Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: go on the dog on November 25, 2014, 06:42:12 PM
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Bent in Brighton who would have thought that ;) ;) ;) hello sailor
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That cameo last night wasn't pointless then? ;)
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We can probably do without the homophobic comments can't we?
As reported by the Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/aston-villa/11253964/Aston-Villa-records-signing-Darren-Bent-poised-to-join-Brighton-and-Hove-Albion.html
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Source?
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If true, that will be our third player loaned there this season won't it?
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Captain Hypia. All aboard.
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Isn't it a bit odd that he used Bent last night, and the day after sends him off on loan?
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Isn't it a bit odd that he used Bent last night, and the day after sends him off on loan?
Lambert is facking odd though isn't he?
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Clueless.
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Isn't it a bit odd that he used Bent last night, and the day after sends him off on loan?
Lamberts odd to be fair
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How much have we paid Brighton to take him? Very pleased as they could do with the money and are a decent club. I'm off to Brighton for my birthday on Saturday so I'll pass on everyone's good wishes if I see him down the pub
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Rumours that he is recalling Robinson, maybe he has realised that Bent brings absolutely nothing to the table.
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Or in KFC.
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Rumours that he is recalling Robinson, maybe he has realised that Bent brings absolutely nothing to the table.
I think what he brings to the table is most of the problem.
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Rumours that he is recalling Robinson, maybe he has realised that Bent brings absolutely nothing to the table.
He looks to me like he brings quite a lot to the table and scoffs it all too
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I think he's eaten the table....
Robinson not playing for PNE tonight, their fans seem to think something is up
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What is Robinson's goalscoring record like in youth and reserve matches? It's not very impressive for either PNE or english youth setups, so not sure what he'll bring (albeit whatever it is will probably more than Bent).
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He scored 5 goals for PNE including a Hatrick in the Cup
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Ah right, I looked at the wikipedia page and it said 2 in 10. Cup games mustn't be included.
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At this point I'd rather see the has-beens all loaned out. Zogbia needs turfing out soon too. I'd rather player Grealish or Bacuna. Not convinced Richardson has much left in in now aside from being reasonably adaptable, but in midfield I'd sooner player Gardner, maybe even Johnson.
We might as well loan out Cole while we're at it too.
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Ah right, I looked at the wikipedia page and it said 2 in 10. Cup games mustn't be included.
His goals have all come in recent weeks so it seems like he's hitting form. In all honesty I'd have him over Bent everyday of the week for the simple fact he can actually run. I'd play Bowery over Bent at this point.
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Bye then Darren, I suspect that really is the end then, somehow one of the most prolific goalscorers in the premier league was allowed to turn into an overweight unfit tub 'o' lard by our coaching staff and a succession of shit managers.
Last nights amble, waddle, stroll (call it what you will) around the playing surface was the final act of our most expensive investment ever, still he did his job back then and his goals kept us up, thanks for that.
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Isn't it a bit odd that he used Bent last night, and the day after sends him off on loan?
or maybe it just sealed the deal watching his fat arse doing next to nothing for us.
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Still a terrible substitution though. Good luck Darren.
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This makes last nights substitution even more bizarre.
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As God awful as Lambert is, and as absolutely daft as it was for him to bring Bent on last night, he must have been stood on the touch line watchin Bent lazily strolling around the pitch like it was a horrible chore he had to do, and thought to himself "We're paying 80k a week and this fucker can't put a sprint on?"
It seems strange and very instant, but we've seen with Lambert he can make his mind up on a player very quickly. Perhaps Bents display last night was a final straw.
I can appreciate if he doesn't get service it's tough for Bent, but when he comes on and barely moves and just seems like he can't be remotely arsed, it's really annoying. It just looks like he hates playing football. Just here? I dunno but Fulham weren't too enamoured with him.
A sad end to his Villa career really.
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Maybe they told Bent he had a last chance to prove himself and fluffed his lines.
CNZ out next for me, shocking player who epitomizes the term headless chicken.
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What we need is creativity for the likes to benteke. N'Zogbia has never been a creative player, even during his spell with wigan he scored quite a few but set up precious little.
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To be fair to Lambert, he identified Bent as being finished within a few weeks of his first season. Injuries killed Bent's pace but his heart hasnt been in it for years.
Was great when he first came but with his wages and transfer fee has been some waste.
He will retire in the summer of that Im pretty sure.
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Robinson needs games, I'd rather he stayed on loan than have 15min sub appearances (and the inevitable non-selection by Lambert)
Robinson and grealish are not too young for this league.
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He kept us up, he has had a career threatening injury and obviously has not recovered.
Good luck to him.
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Yes good luck Darren. I hope you find some kind of form. Too early to retire and thanks for keeping us up and thanks for never slagging off the club despite your (and Alan Hutton's) unreasonable treatment.
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Isn't it a bit odd that he used Bent last night, and the day after sends him off on loan?
I'm no Lambert fan but having watched I don't find it all odd, if it was up to me Id have bought him off last night and sent him somewhere, anywhere, on loan, just to get him out of my sight.
His condition and effort was dreadful.
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Surprised Wolves weren't in for him, they need a finisher
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To be fair to Lambert, he identified Bent as being finished within a few weeks of his first season. Injuries killed Bent's pace but his heart hasnt been in it for years.
Was great when he first came but with his wages and transfer fee has been some waste.
He will retire in the summer of that Im pretty sure.
