[Archived] Benni Mccarthy - Gone

[disgruntled]

Doesn't a goal for Benni mean that he is now South Africa's leading goalscorer?

[frosty]

Doesn't a goal for Benni mean that he is now South Africa's leading goalscorer?

Yes - McCarthy is now on 29 goals, with Shaun Bartlett on 28.

[brian_gallagher85]

What an achievement... beating Shaun Bartlett

[brfcshabba]

Bad news in that South Africa have indeed qualified as one of the best three runners up. Looks like we will be losing Mccarthy and Mokoena.

Unless they have another row of course

[Hughesy]

We wont lose Samba as they didnt make it, but we will lose Benni & Axe - this might be a time for Derbs to shine, or maybe by then we will have another striker in, especially if Roberts continues to sulk!?

[tcj_jones]

YES, so happy that we aren't losing Samba. In an ideal world, neither McCarthy nor Mokoena would have to go, but realistically, I think South Africa were always going to qualify. Of the three, I'd say losing Samba would be the biggest blow because we have such excellent cover for McCarthy, while Nelsen adn Samba have developed a terrific partnership.

[brfc fan]

Benni eyes silverware Edited September 16, 2007 by brfc fan

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

Did Benni actually break into sweat on Saturday evening at the Bridge ?

As Revidge Blue suggested in the main match thread, McCarthy seemed more interested in hugging Mourinho before the start of the match. It was a hugely disappointing performance from the South African. I accept that the service to him from midfield wasn't great, but I'm sure that Craig Bellamy would have been making more runs and making a general nuisance of himself. McCarthy just strolled around as if it was a gentle training session.

Mark Hughes rightly substituted McCarthy after 68 minutes. Nobody - irrespective of whether they are a 'big name' player - should be immune from being substituted or dropped if their performances are poor.

Despite scoring plenty of goals last season, McCarthy seemed to have several "can't be arsed" performances last term - particularly during our defeats against clubs in the bottom six, away at Upton Park, The Valley and at Vicarage Road.

Benni eyes silverware

McCarthy says in that piece: "The key thing is that they don't just depend on me". Well it's a good job the other Rovers players didn't depend on him on Saturday. We had other players who were willing to put their bodies on the line for the Rovers cause. McCarthy wasn't one of them.

Fife Rover has alluded to McCarthy having a bit of an attitude problem at times. I'm just wondering whether Saturday was another of his 'can't be arsed to make runs and hold the ball up properly' performances or whether there was a deeper reason for his statuesque display ? Perhaps deep down Benni still has the hump that he didn't get his 'dream move' to Chelsea in the summer and on Saturday wished that he was lining up in the Chelsea shirt for Mourinho.

A while back Jan suggested that Rovers fans are only critical of Benni because he's black. Well irrespective of whether he's black, white or yellow with purple spots, McCarthy's performance on Saturday was poor and frankly unacceptable. And I'm sure if he had played like that for Chelsea, his idol Mourinho wouldn't have been happy with his lack of movement.

I hope that Hughes told Benni after the match that he can and should be doing better.

[USABlue]

I thought McCarthy's effort yesterday was disgraceful and belittling to his team mates, his captain should have given him a rollocking. No effort at all, a total lack of willingness to fight for the cause, already metioned him strolling behind Terry into the corner when the ball was there to be be won, twice, he did not even harrass him. That was about 35 mins into the game, if I was Hughes(thank god I'm not we'd be at Stanley's level) the buggar would not have been out after half time.

I'll tell you this, we have a great team spirit within this team, a 100% commitment to work for each other, it's what gets us where we are. If Hughes does not address Benni's work ethic then it WILL begin to effect the performance of the rest of the lads, mark my words they will ease up if they see him continually picked, it will also dent the morale of the likes of Matty as he sees his arse parked on the bench while McCarthy is having a Sunday afternoon stroll in the park. I am not buying this lack of service excuse either, Santa suffered the same lack of service but the bloke worked his bloody socks off.

