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Author Topic: Sell Bent?  (Read 45528 times)

Offline Walmley_Villa

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #15 on: August 20, 2012, 10:41:24 AM »
Would be bad sign to sell him but I have a naggung feeling that the Redscouse may well come sniffing as I think he would score a hatful for them and is a much better fit for Rodgers 'style' than Carroll.

Offline Quiet Lion

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #16 on: August 20, 2012, 11:03:56 AM »
Selling Bent is literally the worst idea I have ever heard.

Offline PaulTheVillan

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #17 on: August 20, 2012, 11:06:45 AM »
Keep Bent.

Buy Robbie Keane.

It'll work.

Offline pauliewalnuts

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #18 on: August 20, 2012, 11:09:12 AM »
Selling Bent is literally the worst idea I have ever heard.

Literally?

Offline Percy McCarthy

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #19 on: August 20, 2012, 11:11:40 AM »
I was chuffed when we bought him. Look at his stats - up there with Rooney and Drogba. It gradually dawned on me that he has no interest in doing anything else but score goals, and if he contributed anything like those two in other areas of the pitch he would have played for top clubs. By the same token, if those two never did anything outside the box they'd each get fifty goals a season.

When you see what an out-and-out goal hanger he is, how he rarely shows with his back to goal, rarely goes wide, rarely drops deep to partake in build-up play (can't blame him, he's absolutely woeful at all three when he does), his stats aren't so impressive.

As I said on the match-thread, for £18/24m, you'd want someone who can score tap-ins and penalties AND play football.
« Last Edit: August 20, 2012, 11:42:42 AM by Percy McCarthy »

Offline noodles

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #20 on: August 20, 2012, 11:16:18 AM »
Bent needs someone who's going to do all the donkey work for him, Shane Long would be perfect. I'd imagine he'd be out of our current price range though.

Offline Percy McCarthy

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #21 on: August 20, 2012, 11:30:02 AM »
Agreed. In a way it might make more financial sense to buy a Keane/Beardsley type to make something of the money we spent on him. Attacking midfielders are not the answer as he can't retain possession well enough to get the third man running beyond him or to join in with him. His failure to show, failure to provide an out-ball, and failure to hold the ball up also makes us vulnerable to counter-attack, which is another reason midfielders don't get up to support him. They play it up to him and stand around waiting for him to lose it. That's a psychogical vicious circle that they all need to get over. Somebody like Doyle or Fletcher could relieve him of this burden (team-play) and maybe it would work. Hopefully Lambert might find a way to get him to drop deep and keep it really simple, or make the odd run for others to exploit. On his own though, he's mid-table Premiership standard, which is okay I suppose, if a bit depressing for us.
If we sold him we'd take a hit like Spurs did when they realised they'd be better with 11 players.
« Last Edit: August 20, 2012, 11:53:03 AM by Percy McCarthy »

Online Monty

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #22 on: August 20, 2012, 11:53:27 AM »
He's had one competitive game back since a longish injury lay off and at the same time we're trying to bed in half a new team. It will take time for him and his new team mates to get up to speed. We just have to be patient

I agree with this. I do think people criticising the midfield are guilty of overly lionising someone because of a goal-scoring (some would say goal-stealing) record. On Saturday, the midfield passed triangles around the West Ham midfield and then, in the final third, ran out of options. Why criticise the players ostensibly doing something right as opposed to the one who did nothing to help in the area where we failed? It was clear to me that Bent didn't contribute to build-up play, and against massed defences there can be no passengers - not even central defenders and keepers, they have to pass the ball, so absolutely not centre-forwards.

To play the way which has got Bent lots of goals over the years is often to sacrifice the team overall scoring more. It involves playing defensively and on the break, because he can make space for himself on the counter with defenders already running towards their own goal, especially with pacey wingers and maybe a hard-working striker taking the defenders' attention away - in other words, MON-ball, the style that proved obviously limited even with £100m spent on it. If we want a style of play which will score more goals overall (ie the passing game Lambert is introducing) then everyone has to buy into it - it's not as simple as players supplying one who scores, as that's so predictable and easy to play against, especially with 11 behind the ball as on Saturday.

That said, Bent has done well in the build-up play in the past. I remember, for instance, his brilliant all-round display in the Arsenal win at the end of the GH/Gary Mac season. He needs to do it more consistently though, and Chris is right that he's just come back from a long lay-off. It's also that everyone who isn't Bannan, Ireland, Delph and El Ahmadi appears to be still working to get into the new style of play, so we'll have to be patient with Bent as with almost everyone. I understand the Bent concern, but patience is the watchword.
« Last Edit: August 20, 2012, 11:56:05 AM by Montbert »

Offline Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #23 on: August 20, 2012, 11:53:30 AM »
No.

Offline manic-road

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #24 on: August 20, 2012, 11:56:32 AM »
Wouldn't make any sense at all to sell our only player who knows where the back of the net is on a consistent basis.

The problem is that he's not getting any service at all at the moment, but i'm sure PL will soon sort that out.

Online WarszaVillan

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #25 on: August 20, 2012, 11:58:10 AM »
. Look at his stats - up there with Rooney and Drogba. It gradually dawned on me that he has no interest in doing anything else but score goals, and if he contributed anything like those two in other areas of the pitch he would have played for top clubs. By the same token, if those two never did anything outside the box they'd each get fifty goals a season.



No they wouldn't. Noone scores 50 goals by being just a goal poacher, for that you need to be Messi.

Offline Mortimer's Bear

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #26 on: August 20, 2012, 12:02:48 PM »
No, Build a team behind him that can supply the ball and he will score goals.

That said, he does shy away from games in my opinion, receiving poor service for 90 minutes is no excuse for not tracking back or even showing an interest in getting on the ball a bit more.

Offline not3bad

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #27 on: August 20, 2012, 12:14:36 PM »
We've heard the phrase "panic buy" bandied about often in the last few years.  To me selling Bent after one game of the season that went badly would be a "panic sale".

Offline ozzjim

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #28 on: August 20, 2012, 12:18:41 PM »
Saturday was very difficult, because West Ham packed the centre of the pitch and we had no outlet. Bent dropped deep at times to join in, but there was very little on, and their centre halves had the easiest afternoon they will have all season.

I am coming round to the idea of swapping him to become a more effective team, but that would only be if someone like Carroll came in the other direction AND we signed another forward to play alongside. We need to find a way of stretching their back 4 more, to allow Bent a bit of space and to get good service to them. I understand the fears of a target man meaning we would play hoofball, and someone like Keane might be a better answer, he was certainly more effective than Ireland is in there, who I think could actually play deeper alongside KEA and have a much bigger effect on a game.

We need someone to commit defenders and be able to turn and play balls in behind them in the Ireland role. That will cost decent money.

Offline Dave Clark Five

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Re: Sell Bent?
« Reply #29 on: August 20, 2012, 12:25:12 PM »
I was chuffed when we bought him. Look at his stats - up there with Rooney and Drogba. It gradually dawned on me that he has no interest in doing anything else but score goals, and if he contributed anything like those two in other areas of the pitch he would have played for top clubs. By the same token, if those two never did anything outside the box they'd each get fifty goals a season.

When you see what an out-and-out goal hanger he is, how he rarely shows with his back to goal, rarely goes wide, rarely drops deep to partake in build-up play (can't blame him, he's absolutely woeful at all three when he does), his stats aren't so impressive.

As I said on the match-thread, for £18/24m, you'd want someone who can score tap-ins and penalties AND play football.

I am in total agreement with this.

 


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