Alternatively his goals in the 2nd half of the season under Houllier and 1st half of the season under McLeish kept us for 2 seasons and made him worth £40M plus for us.
£18M initial fee plus (guess 50% of) the add-ons = £3M. Total fees £21M
Wages 4 years @£65K/week = £13.5M (I think it was reported as £65K/week as our joint highest earner with Gabby and Heskey. Even if it was the more outlandish £80K/week over 4 years = £16.65M)
Total outlay £34.5M (or £37.65M is it's £80K/week)
Either way we've not lost out on him overall. (and as there's been no contract renewal / extension his asset value will already be as good as written of so letting him go, although a cash loss won't negatively affect the profit & loss accounts
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He kept us up, he has had a career threatening injury and obviously has not recovered.
Good luck to him.
This.
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I loved his goals against Arse away that first season with us.
Put Arse well and truly in their place that day and a big step forward to keeping us up.
Good luck Darren; sorry it wasn't like the Arse game always.
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Good luck Darren! Will always be grateful for the goals that kept us up.
The fact that you look so out of shape now is more of an embarrassment to our back-room and coaching staff. What on earth are they doing?
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Good luck Darren! Will always be grateful for the goals that kept us up.
The fact that you look so out of shape now is more of an embarrassment to our back-room and coaching staff. What on earth are they doing?
He's not alone in looking out of shape either. And with so many injuries, something is awry.
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Mmmm, the backroom staff, another of Lambert's responsibilities.
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He's a professional footballer, its not too much to ask that he keeps himself fit enough to earn his wages is it?
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Not surprised he's not arsed - being a part of that Bomb Squad probably sapped his motivation and like a lot of strikers, I suspect Bent puts confidence at the top of his list of needs. You can react against it or let it take you and Bent has no reason other than pride in his ability to play for. I'm not saying Lambert wrecked his career, but Bent has been here for at least two years longer than necessary.
All the best to him. Fantastic finisher - wish it had lasted longer for us than a handful of months.
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At the time I thought Lambert treated Bent appallingly with that Bomb Squad shite but there is only one person to blame for Bent being too fat and finished in the Premier League before he's 30.
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Is his contract up this summer?
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Benteke is back soon and after that kozak. Bent will be nowhere near the team. Gabby looks a much better alternative
Can't imagine brighton are paying that much of his wages?
I'd keep robinson on loan. Grealish hasn't had a kick of late and I suspect robinson won't
The problem is a complete lack of creativity. Given the very few chances we create our forwards have been ok this season. They're the only ones who've scored
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I was definitely hoping he'd stay where he was! I bet Lambert doesn't even play him!
I was hoping to see him in action with PNE at Yeovil next week!
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How much have we paid Brighton to take him? Very pleased as they could do with the money and are a decent club. I'm off to Brighton for my birthday on Saturday so I'll pass on everyone's good wishes if I see him down the pub
Decent club ? I beg to differ ! They came after us for money when they realised Gareth Barry was going to be worth a few bob. Even the local Tory MP at the time got involved. A chap called Ivor Caplin, he sent me a right sarcastic reply when I wrote to him about it. Something about I sounded like John Gregory !
Also they beat us a couple of times at least back in the 3rd division. Also they are from so far down south they may as well play in the French league.
No, dont like Brighton. Never have.
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At least he hasn't got far to go to have a cracking night out.
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Ignaminous end to the Villa career of our record (likely not to be bettered for a generation) signing. One good 12 months in his four year stay...
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Good luck Darren.
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Good luck Darren! Will always be grateful for the goals that kept us up.
The fact that you look so out of shape now is more of an embarrassment to our back-room and coaching staff. What on earth are they doing?
He looked out of shape and half arsed during his time at Fulham too, it's his own responsibility to stay in shape.
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A top player allowed to turn shit. This club is in a right mess and the blame lies at Lambert's door. The bloke is utterly clueless.
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He lost it just before Lambert joined. To be fair to Lambert he had Bent pegged as busted from from day 1 and has been proven right.
A real shame but I remain grateful to Darren for keeping us up that season.
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He lost it just before Lambert joined. To be fair to Lambert he had Bent pegged as busted from from day 1 and has been proven right.
A real shame but I remain grateful to Darren for keeping us up that season.
Maybe not quite from day one or why give him the captain's arm-band initially? He was quick to realise that Bent was no longer what he once was though.
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Bent in Brighton who would have thought that ;) ;) ;) hello sailor
Grow up or evolve
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A top player allowed to turn shit. This club is in a right mess and the blame lies at Lambert's door. The bloke is utterly clueless.
You can blame Lambert for a lot of things but surely not for the fact that Bent has aged, slowed, put on weight. He only did one thing in his prime, score goals and can't do that anymore. Huttons return shows what can happen if you stay motivated, Bent clearly hasn't.
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An enigma almost from the start. Him at £18 million was "overpriced" yet in the same window £50 million for Torres and £35 million for Andy Carroll were perfectly fine. He ht the ground running, scored goals at a rate we hadn't seen since Andy Gray at his peak, yet for some reason he was never idolised by our supporters like he should have been. What was even stranger was that somehow, during his first summer, we started saying he cost too much as well. He was always about to be sold, right up until the injury which in hindsight ruined his career. And if he hadn't got injured we would probably have finished a few places higher up the league and McLeish may well have stayed. The best natural goalscorer England could boast, finished at thirty.
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If he had scored the same amount of goals in a Villa team that finished top 6 or 7 he'd have probably be a hero but he didn't, he scored those goals in a very poor Villa team at the start of our decline. He joined us at the wrong time really.
