Darren Bent: Mackem viewpoint

[Dr Butler]

Gutted!  Shaaaaaame! Ha ha ha, and lots of other grown up responses.

Haha, always expect a few of those. Though players come and go but your club is always the reason we follow, not the players.And yes there was some racist incident though that was sorted by all accounts.

wise words flan

[WikiVilla]

Cheers, flan!

Wasn't there some issue wit his mother getting abuse at a game?  Someone of Talksport (yes, I know) mentioned it yesterday and thinks it might be part of his motivation for going.

Bent had his car smashed up / vandalised near Bigg Market, think he has wanted out of NE since then

[Greg N'Ash]

to be fair if he went to bigg market he was asking for trouble. that's like a sort of Chav Mordor.

[CJ]

Fair play Flan for coming on here with some sensible comments on this. It pains me to say it (given his Manure and Bloose background) but Bruce is a very good manager with an eye for a decent player at a good price.  I'm pretty sure he'll put the considerable transfer fee to good use for you

[KevinGage]

Think he has a bit more of an allround game than the boy Line-acre, he seems to be able to hold the ball up and is comfortable up top on his own.

Interesting that the opening post mentions Gabby, I think we always hoped that Gabby would become our Darren Bent. That is, not a natural footballer by any means. But someone who makes the most of what he has.

Still could, but I think it's going to be difficult to have them in the same side. Unless GH is still determined to make  Gabby into some kind of auxiliary wideman. I have a feeling that he is going to be one of those players who miss out and could be on his way in the summer. Football being football and all the dogs abuse they give him anytime we play there, I wouldn't be stunned if it's B-lose either.

[Greg N'Ash]

think gabby would link up well with bent. as will heskey. Gabby has never been a striker type despite his decent goalscoring record. if anything him and heskey get in each others way.

[Concrete John]

I think it'll be one upfront, which suits Bent, so doubt they'll need to form an effective partnership.  It means Gabby on the bench or out wide, so I hope he's OK with that as we need a strong squad.

[Greg N'Ash]

i'm not so sure. i think GH will do away with both wingers when he's finished rebuilding. Getting him to sign a new contract hints he's in his plans

[Concrete John]

i'm not so sure. i think GH will do away with both wingers when he's finished rebuilding. Getting him to sign a new contract hints he's in his plans

So what formation are you suggesting?

We were sometimes exposed with two wingers in the 4-4-2, but that's because we lacked some strength in the centre by playing Petrov as the anchorman.  Makoun should fix that, so 4-4-2 would probably work better now, but even then it would be 2 of Young/Downing/Albrighton wide.

But as I said, I expect to see 4-5-1 more often than not under Gezza.

[flan]

Few mis-conceptions about bent on here though folks, firstly, he isnt a lazy goal hanger. he works very hard, tracks back more than most forwards and is always full of running that pulls opposition defences around.
His car was indeed smashed up by NUFC fans in the bigg market but that could happen at any club if your in "enemy" terroritory.
And lastly, I hope you dont play him as a lone front man, that ISNT his strong point. He's better with another forward alongside him. He often looks a little lost on his own up top, which explains a little of our poor away form as bruce so often went 4-5-1 away from home.

Odd that I am singing the lads praises I know, but he is a great player who as someone rightfully said plays to his strengths. Sometimes a player knowing his limitations is their biggest strength.

[KevinGage]

Doing away with wingers completely would be a bit radical.

If Downing was to depart I'd like to see us go with Delph wide left. Not a standard  winger by any means, but that's the appeal. I think one out and out winger (Albrighton) can be enough and then any three from Delph, Petrov, NRC and Makoun would make us more combative in the middle of the park.

[Greg N'Ash]

i'm not so sure. i think GH will do away with both wingers when he's finished rebuilding. Getting him to sign a new contract hints he's in his plans

So what formation are you suggesting?

We were sometimes exposed with two wingers in the 4-4-2, but that's because we lacked some strength in the centre by playing Petrov as the anchorman.  Makoun should fix that, so 4-4-2 would probably work better now, but even then it would be 2 of Young/Downing/Albrighton wide.

But as I said, I expect to see 4-5-1 more often than not under Gezza.

look at GH's finest hour with the bindippers. 2 up front, heskey and owen.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

Cheers, flan!

Wasn't there some issue wit his mother getting abuse at a game?  Someone of Talksport (yes, I know) mentioned it yesterday and thinks it might be part of his motivation for going.

Bent had his car smashed up / vandalised near Bigg Market, think he has wanted out of NE since then

My missus works for the company that is dealing with the claim, apparently he comes across as a nice bloke.

[KevinGage]

Must say though, If having his car wrecked by opposition fans or reading less than flattering comments on a Sunderland messageboard (we have been warned) made him want out, he sounds a bit of a delicate flower.

[Concrete John]

look at GH's finest hour with the bindippers. 2 up front, heskey and owen.

What he did with a different club almost a decade ago has very little bearing on what he does now with us.  He's barely started with two upfront, but if he does start doing so now then fair enough.