Bit-part Benayoun: Use me or lose me
Liverpool winger Yossi Benayoun has told Israeli TV that he may leave Anfield in January if he doesn't start to get more time on the pitch. The Israel captain has only started two of the last 10 games and finds himself in a queue behind the resurgent Dirk Kuyt and promising Ryan Babel – with Rafa Benitez also trying to slot Fernando Torres, Robbie Keane and Steven Gerrard into the line-up.
"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," Benayoun said on Israeli television.
"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.
"Even if it's Liverpool, if I don't get to play in the next few months I will not want to be here. I've enjoyed my time in England but maybe it is time to learn a new language... maybe Italian, French or Russian."
Benayoun was signed for £4m from West Ham United and got considerably more action last year, but as Benitez continues to improve his squad, the Israeli is finding it difficult to motivate himself.
"When I came here it wasn't so I could tell everyone, 'Hey I play for Liverpool'. My purpose was to prove myself, and in the first year I think I did. I understand that I am at one of the biggest clubs in the world and that this year there are better players. 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."
Attention Liverpool fans! Peruse FourFourTwo.com's interviews section to collect the thoughts of Reds legends like:
John Aldridge ("I'd drown puppies for a million quid")
Digger Barnes ("Petting Zoo? Is that a Collymore thing?")
Luis Garcia ("What's a Scottish Egg?")
Peter Crouch ("I dream of being a dwarf")
Craig Johnston ("The FA f*cked me over")
Ian Rush ("Don't be scared to miss")
Steven Gerrard ("We weren't consistent enough")
Fernando Torres ("Carra speaks very fast...")
And, er, Neil Ruddock ("My hero is Laurence Llewelyn Bowen")
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Gary Parkinson is a freelance writer, editor, trainer, muso, singer, actor and coach. He spent 14 years at FourFourTwo as the Global Digital Editor and continues to regularly contribute to the magazine and website, including major features on Euro 96, Subbuteo, Robert Maxwell and the inside story of Liverpool's 1990 title win. He is also a Bolton Wanderers fan.