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If he had scored the same amount of goals in a Villa team that finished top 6 or 7 he'd have probably be a hero but he didn't, he scored those goals in a very poor Villa team at the start of our decline. He joined us at the wrong time really.
I see what you're saying but I'm not sure there would ever have been a right time for us to have signed Darren Bent. Somehow he has never seemed to be part of the furniture and I can't imagine that situation altering had he been part of a better side.
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never seemed to be part of the furniture
Sums it up perfectly. For some reason he never seemed to belong or was accepted here.
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If only old Martin had signed him instead of Emile.
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Good luck Darren! Will always be grateful for the goals that kept us up.
The fact that you look so out of shape now is more of an embarrassment to our back-room and coaching staff. What on earth are they doing?
He looked out of shape and half arsed during his time at Fulham too, it's his own responsibility to stay in shape.
It's both really.
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The thing with bent is that I don't think he's ever been a regular in a genuinely good side. He's a lazy poacher and the days of those players being successful has long passed
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Bent in Brighton who would have thought that ;) ;) ;) hello sailor
Grow up or evolve
Have a laugh mate life's too serious
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So Bent out (immediately?) Callum Robinson back (January?)
Seems the cameo Monday was enough for lambert / Keane to make this decision .
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Bent in Brighton who would have thought that ;) ;) ;) hello sailor
Grow up or evolve
Have a laugh mate life's too serious
A bit of homophobic banter never hurt anyone
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He lost it just before Lambert joined. To be fair to Lambert he had Bent pegged as busted from from day 1 and has been proven right.
A real shame but I remain grateful to Darren for keeping us up that season.
Maybe not quite from day one or why give him the captain's arm-band initially? He was quick to realise that Bent was no longer what he once was though.
Ah true that. Yeah not quite day one. But fairly swiftly.
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Him at £18 million was "overpriced" yet in the same window £50 million for Torres and £35 million for Andy Carroll were perfectly fine.
I seem to remember that both the Torres and Carroll transfer fees were thought of as pretty ludicrous at the time. Certainly the Carroll one.
And one could also argue that given the way that us, Chelsea and Liverpool have spent since that they were in much more of a position to throw money at misfit strikers more than we were. So considering the respective finances, they were perfectly fine.
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I'd love to know how much of his wages we are still paying.
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Are Brighton now our feeder club?
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Well, feeder club suggests that we'll actually have some use for the players when they come back from Brighton
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Reading one of the PNE forums last night, they all seem gutted that Robinson has come back. Thinking about it, N'zogbia went off injured on Monday so I wonder if that's had anything to do with it as well as Bent going out on loan?
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Reading one of the PNE forums last night, they all seem gutted that Robinson has come back. Thinking about it, N'zogbia went off injured on Monday so I wonder if that's had anything to do with it as well as Bent going out on loan?
Was N'Zogbia injured? I just assumed he got taken off when he was because that is what happens nearly every week. He wasn't doing a fat lot. If he is injured that narrows down our attacking options so you could be right.
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Zog was limping down the touch line as he went off
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Zog was limping down the touch line as he went off
If I was taken off for tactical reasons on the basis that I wasn't doing a fat lot that's what I would do.
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I wonder how fit he actually was going into the game. He didn't really do anything of note did he?
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Zog was limping down the touch line as he went off
Thanks - that hadn't registered with me, I just thought that was his usual demeanour.
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Zog was limping down the touch line as he went off
Thanks - that hadn't registered with me, I just thought that was his usual demeanour.
I said to my Villa supporting friend in the pub on Monday night how unlike a footballer he looks. With his hunched up neck and shoulders and unathletic gait. He almost looks like someone who has been entered for, and won, a competition to play for Villa but hates football. He never smiles either and looks as if he hasn't got a clue how he ended up on the pitch. Mind you, neither have I
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Zog was limping down the touch line as he went off
Perhaps he's got a wooden leg? He certainly played like it on Monday.
I am not usually one of his harshest critics, but I thought that was one of the worst showings by a villa player in a long time.
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Zog was limping down the touch line as he went off
Thanks - that hadn't registered with me, I just thought that was his usual demeanour.
Constantly running into defenders takes it's toll in the end.
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I reckon Bent has touched the ball less in his entire Villa career than your average decent Prem midfielder will in one game.
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An enigma almost from the start. Him at £18 million was "overpriced" yet in the same window £50 million for Torres and £35 million for Andy Carroll were perfectly fine. He ht the ground running, scored goals at a rate we hadn't seen since Andy Gray at his peak, yet for some reason he was never idolised by our supporters like he should have been. What was even stranger was that somehow, during his first summer, we started saying he cost too much as well. He was always about to be sold, right up until the injury which in hindsight ruined his career. And if he hadn't got injured we would probably have finished a few places higher up the league and McLeish may well have stayed. The best natural goalscorer England could boast, finished at thirty.
He was very popular when he first arrived. Although he scored at a very fine rate he didn't do it for long enough to be idolised, as you put it. It became apparent too quickly that we didn't have the players to supply him with enough service, and that he wasn't going to do a whole lot for the team other than goal hang.
The bit about him being "always about to be sold" is just wrong.
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Funny how some players never seem to settle long at a club. We were saying the same about Shane Long on Monday night in the pub. You wonder what it is that makes them not be at a club for longer than about a season at a time. And if it's the same reasons each time why they seem to move on.
