It’s an tough old job being a Premier League football manager. Lose a few matches and there are rumours about your future at the club, while it’s a big old problem trying to keep everyone in the squad happy, especially those who aren’t getting much in the way of first-team action.
The Daily Mail reports that Yossi Benayoun is sick of sitting on the sub’s bench, and looks ready to leave Anfield unless Rafael Benitez is willing to play him in the middle of the park. Since arriving at the club in July 2007, the Israeli has started only 19 league matches, and the 28-year-old is at a stage in his career where getting games is essential.
‘If the situation remains the same over the next few months, and I’m not getting more time in the middle, I will not want to continue as a Liverpool player,’ he told Israel’s Channel Five TV station. ‘The fact that I have spent so much time on the bench, while there has been a winning formula on the pitch, tells you everything.
‘I hope it changes for me, because I want to stay and prove myself, but it won’t be easy. I know I’m at one of the biggest clubs in the world, and that there are many good players like Ryan Babel and Jermaine Pennant who sometimes aren’t even in the squad, but it’s not much fun sitting on the bench all the time.”
It’s hard to see Benayoun ousting the likes of Gerrard, Alonso and Mascherano in the middle of the park, although every big club needs quality on the bench, especially if there are one or two injuries. Would Liverpool fans be sad to see Yossi leave Anfield, or do you think that this is a move which just hasn’t worked out?
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