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Soccer / Make up for lost time By James Ducker, Special Correspondent from Engl Tags: israel news, sports In a rare interview in September, six weeks after his 5 million pound move to Manchester City from Chelsea, Tal Ben Haim claimed that he wanted to "make up for lost time because, at Stamford Bridge, I was denied that chance." After a harrowing opening fifteen minutes away to Hull City in the English Premier League last Sunday, when Ben Haim was booked for a crass challenge on Geovanni, gifted the opposition a goal with as lame a back pass as you will see all season and generally exuded an air of panic, can it be any surprise that the opportunities the Israel defender imagined would come his way at City have hardly been forthcoming? With John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho and Alex above him in the pecking order at Chelsea, Ben Haim's chances were always going to be limited. Terry and Carvalho barely ever put a foot wrong and the 10 league starts Ben Haim did make during his fateful 13 1/2 month spell in West London were usually brought about by an injury to one or both of the team's first choice central defensive pairing. Advertisement Given how poor Richard Dunne and Micah Richards have been for City this season, however, it seems to say everything about Mark Hughes' faith in the Israeli that, injuries and suspensions withstanding, the manager has persevered with a center defensive partnership that has regularly veered between the calamitous and the comical. The situation may not have been so surprising had Hughes inherited Ben Haim from his predecessor as City manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson; that Hughes bought Ben Haim, and not exactly for an inconsiderable sum either, seems to hint a loss of confidence in a player, who, not too long ago, was being trumpeted as one of the most promising young defenders in the Premier League. In Ben Haim's defense, he has clearly been affected by a lack of regular first team football at club level and has suffered somewhat at international level as a consequence. Claims that the 55,000 pounds a week he was purported to be earning at Chelsea and his elevation among the elite of English football dampened his appetite and turned his head are unsubstantiated and a little harsh. Speak to Sam Allardyce, the former Bolton Wanderers manager, who plucked Ben Haim from relative obscurity at Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2004 and turned him into such a formidable opponent, and he will tell you that there are few more determined and reliable professionals. Ben Haim may have upset one or two people with his perceived arrogance and willingness to speak his mind, but in a day and age when too many footballers are scared to voice their opinions, reasoning instead to toe the party line, such a trait should be welcomed. Ben Haim was also signed by Jose Mourinho at Chelsea; three months later the Portuguese had gone. If people thought that having a fellow Israeli succeed Mourinho would improve Ben Haim's chances of breaking through, they were sorely mistaken. Ben Haim clashed terribly with Avram Grant, to such an extent that he claimed in April this year that he "would have signed for another club" had he known Grant would be put in charge at Stamford Bridge. The defender was fined two weeks' wages for his outburst in what appears to have been the beginning of the end of his Chelsea career. So Hughes bought a player who was out of form and out of shape, which was to be expected, and no doubt dissatisfied at how a move that he hoped would take his career to new heights backfired. Such circumstances can only be blamed to a point, though; whether Ben Haim has taken his eye off the ball or not, his career has stagnated, and at times it has been both frustrating and difficult to watch this season. Relative to his position, he has been poor, while his lack of confidence when in possession, typified by a sub-standard performance against Hull, has been both notable and alarming. Even the timing of his tackles - traditionally one of his greatest strengths - has been a little off. He may not have been helped playing in a defense generally bereft of confidence - Manchester City has conceded at least two goals in seven of its past eight matches, a woeful record by any standard - but his inclusion, when it has come, hardly appears to inspire much confidence. Lack of confidence The back-pass that allowed Daniel Cousin, the Hull striker, to score one of the easiest goals imaginable will have exacerbated that problem and pointed to a player prone to lapses in concentration. At 26, Ben Haim faces something of a crossroads in his career. "We all know Tal is a very capable player - he has proven that on enough occasions in the past," a City source said Tuesday. "But it's clear he's lacking confidence and when that's the case, that's when the mistakes start to creep into your game. "He needs to be playing more but at the moment, with so many problems in defense, that trust between the manager and players appears to have taken a bit of a knock where the back four are concerned. I think when the squad is bolstered in January it will have a positive effect for players like Tal." Hughes is after a new goalkeeper, left back and central defender, as well as a holding midfielder and a striker, so whether Ben Haim's opportunities become even more restricted in the New Year remains to be seen. Ben Haim has often suffered from being played out of position - he excelled at left back, when asked to play there, for Bolton but has struggled in the position for his subsequent clubs - but with Wayne Bridge, the Chelsea left back, and a top class central defender in Hughes' sights, the Israeli will probably just settle for a starting place. Quite how having Arab owners in charge of City now has affected Ben Haim is unclear. There were claims at the time of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan's 200 million pound takeover in September that Ben Haim's City career was about to come to an "abrupt end", but such rumors have so far proven unfounded. Ben Haim himself said that he did not envisage a problem at the time: "I don't think it should be a problem," he said. "It's a professional club and it shouldn't have any influence on my career whatsoever." But if he is feeling unsettled, he is keeping tight-lipped. What is certain, though, is the player has much to prove. Bookmark to del.icio.us   The King is dead Archeologists find new evidence for King Herod's tomb site. Al-Hasbara Israel launches Arabic YouTube channel to bypass Arab media.

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