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An enigma almost from the start. Him at £18 million was "overpriced" yet in the same window £50 million for Torres and £35 million for Andy Carroll were perfectly fine. He ht the ground running, scored goals at a rate we hadn't seen since Andy Gray at his peak, yet for some reason he was never idolised by our supporters like he should have been. What was even stranger was that somehow, during his first summer, we started saying he cost too much as well. He was always about to be sold, right up until the injury which in hindsight ruined his career. And if he hadn't got injured we would probably have finished a few places higher up the league and McLeish may well have stayed. The best natural goalscorer England could boast, finished at thirty.
He was very popular when he first arrived. Although he scored at a very fine rate he didn't do it for long enough to be idolised, as you put it. It became apparent too quickly that we didn't have the players to supply him with enough service, and that he wasn't going to do a whole lot for the team other than goal hang.
The bit about him being "always about to be sold" is just wrong.
No, I agree with what Dave said about him 'always about to be sold'. I lost count the number of times people on here posted that they were convinced that he would be sold off. You only have to look back at Benteke's first season and people on here were convinced that he wouldn't be around for long. Bent in his first full season was linked away quite a lot of the time.
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An enigma almost from the start. Him at £18 million was "overpriced" yet in the same window £50 million for Torres and £35 million for Andy Carroll were perfectly fine. He ht the ground running, scored goals at a rate we hadn't seen since Andy Gray at his peak, yet for some reason he was never idolised by our supporters like he should have been. What was even stranger was that somehow, during his first summer, we started saying he cost too much as well. He was always about to be sold, right up until the injury which in hindsight ruined his career. And if he hadn't got injured we would probably have finished a few places higher up the league and McLeish may well have stayed. The best natural goalscorer England could boast, finished at thirty.
He was very popular when he first arrived. Although he scored at a very fine rate he didn't do it for long enough to be idolised, as you put it. It became apparent too quickly that we didn't have the players to supply him with enough service, and that he wasn't going to do a whole lot for the team other than goal hang.
The bit about him being "always about to be sold" is just wrong.
I'm not sure about the being sold part in terms of genuine links or the player himself seeming like he wanted out, but personally I felt that when we lost both Young and Downing (having only expected Young to go, and after four good years he'd earned his move) that Bent would be looking to move on pretty sharpish. Particularly when we hired a manager who'd just relegated another club.
I worried he'd be sold that summer or want to move. And I worried in the January window. I worried about the following summer until he got injured (Feb?). To some extent that may just have been a symptom of having lost Milner, Downing and Young within a year, but we could all see the decline and keeping hold of an 18 million pound England player seemed like a tall order.
As it was that injury ruined him anyway.
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A shame. But he ceased to be of any real benefit the moment Young and Downing left. With a player like Bent, if you've got nobody to pick a pass in the final third, you might as well forget it.
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An enigma almost from the start. Him at £18 million was "overpriced" yet in the same window £50 million for Torres and £35 million for Andy Carroll were perfectly fine. He ht the ground running, scored goals at a rate we hadn't seen since Andy Gray at his peak, yet for some reason he was never idolised by our supporters like he should have been. What was even stranger was that somehow, during his first summer, we started saying he cost too much as well. He was always about to be sold, right up until the injury which in hindsight ruined his career. And if he hadn't got injured we would probably have finished a few places higher up the league and McLeish may well have stayed. The best natural goalscorer England could boast, finished at thirty.
He was very popular when he first arrived. Although he scored at a very fine rate he didn't do it for long enough to be idolised, as you put it. It became apparent too quickly that we didn't have the players to supply him with enough service, and that he wasn't going to do a whole lot for the team other than goal hang.
The bit about him being "always about to be sold" is just wrong.
No, I agree with what Dave said about him 'always about to be sold'. I lost count the number of times people on here posted that they were convinced that he would be sold off. You only have to look back at Benteke's first season and people on here were convinced that he wouldn't be around for long. Bent in his first full season was linked away quite a lot of the time.
That's certainly true, and whilst Benteke is potentially the best striker we've had since Yorke I've still not really taken to him. It was a long, hard summer after his first season. Obviously his agent advised him badly too in publically pushing for a move which took him down in estimation.
He stayed but struggled with fitness the second season and it took him a while to get going, and he still never came close to some of the brilliance of the previous season.
Again this season, though he's not 100%, he's looked a shadow of his former self.
Plus with Benteke, and I suppose any of our good players, as a club we're in a catch 22. If he's fit and playing well, chances are he walks in the summer to a bigger club. If he's half fit, and his form is in fits and starts, then we might just keep him another year.
Personally I'd rather have one more spiffing season from him and sell him on. But certainly I've not taken to Bent or Benteke nearly as much as JPA or Big John, both of whom co-penned the book on inconsistency to be fair. When a striker has a genuine affinity for your club it really helps though. Bent has never seemed to. There's too much of a sense it's merely a job for him. Benteke trying to push a move after one good season showed he probably just sees us as a stepping stone. Though he definitely has more fan rapport than Bent.
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An enigma almost from the start. Him at £18 million was "overpriced" yet in the same window £50 million for Torres and £35 million for Andy Carroll were perfectly fine. He ht the ground running, scored goals at a rate we hadn't seen since Andy Gray at his peak, yet for some reason he was never idolised by our supporters like he should have been. What was even stranger was that somehow, during his first summer, we started saying he cost too much as well. He was always about to be sold, right up until the injury which in hindsight ruined his career. And if he hadn't got injured we would probably have finished a few places higher up the league and McLeish may well have stayed. The best natural goalscorer England could boast, finished at thirty.
