Benteke has been a poor investment altogether, even accounting for the decent first season he had with us. At his worst he has been the very definition of a waste of money, occupying the very top end of the wage structure and the bottom end of not only the performance table, but also of the effort, commitment and physical courage tables too. Every supporters worst nightmare to see.

At the same time, three things make him my first choice centre forward:

1. He seems finally to be in form. He got seven of his ten league goals from this point of last season, and looked good to carry that on this season. We invested so much in him that binning him when he might finally pay a bit of it back makes no sense.

2. Tactically, he offers something unique. With the possible exception of the Dutch striker Burnley just signed, nobody else comes close to Benteke as an areial threat from crosses - I know he misses as many as he scores, but to have a forward who is almost unplayable, albeit within a narrow dimension of the game, isn't something to discard lightly. When Vieiras possession game is working and opposing teams drop off and sit in a compact block to make life hard for Zaha, Olise, Eze etc, the option of just swinging a cross in for benteke becomes the perfect counterpoint. This is exactly what happened at home to Wolves and Newcastle this season.

3. We still haven't got anybody better. Ayew gives us workrate and greater mobility, but no greater number of goals than benteke. Edouard has individual skill but can't lead the line at all, and Mateta is simply second rate. Bentekes faults are plain to see, but the question is not what's wrong with benteke, but rather who do we have that is clearly better. For me, we don't have anyone better.

Not convinced Benteke ever fully overcame his knee injury. He always looks like he is protecting himself from any sort of physicality when he occasionally plays. Maybe mentally he finds it all too much. He’s still a great header of the ball but that is about it and it’s not enough.
His contract expires this summer I think. Probably time to call it a day.

Benteke,Mateta, Edourd and Ayew.
If you moulded them all together would still not match the
anticipation,vision and goal scoring ability of Glenn
Murray.
A proper natural goal scorer is required.
Too many goal scoring chances have been squandered this
season.

That's a fair comment, doombear. I honestly try and ignore the ridiculous posts about Mateta being the saviour etc...I really do. But I just can't do it. Plus to be fair, this is a thread specifically titled 'centre forwards'. So it's sort of justified debate on this thread. Will try not to overtake other threads from now on.

Is it April 1st already? The most ridiculous post from an otherwise sensible poster I have seen on these pages. Benteke's record speaks for itself, he's a lazy gravy train riding waste of space. PV has realised it by not selecting him, funny that...

There’s not many players that will have universal approval from the fans.
Even consistent performers over the long term like Mcarthur will have his critics.
The one thing I’ve noticed with Vieira is his ruthless streak despite his apparent genial nature.This is not a bad trait if you want to be a successful manager.
He has discarded Riedewald, and to a lesser extent Benteke and Luka.
The team comes first with Vieira and whether you’re club captain or the club’s most expensive player you’re not going to start if you don’t fit the team template.
We can all see how Vieira wants to play but hard working guys like Ward and Ayew are more likely to be involved on match days through their endeavour and willingness to sacrifice themselves for the team even though they may struggle with some of the pass and move requirements.
Whether fans like it or not Vieira seems to have made his mind up about Benteke with the club apparently prepared to sell him last month.
Bear in mind he signed his 2 year extension before Vieira arrived.
I could see him departing in the summer, particularly if he wants first team football to prolong his international future.