I’ll summarise the key details; purchased for £35m, scored six goals in 44 Premier League appearances, sold to the Hammers three-and-a-half-injury-stricken years later for £15.
It’s an episode in Liverpool transfer history most fans would rather forget. But there are some important lessons to be learned. I find this extract from Jamie Carragher’s column for The Daily Mail particularly telling; “[Carroll] started well, with two goals against Manchester City on his first start, but it quickly became apparent he wasn’t the right fit for the club.
“In training, he’d complain if the ball was not flung into the box — and I don’t mean from out wide. He wanted the ball to come in to him from close to the halfway line, but at Liverpool that was never going to happen.”
Benteke is arguably a more complete striker than the three aforementioned names, something he’s rarely given credit for. The Belgium international’s link up play with Andreas Weimann during his inaugural Villa campaign was exceptional in terms of technique, movement, creativity and anticipation between the two, and for a centre-forward who measures in at his awesome height, Benteke is uniquely mobile with a striding gallop and sharp turn of pace.
Yet, he still seems largely incompatible with Liverpool’s style of play. Especially under Brendan Rodgers; a manager who has spent the last three years gearing the Reds towards technically demanding, possession-based football, favouring diminutive forwards over powerful ones, flooding his midfield with as many playmakers as possible and imposing a zero-tolerance embargo on route one hoofs from the back.
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It’s a significant factor in Rickie Lambert failing to hit the heights expected since joining his boyhood club last summer, even in his bit-part capacity. Tall and powerful strikers thrive upon wrestling centre-backs for every lofted pass pinged into them from audacious distances; so simply manning the line for extended periods whilst the ball travels short and eloquently around the midfield doesn’t come naturally to them.
Likewise, their sheer size makes the high-pressing game Liverpool became famed for during the 2013/14 campaign nearly impossible. They just aren’t blessed with the mobility and stamina to close down effectively for 90 minutes.
Of course, Benteke could be the exception to the rule and as previously stated, I have no doubt he possesses the pre-requisites to become a dominant force at a top Premier League club. But for a Liverpool side who rarely utilise out-and-out wingers, who have a history of target men flopping emphatically and who aren’t blessed with limitless fortunes to spend in the transfer market, Benteke’s £32.5m release clause represents an unnecessary risk for player and club.
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