He was very popular when he first arrived. Although he scored at a very fine rate he didn't do it for long enough to be idolised, as you put it. It became apparent too quickly that we didn't have the players to supply him with enough service, and that he wasn't going to do a whole lot for the team other than goal hang.
The bit about him being "always about to be sold" is just wrong.
No, I agree with what Dave said about him 'always about to be sold'. I lost count the number of times people on here posted that they were convinced that he would be sold off. You only have to look back at Benteke's first season and people on here were convinced that he wouldn't be around for long. Bent in his first full season was linked away quite a lot of the time.
That's certainly true, and whilst Benteke is potentially the best striker we've had since Yorke I've still not really taken to him. It was a long, hard summer after his first season. Obviously his agent advised him badly too in publically pushing for a move which took him down in estimation.
He stayed but struggled with fitness the second season and it took him a while to get going, and he still never came close to some of the brilliance of the previous season.
Again this season, though he's not 100%, he's looked a shadow of his former self.
He struggled with fitness the second season because he picked up a bad injury early on at Norwich, then picked up an horrendous one later on. As for him looking a shadow of his former self this season, that's understandable, he's been out for 5 months. He was never going to come back and click straight away. He did show signs against Spurs though that it might be long before he's back to what he was.
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I'm not sure we'll ever really "take" to a player in that way again, especially given our position as strugglers. If a star comes along, like the point about Benteke above, we just seem to be waiting until they want to move on to better things (or more money) and are reluctant to give that undying adulation. If Grealish comes through and fulfils his potential with us though he might get it!!
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A shame. But he ceased to be of any real benefit the moment Young and Downing left. With a player like Bent, if you've got nobody to pick a pass in the final third, you might as well forget it.
That's true. The decision to scrap playing with wingers and revert to hoofing the ball up the pitch was a sad day for the Villa and one of the main reasons why our football is just so painful on the eye.
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An enigma almost from the start. Him at £18 million was "overpriced" yet in the same window £50 million for Torres and £35 million for Andy Carroll were perfectly fine. He ht the ground running, scored goals at a rate we hadn't seen since Andy Gray at his peak, yet for some reason he was never idolised by our supporters like he should have been. What was even stranger was that somehow, during his first summer, we started saying he cost too much as well. He was always about to be sold, right up until the injury which in hindsight ruined his career. And if he hadn't got injured we would probably have finished a few places higher up the league and McLeish may well have stayed. The best natural goalscorer England could boast, finished at thirty.
He was very popular when he first arrived. Although he scored at a very fine rate he didn't do it for long enough to be idolised, as you put it. It became apparent too quickly that we didn't have the players to supply him with enough service, and that he wasn't going to do a whole lot for the team other than goal hang.
The bit about him being "always about to be sold" is just wrong.
Look back at the transfer speculation every window between his arrival and his injury. He must have had at least six medicals at Liverpool for a start.
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Have his kind of player really been that popular down the Villa? you could argue that we have rarely seen his kind of goalscorer in my time, since the early to mid 80s, but we always seem to favour graft over guile, not that there is owt wrong with that.
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The Bent move has been confirmed now.
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I'm not surprised he's been loaned out, after all we have an embarrassment of riches up front.
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Another way to look at this move I guess could be that Lambert wants to send Bent out to get a run of games under his belt, and hopefully goals so he's sharper when he gets back here. It may not be entirely over for him here.
It probably is, but maybe there's still the faintest glimmer of hope. If he goes there and scores 6 in 6 and comes back half a stone trimmer, then we might just benefit from him come january. Alternatively he may just do enough to tempt someone into making a jan move and we could get at least something back for him.
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Bent seems to type who 12 months down the line will turn round and say "I don't want to play anymore". Will score in a team which put chances on a plate for him, but simply has now desire anymore.
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It all went wrong for Dazza when he went shopping..
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Another way to look at this move I guess could be that Lambert wants to send Bent out to get a run of games under his belt, and hopefully goals so he's sharper when he gets back here. It may not be entirely over for him here.
It probably is, but maybe there's still the faintest glimmer of hope. If he goes there and scores 6 in 6 and comes back half a stone trimmer, then we might just benefit from him come january. Alternatively he may just do enough to tempt someone into making a jan move and we could get at least something back for him.
Agreed with you here Supertom, worst case scenario is he plays shit and even then we're only back to where we are now.
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Brighton are a very workman like team, struggle with attacking flair and have a deeply unpopular manager. I think he'll fit right in.
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http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2892/transfer-zone/2014/11/26/6520021/official-bent-makes-brighton-loan-switch This picture is exactly how I'll remember him.
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Brighton are a very workman like team, struggle with attacking flair and have a deeply unpopular manager. I think he'll fit right in.
That's 3 of our players there now, Bennett, Gardner and Bent.
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Another player who would have flourished in a long term Houllier system in my opinion. Two attacking wide me, creative players behind the front two type arrangement. When he doesn't have to do more than what he is very good at, then he is a great player to have. Otherwise he is such a luxury that a team not playing the right system or worse struggling not playing the right system aimply cannot afford to have.
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I recall the summer after he signed and we sold Young and Downing a newspaper Journo commented to the effect of , what team spends that kind of money on a striker like Bent only to 6 month later sell his supply line.
