I don't have any opinion on Benayoun to Chelsea. I simply haven't seen enough of him to make a judgement and I'll wait until he puts on a CFC shirt before worrying if it's a good buy for us.

But I am absolutely delighted that Joe Cole has left Chelsea. I am absolutely delighted that he's gone to Liverpool. If Joe Cole performs at last seasons level, and the level of the World Cup, then Liverpool have just bought an absolute dog and the money they're spending on his wages is money down the drain. But even if Hodgson is a good manager for him and he performs at a good level, he still isn't good enough to propel Liverpool back up the league.

The talk was that he was on £80k and wanted parity with John Terry and Frank Lampard.

On going to Liverpool he was said to be asking for Gerrard money.

£90k doesn't sound unreasonable. Especially when Man Utd, Arsenal and Tottenham were all sniffing around and saying they wanted him. I think it's just his outrageous demands which made Chelsea wave goodbye and all the other sides to to pull out when they couldn't make him see reason.

Been having a good chuckle at both the SSN emails and friends facebook updates about Cole going to Liverpool. Picking him up on a free is not a bad piece of business but he's hardly going to turn them round is he? Chelsea got shot of him and he couldn't get into a struggling England starting XI then flattered to decieve in the brief appearances he made. Liverpool fans seem to be seeing him as a saviour which is nearly as laughable as those who saw him as the saviour of the England side this summer.

Yep.

You need the ball to win matches, Cole loses it so much it is untrue, I've never seen a player who tries to pass the ball through an opponent so much, it's as if he thinks that by kicking the ball it will go through the defender and not just hit him.

I think Benayoun is an underrated player, Cole is over-hyped because he is English, about 5 or 6 years ago I thought he'd make a great player, but he's not improved since.

How much football did he get last season though? for the most part it was off the bench, wasn't it. plus he made one or two appearances at the World Cup, can't really judge that form. Everyone from England was poop. Joe Cole is a very good footballer, I don't think that can be denied. I hope he doesn't but I think he has every chance of proving you completely wrong.



I'd take the £5 million and Joe Cole tbh, I was surprised how good Benayoun turned out at Liverpool but it's not hard to pick up his type of player, he has nothing special to his game, he's am average footballer the PL is full of them. From a Liverpool point of view it has to be worth taking the risk on Cole, if he stays fit he could be an excellent addition for them.

It's a good signing for Liverpool, but they need two or three more quality players to be anywhere near competitive with the big boys. A left back, a midfielder and a striker are required and that's providing they keep hold or Torres and Gerrard. They're getting left behind especially with Spurs and City in the market and Chelsea and United have bigger and better squads anyway.

How much of Benayoun have you actually watched? Benayoun, as good as he was on his day, would go weeks producing absolutely nothing. Benayoun only ever performed on the right for us, when he played on the left he was anonymous and his lack of pace allowed his cutting in very easy to defend. Benayoun was lightweight, an average decision maker and sometimes a selfish player, he would always take one touch too many, he would always try and beat the extra man, he wasn't anywhere near 'underrated'. But, he isn't a poor player, excellent on his day from the right, passes well, moves well, shoots well and isn't scared to try and pick the lock.

But, with regards to Joe Cole, he is potentially a brilliant signing. He'll count on the home grown quota, he is versatile, at a decent age and he can be absolutely lethal on his day. He can be very good at passing, gets himself into scoring positions well and his skill is very good. Look at things like his pass to Drogba vs. Valencia for an example of what he's capable of, he is a very good player when fit and in form, but that seems to be the challenge with him: getting him fit, keeping him fit and allowing himself to play into some kind of form.

I'd say Cole is a better player than Benayoun and potentially a far better player than him, neither player is poor, neither player is world class, but Cole's 'top level' is a lot higher than Benayoun's.

90k a week for a crock? shrewd

Joe Cole will have taken a fair old chunk of that £5M as a signing on fee, given that all of this has been economic based on his part.

If they find a central role for him, great signing. Play him out wide, pointless.

As i said at the time im glad Cole has gone, hes to injury prone and not good enough of a top club. Im not saying Benayoun is at all but he´ll be on alot less money and will work hard for the team.