Benayoun top dog in February

Yossi Benayoun has been voted the TIA Player of the Month for February, 2009.

The Israeli midfielder capped a fine month with the winner in the Bernabeu last week and was the unanimous choice of the members of the forums.

Benayoun took 61% of the votes, with Fabio Aurelio (24%) the only other notably placed player. Third was Fernando Torres who scored twice against Chelsea and the late winner at Portsmouth but was mostly injured.

The month of February started well with those two Torres goals against Chelsea but the FA Cup defeat to Everton immediately brought the Reds back down to earth just a few days later.

Next up was the tricky trip to Portsmouth where we grabbed a win from the hands of defeat courtesy of Torres’ late winner but also the impressive display of Aurelio in midfield, who scored the first goal from a free-kick.

The 1-1 draw with Man City sent the Reds to Spain on somewhat of a dour note, with the title hopes almost disappeared, and while the win in the Spanish capital provided another sign of European dominance, the 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough last weekend again sent the Reds domestic hopes crashing and put another nail in the title challenge for this season.

The form of two squad players who have often been criticised in the past has been noted by fans and provides hope for the rest of the season.