Bent would only work with the players to provide the chances and we sold our best 2 and never replaced them.Again showing that those in charge had no idea what they were doing.For the player himself even without the 2 players mentioned and with AMC as boss he still scored the injury and benching seemed to have wiped him out.I can't see him recapturing his form even at a lower level.
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We'll draw them in the cup - half their team won't be able to play against us, and we'll still lose!
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We had them in the cup in the 2004/5 era ? I think ?
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I'm not surprised he's been loaned out, after all we have an embarrassment of riches up front.
If he'd ever featured in the starting XI, we'd have had a rich embarrassment up front.
*exits stage left wielding straw boater and cane*
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Is he really on 60k a week, and if so I wonder how much that will drop when his contract runs out and where he will end up
Not that he will have to worry anymore about financial security
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Have his kind of player really been that popular down the Villa? you could argue that we have rarely seen his kind of goalscorer in my time, since the early to mid 80s, but we always seem to favour graft over guile, not that there is owt wrong with that.
I'm not sure I'd associate bent with guile!
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An enigma almost from the start. Him at £18 million was "overpriced" yet in the same window £50 million for Torres and £35 million for Andy Carroll were perfectly fine. He ht the ground running, scored goals at a rate we hadn't seen since Andy Gray at his peak, yet for some reason he was never idolised by our supporters like he should have been. What was even stranger was that somehow, during his first summer, we started saying he cost too much as well. He was always about to be sold, right up until the injury which in hindsight ruined his career. And if he hadn't got injured we would probably have finished a few places higher up the league and McLeish may well have stayed. The best natural goalscorer England could boast, finished at thirty.
He was very popular when he first arrived. Although he scored at a very fine rate he didn't do it for long enough to be idolised, as you put it. It became apparent too quickly that we didn't have the players to supply him with enough service, and that he wasn't going to do a whole lot for the team other than goal hang.
The bit about him being "always about to be sold" is just wrong.
Look back at the transfer speculation every window between his arrival and his injury. He must have had at least six medicals at Liverpool for a start.
I'll take your word for it. My memory is not what it used to be.
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Is Darren Bent still a footballer then?
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So the loping and jogging in the last quarter of an hour when we let the Southampton game slip was his swansong.
Very appropriate.
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Very true, BG.
As somebody shouted out on Monday night, "I've seen more life in a bottle of pop!".
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We had them in the cup in the 2004/5 era ? I think ?
It may have been more recently than that. Have a feeling we won 2-1 at Villa Park Nicky Forster scored for them.
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We had them in the cup in the 2004/5 era ? I think ?
It may have been more recently than that. Have a feeling we won 2-1 at Villa Park Nicky Forster scored for them.
Yep. 23 October 2010.
Great goal from Delph. Forster scored at the death. 3-2.
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As some of you will know I live in Brighton and am on their mailling list. When I saw the e-mail I thought it was a surreal dream, then I saw the image of him in the Brighton kit and was in dream land! ;D I will let you guys know if I spot him around town you stumbling out of Weatherspoons or KFC :-[
Anyway, am pleased with this move. Lambert doesn't fancy him, he is not the Darren Bent of old, and never will be, and we have enough better attacking options anyway.
I wish him no ill halm, but still find it funny that you lot are now wishing him well having slaughtered him for months. You fickle lot! :-X
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I don't mind Bent and wish him well, will always remember his debut and winner against Citeh in particular.
However, he seems to have lost quite a bit of pace, which makes all the difference to his style of play. Should still be a good finisher though.
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I really do question Bents attitude and motivation these days, and most definitely his fitness. However I think a large part of him seeming so sombre about playing football is down to Lamberts treatment of him. Bent could certainly do more and should be fitter, but if he is half assing it for this manager, I don't entirely blame him.
That said Benty kept us up for two seasons, in just half a season of each. I think he proved valuable all told. But for his goals in Houlliers run in and McLeish first half season, we'd have been absolutely done for. And if you recall in McLeish's season there was a stat that came out saying Bent had the fewest touches of any Premier League regular in the league. Yet he still hit 9 league goals in 22 games that season.
I like Bent, and part of me still wants him to come back in a month and finally hit form again, but it's a shame to see someone at just 30, playing like he's a 38 year old desperately clinging on to the last few months of league football he'll play in League 2. He should still be in his pomp.
The funny thing is though. Get Pulis in by January, and Bent back from his loan looking sharper and fitter, and I think he'd possibly start hammering in goals, because he'd be getting service.
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I don't blame Bent, after all, he was 'bombed out', loaned out, stripped of the captaincy; shocking treatment from Lambert and the club. He thrived on good service, particularly when Young and Downing were supplying him with plenty of good crosses - what width is there now to supply him the service? Lambert OUT!!
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I really do question Bents attitude and motivation these days, and most definitely his fitness. However I think a large part of him seeming so sombre about playing football is down to Lamberts treatment of him. Bent could certainly do more and should be fitter, but if he is half assing it for this manager, I don't entirely blame him.
That said Benty kept us up for two seasons, in just half a season of each. I think he proved valuable all told. But for his goals in Houlliers run in and McLeish first half season, we'd have been absolutely done for. And if you recall in McLeish's season there was a stat that came out saying Bent had the fewest touches of any Premier League regular in the league. Yet he still hit 9 league goals in 22 games that season.
I like Bent, and part of me still wants him to come back in a month and finally hit form again, but it's a shame to see someone at just 30, playing like he's a 38 year old desperately clinging on to the last few months of league football he'll play in League 2. He should still be in his pomp.
