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da betcris： Two or three years ago, the mention of Christian Benteke would be met with smiles from Crystal Palace fans and shudders from opposition defenders, but those reactions have since been reversed – the big Belgian has lost all form in front of goal and currently looks unlikely to score this season.
Having arrived at Selhurst Park for an eyebrow-raising £27m, the striker looked likely to repay that hefty price tag after his debut season in SE25, in which he scored an impressive 17 goals in all competitions under Alan Pardew and Sam Allardyce, but he hasn’t been worth even a quarter of that since.
In fact, since netting his 17th strike in red and blue in a 4-0 trouncing of Hull on 14th May 2017 – a result which ensured the Eagles remained in the top flight – the 28-year-old has scored just three times. He has not been short of opportunities in the starting XI or in front of goal, either, having racked up 596 minutes this campaign despite spending a period of time on the sidelines due to injury.
What, then, has gone so spectacularly wrong for the Palace number 17 since his Pardew/Allardyce heydays? Well, therein is the first explanation: the aforementioned managers’ playing styles were perfect for the big target man, who thrives off of direct service and lots of balls into the box.
The two honchos who have taken the helm since – Frank de Boer and current boss Roy Hodgson – prefer a passing game, creating triangles and working opportunities around the box slowly or on the counter instead of hitting a striker whenever possible, as highlighted by Luka Milivojevic:
“What is true is that we have a lot of penalties but we deserve them because we try and move the ball around the box, because you can’t get a penalty out of the box. And that means we have a lot of skilful players who receive the ball in the box, which is very hard to defend against, especially in the Premier League.”
Benteke is often left at the back-post waiting for a cross that never comes as Andros Townsend much prefers to cut in and try his luck on his left, while Wilfried Zaha is far more concerned with winning penalties – a key part of Palace’s success.
Serbian Milivojevic netted his 10th penalty of the season against Newcastle at the weekend and his 19th since joining the Eagles in January 2017. So frequent is the sight of the Palace captain firing home clinically from the spot that many surely forget that, once upon a time, Benteke actually took penalties for the Croydon outfit.
The former Aston Villa man has taken six spot-kicks for Palace and scored just three but, nevertheless, the fact he is no longer on penalty duties means a crucial, albeit small, portion of his opportunities to find the net have been shaved off.
Perhaps if he was still trusted to take them, he would still be scoring other chances, too – he absolutely shouldn’t take that mantle from Milivojevic ever again, though, after his horror miss versus Bournemouth in December 2017.
As previously mentioned, the 6 ft 3 forward has been hit with a knee injury this season that kept him out for 133 days and 22 games between 1st September and 12th January – since returning to action, the towering striker hasn’t had the spring he used to.
Prior to that setback, Benteke was a massive threat from set-pieces and crosses but he rarely wins anything in the air these days. Perhaps, also, the Palace players don’t trust him to get there first if they do swing the ball into the box.
That certainly wasn’t the case two seasons ago, when Benteke was the first man every Eagles player looked for when they got forward. Such was the Belgian’s output that campaign, the likes of Everton and Chelsea came calling the following summer, although both will be counting their lucky stars that they never managed to prise the striker away from Selhurst Park given his capitulation since.
Perhaps his head was turned by the prospect of another shot at one of the top six clubs. Antonio Conte and the Blues were in search of a plan-B striker and eventually turned to Olivier Giroud instead – a move which has worked out nicely for all involved except Palace, who have been stuck with the £120,000-a-week flop.
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With Michy Batshuayi now first choice striker under Hodgson until he inevitably returns to Stamford Bridge, Benteke’s chances finally look to have run out and Steve Parish will surely look to offload the misfiring hitman if possible in the summer.
It’s a huge shame that he hasn’t been able to keep up the form he discovered during the 2016/17 term and, while he continues to spurn opportunities for fun, the few remaining Palace fans willing to defend their former hero will keep gradually losing their faith in him.
What do you think, will Benteke ever find his feet and head again? Or is he a shell of that player already?