As for the black thing, load of cobblers total hogwash. Don't notice anyone dissing Samba and he is blacker than benni. If it is a colour thing it's not the colour of his skin, it's the lack of effort wearing the colours of BRFC.

I hope Hughes told him after the match too, not this wimpy "can" or "should be" bloody hell we are not dealing with school kids here. Hughes had best have made it clear, shape up or sit down. We have three strikers ready willing and able to replace him, we know at least one of them will give his all don't we?

Edited September 16, 2007 by USABlue

[Torgeir]

As long as he gets his fair share of goals I won't complain about his work ethic defensively. I don't see why he should chase the ball by the corner flag when he's already 10-15 yards behind Terry. If he's there closing him down then the whole team needs to push up along with him and that was clearly not the strategy on Sunday. Roque didn't work his socks off either imho, though he did win his fair share of headers that could've created some danger if they had hit the path of Benni.

As for his lack of work ethic affecting his teammates...this is his second season for us and nobody seem to be easing up, on the contrary they seem to be working harder as a unit than ever. Matty knows he still has a lot to learn and that he'll get his chances in the right games, and if he continues to grab his chances and improve he'll be the regular starter and Benni will be on the bench - that's when you're guaranteed a dent in morale.

[RoyRover]

McCarthy was totally pathetic yesterday. It just seemed like he wasn't interested. Granted that he didn't get much service, but when he did get on the ball, he either wasted it with an attempted fancy flick or with a pure touch. I know that his job is to score goals and if he has another season like last year then I will be happy, but when he plays like that, especially against Chelsea, it can irritate the fans.

[LeChuck]

This may sound like an odd thing to say after we've just drawn and kept a clean sheet at Stamford Bridge, but...maybe Hughes made a tactical error by playing McCarthy.

He will never, ever run channels, chase lost causes or hurry defenders. He keeps every ounce of energy in reserve for being able to pounce on any half chances that may come around on the box, or using that energy to lose his marker for a split second in the area. That's his game, it always has been and always will be, all this complaint about 'lack of effort' is futile. His game works excellently for us when we play teams other than the top four, because we see far more of the ball, allowing McCarthy to use his impressive link-up play, and we create chances as well, so chances McCarthy will get a goal.

Against teams like Chelsea though, we don't see enough or the ball or create enough chances for McCarthy to make any sort of impression. We'd be much be suited having Derbyshire run the channels to try hassle defenders, or even Roberts to hold up the ball and offer us an outlet. We've seen in the past (Arsenal F.A. Cup) that Benni can still be lethal coming from the bench if needs be, but he's not a 90 minute man in these types of games.

Maybe Hughes will realise we need to look at tinkering the squad depending on the opposition, rather than simply putting out what he perceives as the strongest eleven if everyone is fit, because it was quite obvious to most of us that we played with ten men for an hour on Saturday.

The over-reaction to his performance isn't needed though, and probably wouldn't have happened if it weren't for summer events. He never hurried defenders or chased things last season, it's not his game and it's not why he's picked in the team. I don't believe for a second that anyone honestly thinks he's deliberately being lazy to try and move to Chelsea, or another Champion's League side.

We've got a nice looking set of fixtures coming up, and I expect Benni to grab quite a few in the next week, because he excels when given goal-scoring opportunities. If we want running and effort than those players are available, if we want deadly finishing and decent link-up play, we have Benni. If we had a striker that did everything, they'd be off to a top four team in a second...like Bellamy did.

Edited September 16, 2007 by LeChuck

[philipl]

Article about Benni from a Chelsea perspective- it says a lot of nice things about rovers as well.

[Eddie]

In my opinion that is the first time we've ever really seen Benni play badly. He's not done things before in games, but he really had an off day against Chelsea. Let's not overreact. Every player has bad days, things didn't work for him and leave it like that. Just because he's a player so many of you love to slate means that as soon as he hasn't scored in a game he's in danger of being dropped, the fact that he now has had a bad game means he should probably be sold.