The funny thing is though. Get Pulis in by January, and Bent back from his loan looking sharper and fitter, and I think he'd possibly start hammering in goals, because he'd be getting service.
The last bit - not going to happen, he's broken, I doubt he'll find another club once his contract finishes.
The bit about not playing for this manager - he was the same at Fulham last season so it's not just down to Lambert.
The reality is he picked up 2-3 injuries fairly close together and all pretty nasty and between them they've taken his pace and with it he's lost the desire needed to be a top player. If he really wanted to he could get himself the fittest he's ever been and adapt his game and get a few more years at the top but I just don't see it in him.
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He looks to me like, at least mentally, he has retired.
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This notion that Bent 'just needs service' inadvertently sums up why he is, in fact, useless. This is a player who requires the entire team to be set up to give him the ball how and where he likes it, and he does nothing else for anyone else. The stats bear this out - whenever Bent has scored more for a club, the team overall has scored fewer (check his seasons at Spurs).
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I really do question Bents attitude and motivation these days, and most definitely his fitness. However I think a large part of him seeming so sombre about playing football is down to Lamberts treatment of him. Bent could certainly do more and should be fitter, but if he is half assing it for this manager, I don't entirely blame him.
That said Benty kept us up for two seasons, in just half a season of each. I think he proved valuable all told. But for his goals in Houlliers run in and McLeish first half season, we'd have been absolutely done for. And if you recall in McLeish's season there was a stat that came out saying Bent had the fewest touches of any Premier League regular in the league. Yet he still hit 9 league goals in 22 games that season.
I like Bent, and part of me still wants him to come back in a month and finally hit form again, but it's a shame to see someone at just 30, playing like he's a 38 year old desperately clinging on to the last few months of league football he'll play in League 2. He should still be in his pomp.
The funny thing is though. Get Pulis in by January, and Bent back from his loan looking sharper and fitter, and I think he'd possibly start hammering in goals, because he'd be getting service.
The last bit - not going to happen, he's broken, I doubt he'll find another club once his contract finishes.
The bit about not playing for this manager - he was the same at Fulham last season so it's not just down to Lambert.
The reality is he picked up 2-3 injuries fairly close together and all pretty nasty and between them they've taken his pace and with it he's lost the desire needed to be a top player. If he really wanted to he could get himself the fittest he's ever been and adapt his game and get a few more years at the top but I just don't see it in him.
The reality is true. I've always held small glimmars of hope that certain players would turn it around, like Savo (toward the tail end of his time here), SVC, Daveed Ginola. I wanted Lee Hendrie to get a chance for O Neill as well, and I felt Phillips was let go too early when he might have done quite well for Pubehead.
Sadly it rarely works out that way. Bent will likely be no different. Likewise I think we're all aware Joe Cole is pretty much a busted flush.
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He doesnt look motivated and hasnt done since the loan move to Fulham. The injuries have done for him Im afraid. Benty is a very rich man
and the desire to put himself out in training every day has gone. He still thinks he should be playing at the highest level but his body knows
that is impossible.
Never slagged the fans off or the club. As I have said before deserved better treatment from the Villa management. Hope he gets a few for Brighton and gets a contract somewhere else.
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Apparently a meaning evil poll had 80% of fans wanting bent in the team
Listening to football phone ins makes me think a good chunk of football fans are complete idiots. But this has topped even that!
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http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/30247417
Darren Bent says he joined Championship side Brighton on loan from Aston Villa "because there are only so many slaps in the face you can take".
The 30-year-old striker joined Villa from Sunderland for an initial £18m in January 2011, but since Paul Lambert became manager in 2012 he has made just 13 Premier League appearances for them.
Bent, who has 13 England caps, spent last season on loan at Fulham.
"I just want to play and I'd reached my boiling point," he told BBC Sussex.
"It was hard not playing in Paul's first season, but this was worse. The team was struggling, not scoring goals and you still don't get a chance. There are only so many slaps in the face you can take."
Lambert's side have managed just six goals in 12 Premier League games this season, and sit 16th, with a league-low 24 shots on target.
Sami Hyypia's Brighton have problems of their own, having struggled to recover from the sale of Leonardo Ulloa, who scored 26 times in 58 games for them, and are languishing in 20th in the Championship.
Their top-scorer this term is centre-half Lewis Dunk on five.
This week, summer signing Chris O'Grady was loaned to Sheffield United after failing to find the net in 11 matches, while Craig Mackail-Smith returned to former club Peterborough United.
"Anyone who knows me knows I just want to work hard all week and play on Saturday," added Bent.
"I want to slot in at Brighton and do everything I can to help them improve. I'm just desperate to play football because it's been far too long."
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I don't really blame him for being fucked off with being dumped into the bomb squad having been bought for so much money and been made captain of the side albeit temporarily. Someone will write a thesis about this one day because the whole thing is so bizarre. Bent has had a pretty good career and part of him probably has mentally retired and is just seeing out his time in the game. He's made a lot of money, scored a lot of goals in the PL, played for his country and been fucked around by us. I don't blame him really for wanting out.
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That's not what he's saying there though is it? He's saying he's hungy (though he'd be pretty full by the look of him) and just wants to play.
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This notion that Bent 'just needs service' inadvertently sums up why he is, in fact, useless. This is a player who requires the entire team to be set up to give him the ball how and where he likes it, and he does nothing else for anyone else. The stats bear this out - whenever Bent has scored more for a club, the team overall has scored fewer (check his seasons at Spurs).
