Howard Better Than Benjamin ?

[davieG]

Merc

Leicester City striker Steve Howard set an unlikely club record against Coventry City last weekend.

His 55th appearance off the bench made him the most-used substitute in the club's history, beating the previous record of 54 held by fellow striker Trevor Benjamin.

[dave the caveman]

Massive amount of appearance bonuses for very little work and recently an actual negative impact on team performance. Jobs for the ****ing boys alright. At least big benji had a big beanpole.

[ousefox]

He has been a good servant to the club. No longer needed now though.

[Basingstoke Fox]

Only saw Benjamin play a few times but surely yes!

[Collymore]

I remember Big Trev having a right purple patch for us once where he couldn't stop scoring.

[skinnydipper]

I think Floella's a better finisher

[THEBIGJOHNSTEADER;]

I'd love to see this pair of chunky monkeys have a cock fight. And not in a racist way

[Corky]

I remember Big Trev having a right purple patch for us once where he couldn't stop scoring.

Yeah, he was the man who helped us get promotion.

[dobbylcfc]

I'll never forget the goal he scored at derby away. He must of crapped himself when he did it cos it was so rare. Good old tricky trev

[Stevosevic]

Couple of years out of date, but i believe he is still manager there...? The story of Tricky Trev:

http://www.dailymail...r-27-clubs.html

Trevor Benjamin: After 27 clubs, former Leicester striker is still feeling clever at Morpeth Town

Another pile of jerseys on the floor, another changing room at another ground at another club in another league in a different world: Trevor Benjamin stared at the dirty black and amber stripes of Morpeth Town and thought of his zigzag career.

At 16 he made his debut with Cambridge United. Along the way he collected an England cap - briefly in the same Under 21 team as John Terry and Jermain Defoe.

There was the £1.3million transfer to Leicester City and all the expectation of the Premier League.

Dual role: whether it's as a player or the manager, Trevor Benjamin is determined to succeed at lowly Morpeth Town

Goals came, as later did two caps for Jamaica for the Kettering-born striker. But so, too, disappointments.

'You have upward turning points in your career and you have downward turning points,' Benjamin said calmly.

One was when Benjamin left Leicester on loan, first to Crystal Palace. He did not know then he had set in train a pattern of travel that would lead to 24 more clubs in the next eight years.

Now he is at Morpeth. It is Benjamin's 27th club, out in Northumberland where the traffic signs warn: 'Red Squirrels!'

He faces teams like Darlington Railway Athletic in front of 30 spectators, all of whom are wondering why Trevor Benjamin is among them. And he is 31.

'Odd. As in unusual,' that was the description put to Benjamin about his football career. He agreed.

'Yeah, this does feel odd compared to where I've been. You've got to get yourself going, there's no crowd there to do it.

'But I don't regret anything, the career I've had shows what can happen in football. There's nothing you can do about it now. You make choices: I made quite a few choices as you can tell.

'I'm not too fussed if people want to mark me down as a journeyman. It's not how I see myself but I can't stop others marking me that way. This is a profession, a job and all footballers seek work. You hope you do a good job and that you earn money.'

Benjamin will not be earning much in his new role as Morpeth's player-manager. He moved with his family to the North East last year and played a couple of games for Bedlington Terriers. Bedlington are in Division One of the Northern League, Morpeth are bottom of Division Two.

This is five levels below the Conference. It costs £4 to get into Morpeth's home, Craik Park. A programme is 60p. It lets you know Morpeth have won the Northumberland Aged Miners Cup on four occasions.

'I'm getting experience here,' Benjamin said, 'a different experience.'

Five years ago, aged 26, Benjamin was still on Leicester's books and played for them, and on loan at Coventry and Watford, in the Championship.

In his last match at Watford he was alongside Ashley Young. Benjamin was replaced by Gabriel Agbonlahor, on loan from Aston Villa.

Two seasons ago he was a significant part of the Hereford United side that won automatic promotion to League One and which knocked Leeds out of the FA Cup at Elland Road.

Glory days: Benjamin celebrates a goal during his days at Leicester City

But since then it has been non- League only. Benjamin has played for eleven clubs from Woking to Tamworth to Harrogate. That suggests this softly-spoken man could be difficult.

'Far from it,' he replied. 'I did what I was told. I wanted to learn, I'm a learner. My career has been about managers as well as me. It's up to them whether they like you or not. I've not been confrontational, I'm laid-back.

'That's a different attitude within football but it doesn't mean I don't love football. I do. I had a bad eye injury, that's what put me out of the game at Hereford.

'I had an eye infection that came from a contact lens being in contaminated water.

'It started to get better but then it got worse and it stopped me playing. It's not 100 per cent yet.

'But then you lose fitness and I found it hard to get it back. I discovered that wanting it and doing it are two different things. That's why I went to the non-League clubs you mention, to try to keep fit. I never felt any of it was beneath me, I'm not like that.'

Calling the shots: Benjamin takes pride in his new role as player-boss

One possible upside to his new role is the sheer volume of managers Benjamin has witnessed. Those he admires include Micky Adams, from Leicester and Coventry – 'he got the best out of me'.

In the beginning at Cambridge there was Roy McFarland, at Brighton, Mark McGhee, at Northampton he liked Colin Calderwood. Peter Taylor, Graham Turner and the late Keith Alexander were all mentioned.

Each would agree that Morpeth Town is a hard place to start a managerial career.

Benjamin has a verbal agreement and said 'we'll see how it goes'. Asked where he thinks he will be in two years, he blew out his cheeks.

Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1odQBbqxK

[broughtonblue]

I think Floella's a better finisher

than them both?

[Guy]

Stevie Howard for me.

Trevor Benjamin did well for us, he was around during the darkish times, administration et al (after five years of us being spoilt by the MON era) - and he was probably Peter Taylor's best purchase alongside Callum Davidson. However Howard edges it in terms of his appearances and overall contribution to the Blue Army's cause over the past turbulent four years.....and he really came into his own in League One and then during the majority our Championship play offs season two years ago. I often thought that had he played in the first semi against Cardiff two seasons ago that we'd have gone up via the play offs that season and not gone out after that daft Kermit the frog penalty! Now though Howard will probably be bound to a lower league club if he's not retained to help out behind the scenes next season should he opt to retire.......

[skinnydipper]

than them both?

No. In my Top Trumps set Trev and Floella both beat Stevie in almost every department.

The present number 9 does score well in the Ineffectiveness category though.