[BlueMonday]

In my opinion that is the first time we've ever really seen Benni play badly. He's not done things before in games, but he really had an off day against Chelsea. Let's not overreact. Every player has bad days, things didn't work for him and leave it like that. Just because he's a player so many of you love to slate means that as soon as he hasn't scored in a game he's in danger of being dropped, the fact that he now has had a bad game means he should probably be sold.

Given his antics over the summer, I'm affraid that performance against Chelsea of all teams, was suspect. Did you see the Benni and Maureen love in before the game.

I'm affraid B.M is just going through the motions this season

[Exiled in Toronto]

He will never, ever run channels, chase lost causes or hurry defenders. He keeps every ounce of energy in reserve for being able to pounce on any half chances that may come around on the box, or using that energy to lose his marker for a split second in the area.

While I was underwhelmed by his overall contribution on Saturday, the fact is that he did just this the one time it mattered when Savage broke through on the left in the first half. Benni lost his marker and was ideally placed. But for Savage's crap ball, Benni would probably have scored and potentially been the day's hero.

He is the best in the Prem as a predatory scorer in and around the 6 yard box. He thrives from the low cross played between the last defender and the keeper. He needs Bentley and/or Pederson to be delivering those and he got none. It would be nice if he did other things but he doesn't. If we don't play to Benni's strengths, he won't deliver, just like if we had played high balls to Bellamy. Get low crosses into the 6 yard box and he'll get 20 goals. Punt it to him with his back to the goal and he'll be useless.

[James No. 7]

Did you see the Benni and Maureen love in before the game.

Well, they did win the Champions League together.

[BlueMonday]

Well, they did win the Champions League together.

It was over familiar and to me it was a two fingered salute to everyone at Rovers given his antics over the summer. However his performance on Saturday was a bigger insult given his stated Champions League aspirations.

[Sandiway Blue]

i would put it down to a bad day at the office and give him a couple of games,if he still plays as bad then we should have concern.

However i wonder if we would have been as negative about him if all the summer speculation hadn`t have happened.

As for the moron who suggested that people didn`t like Benni because of his colour,that is the most stupidest thing i have ever heard.

Frankly it is an insult to the intelligence of Rovers fans to say such things.

Edited September 17, 2007 by bacup blue

[Jan]

i would put it down to a bad day at the office and give him a couple of games,if he still plays as bad then we should have concern.

However i wonder if we would have been as negative about him if all the summer speculation hadn`t have happened.

As for the moron who suggested that people didn`t like Benni because of his colour,that is the most stupidest thing i have ever heard.

Frankly it is an insult to the intelligence of Rovers fans to say such things.

Not really. And I stand by it. In my defence I cite:

Cole

Yorke

Roberts

Nonda

McCarthy

Who've all been tarred on here by the same brush.

Edited September 17, 2007 by Jan

[ihateburnley]

Not really. And I stand by it. In my defence I cite:

Cole

Yorke

Roberts

Nonda

McCarthy

Who've all been tarred on here by the same brush. And believe you me, that's NOT insulting intelligence.

Jan I think you're maybe dreaming up these race accusations. I know there have been claims that Cole, Yorke and McCarthy have been lazy at times, but I can't remember anyone ever really criticising Jason Roberts for any reason??? I think aswell a lot of people thought Nonda just wasn't good enough.

If it was a colour issue, then why is Samba fast becoming a club hero?

I think you need to provide us with some evidence before you start accusing sections of our support.

[Jan]

Jan I think you're maybe dreaming up these race accusations. I know there have been claims that Cole, Yorke and McCarthy have been lazy at times, but I can't remember anyone ever really criticising Jason Roberts for any reason??? I think aswell a lot of people thought Nonda just wasn't good enough.

If it was a colour issue, then why is Samba fast becoming a club hero?

I think you need to provide us with some evidence before you start accusing sections of our support.

