Muzza is having a purple patch where everything he touches goes in whereas Benteke is having the exact opposite. Overall Benteke is the better player but the biggest asset that Muzza has over him is that he will put his body on the line to score whereas there is no chance of CB doing that

Benteke absolute overated waste of money, Liverpool New what they where doing getting rid, and so should we, peoples impatience got rid of Murray and Gayle, and now we are paying the price, anyone with half a decent football brain could see played up front together they would have worked well, one of the management's biggest mistakes among many. How we have stayed in the Premier so long has been on a wing and a prayer!!

Buddy, you need to get your facts straight.

1. Benteke scored 13 goals last year from open play, not 15. The fact that his teammates let him take 2 penalties doesn't mean he's better than if he had not taken them. But ok, let's go with the number 15 as he also accounted for 2 assists last season. His 13 goals from open play and 2 asists came in 3200 minutes, less than 1 every 200 minutes. If you count out the penalties he scored while at Villa and Liverpool, he pretty much has a similar ratio.

2. Gayle scored 23 and assisted 2 in 2300 minutes in all competitions last year, with no penalties taken. If his teammates had let Gayle take 2 penalties like Benteke, he could have had 2 more goals. But disregard the Championship goals. Gayle in the PL had scored for Palace 20 goals (18 from open play) and provided 1 assist in 2700 minutes. That's 1 every 140 minutes. This season he has 5 goals and 2 assists in 1300 minutes for Newcastle, somewhat keeping his tally (leading the line, not as second striker).

3. Glenn Murray had 19 goals from open play in the Championship, but 6 assists too in 3400 minutes. In the Premier League he had scored 8 from open play and assisted 3 in 1500 minutes for Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. This season (counting out the penalties) he has 6 goals and no assists in 1500 minutes.

Bottom line: if one striker takes penalties, his goals appear to be much more than what they truly are and perception makes him seem like a better player than he truly is.

Problem was and is is that Gayle is anonymous in first halves. He cannot occupy defenders or find space whatsoever. All his success for us was in 2nd halves when its end to end stuff.

Seeing Murray score a good few goals this season is sickening but tbf a lot are bouncing off him or he's unchallenged etc. But then he's in there making it happen whereas Benteke isn't and seems to adopt a space that is safe from injury or criticism if he messes it up.

It should be remembered that Murray and Gayle are playing in a side promoted together with momentum and with them both scoring. That's a bit different to Gayle trying to develop a talent in first halves whilst having little of it and being 2nd fiddle at best and Murray wanting to be playing all the time and not going to be after signing Benteke who we all thought would score 10 every season, absolute minimum.

I've been critical of Palace or Parish but it's not as simple as we should have them both. We could've been relegated with both. How rubbish was Murray at Bournemouth?

COYP

Gayle has scored more goals in first halves than Benteke in the same amount of playing time- statistical truth. I won't stay now and research every match he has scored in, but trust me, in the last 4-5 years, as long as they both played in the PL, Gayle has more goals scored in first halves. I looked it up myself.

It's true and he's scored more in the last two games then benteke has all season

walking down the holmesdale road to see the palace aces!