Actually I suspect that's to do with differing expectations. Defenders are expected to be rocks at the back, not scurry around after lost balls which someone useless like Dickov did (and which talented strikers are therefore supposed to do and thereby knacker themselves for the chances they do get).

And Samba has not yet done anything to provoke frustration. When people are frustrated with players, they go to stereotypes, and as they can't use the label they want, they use a euphemism. I also suspect that the same people who called the above players for being lazy conveniently ignore Samba's colour- or at least they will do until he does something to annoy him.

I'd liken it to Andy Murray (or any other Scottish sporting hero)

British when he's doing well

Scottish when he's not.

Edited September 17, 2007 by Jan

[ihateburnley]

Actually I suspect that's to do with differing expectations. Defenders are expected to be rocks at the back, not scurry around after lost balls which someone useless like Dickov did (and which talented strikers are therefore supposed to do and thereby knacker themselves for the chances they do get).

And Samba has not yet done anything to provoke frustration. When people are frustrated with players, they go to stereotypes, and as they can't use the label they want, they use a euphemism. I also suspect that the same people who called the above players for being lazy conveniently ignore Samba's colour- or at least they will do until he does something to annoy him.

I'd liken it to Andy Murray (or any other Scottish sporting hero)

British when he's doing well

Scottish when he's not.

Jan - you miss my point. I know what your point is but you are failing to back it up with evidence that this is a view upheld by Rovers supporters. You have come out and declared that "Yorke, Cole, Roberts, Nonda and McCarthy have all been tarred by the same brush on here". I think myself and others will dispute that.

Yorke was lazy. Cole could be lazy when things didn't go his way but was an excellent player. Roberts is hardworking but limited. Nonda was a very average player after his injury. McCarthy is getting too big-headed for a lot of people's liking. Now does all that make me racist and/or stereotypical?

Come on Jan back up your claims.

[Sandiway Blue]

Actually I suspect that's to do with differing expectations. Defenders are expected to be rocks at the back, not scurry around after lost balls which someone useless like Dickov did (and which talented strikers are therefore supposed to do and thereby knacker themselves for the chances they do get).

And Samba has not yet done anything to provoke frustration. When people are frustrated with players, they go to stereotypes, and as they can't use the label they want, they use a euphemism. I also suspect that the same people who called the above players for being lazy conveniently ignore Samba's colour- or at least they will do until he does something to annoy him.

I'd liken it to Andy Murray (or any other Scottish sporting hero)

British when he's doing well

Scottish when he's not.

I think people who are criticising McCarthy this season are doing so because of 2 things:

1:He hasn`t started scoring goals at the same rate as he did last season.

2:Hinting at wanting to join another club (chelsea) in the summer (something which is common abroad but not in England as the league is more competitive)

I repeat that if McCarthy was scoring goals regularly and hadn`t courted Chelsea in the summer he would receive no criticism at all.

Which points to McCarthy`s criticism being nothing to do with the colour of his skin.

Your accusations are really without foundation and quite offensive.

[speeeeeeedie]

I've just read some absolute drivel. Some people have no idea. McCarthy is getting an absolute slating. He didn't have his best game but didn't get any service. As EIT said, he's a box player; we never got in there. USA, I'm surprised at your diatribe, it doesn't read like you. AESF is just stirring the pot as usual. Azuri's Mourinho-McCarthy 2 fingered salute love-in is plain silly, and Jan's accusations of criticism because of his skin colour alone is stupid. People didn't like Cole becasue he moaned all day. Yorke didn't like the manager and was playing for a paycheck. Roberts got some abuse the other week because he was seen to be in a huff in the UEFA game. Nonda wasn't good enough and kept missing sitters. People don't like McCarthy because he doesn't run like Dickov (but scores loads more goals).

USA you mentioned team spirit. I once played with a lad who was the laziest barsteward ever. He rarely trained, never ran much on the pitch, but won us more games with his goals than the rest of us combined. As a team we took his limitations and lived with them, our team spirit was fantastic; maybe Rovers' players think the same?