Hoddle always had the same bugbear about Steve Archibald.
He was onto something, but didn't have the stats to back it up. Plus he was a big faith-healing loon, and his message got lost in that a bit.
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The team was struggling, not scoring goals and you still don't get a chance. There are only so many slaps in the face you can take.
Funny this season Darren has been played pretty frequently and even when coming on as a sub has looked rather below par.
Last season Fulham fans towards the end booed him when he played with some scary vitriol. These are Fulham fans we are talking about, some of the most laid back and easy going fans in the league and yet he was so half arsed he got even them angry.
Sorry Darren, Lambert is not popular with us but you can't pin the blame on him for your lack of effort.
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That's not what he's saying there though is it? He's saying he's hungy (though he'd be pretty full by the look of him) and just wants to play.
By reaching his boiling point I imagine it means he was rather fucked off with everything and is glad to be out.
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But it's only a month's loan and Villa are still paying a big part of his wages and he has got to come back to us, Lambert and all.
Hardly doing himself any favours saying what he has.
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Bent was given one last chance this season to make it work. It suited both the player and the club to try and get him to be an integral part of the 1st team squad.
For Bent to be at his best, you have to set the team up to entirely focus on him as Monty said above. We do not have the money to be able to bring the players in that would be necessary to play his style (or the style that he used to play when he was effective).
He is an experienced player and the eye for when to move on the pitch does not go, it is only the speed of getting to the ball that diminishes. Although he has not had many chances this season, he has generally been in the match day squad. In football you have to take the opportunities when they come around but I do not think Bent has the desire to adapt.
I think that for the best for player and club, he should move on permanently in January or we pay his contract up so that all cam move on rather than waiting and hoping.
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We all know by now that Lambert makes it up as he goes along. He is winging it currently with the claim that our style of play is based on pace. That gives him the excuse to say Bent is not quick enough to fit in with his current master plan. When Benteke comes back we also know what comes next. Twenty two carat Route One. It is absolutely inevitable with a midfield devoid of creativity and imagination.
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We all know by now that Lambert makes it up as he goes along. He is winging it currently with the claim that our style of play is based on pace. That gives him the excuse to say Bent is not quick enough to fit in with his current master plan. When Benteke comes back we also know what comes next. Twenty two carat Route One. It is absolutely inevitable with a midfield devoid of creativity and imagination.
The problem we have is that with any way we want to play, our midfield lacks what is required. If we want to play counter attacking football it can only be played by the forwards as the midfield play too deep and are not quick enough to get up in support.
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Feelings very similar to Supertom on this. I feel he was jettisoned too early by Lambert in his first season. I remember September two years ago when he was dropped for the home game against the Baggies for Benteke who was still finding his feet, and after an hour of being pissed-off on the bench he came on, scored (think he cleared a shot off the line too) and you could tell he was motivated to prove how good he was. That was the time for Lambert to keep him involved but Benteke's rise to prominence and in my view, which obviously can't be proven, Lambert's unease and inexperience at managing players with big price-tags/reputation did for Bent. Add in the fact that he's the type of player that thrives on a side that gets plenty of crosses into the box as well as through balls for a striker playing on the shoulder of the last defender, which we only started managing to do on a regular basis from Feb to May '13, and at that stage Benteke's star was shining bright and Bent was truly on the wane. A real mis-use of an expensive asset.
Here's the Guardian report of that Baggies game:
Darren Bent's late landmark earns Aston Villa draw with West Brom
Aston Villa 1 West Brom 1
Premier League
Aston Villa
Darren Bent 80
West Brom
Shane Long 51
Stuart James at Villa Park
The Guardian, Sunday 30 September 2012 18.15 BST
On a day when Darren Bent endured the disappointment of being dropped in front of the England manager, the Aston Villa striker provided the best possible riposte as he came off the substitutes' bench to score 10 minutes from time and deny West Bromwich Albion the victory that would have lifted them to third in the table.
All the frustration that Bent had been bottling up on the sidelines, where he had a face like thunder at times as he watched the two strikers picked ahead of him huff and puff without success, came to the surface as he celebrated the 150th league goal of his career.
Having also lost the captaincy earlier in the month, it was easy to understand why Bent was so fired up as he set off in the direction of the dugout before being mobbed by team-mates.
It was a big call for Paul Lambert to leave out the club's record signing, especially as Bent scored against Southampton last weekend, and it looked as though the Villa manager's decision would backfire when Shane Long, returning to the ground where he was on the receiving end of a dreadful tackle from Alan Hutton last season, put Albion ahead in the 51st minute.
There was a sense that Villa were beginning to run out of ideas when Lambert replaced Christian Benteke with Bent in the 69th minute. Neither Benteke nor Gabriel Agbonlahor, who kept his place after scoring twice against Manchester City in midweek, looked particularly threatening, and it was easy to imagine Bent relishing the chance to prove Lambert wrong.
His eyes must have lit up when Albion failed to deal with Barry Bannan's corner and the loose ball dropped invitingly for him to sweep a left-footed volley beyond Ben Foster with what was only his third touch of the game, to give Villa the point they deserved.
Roy Hodgson, the England manager, was still in the ground at that point. "It was fantastic," said Bent, who was omitted from the England squad last month. "Obviously it would have been nice to play from the start of the game but I managed to get the goal so it gets us a point."
Asked whether his goal was the perfect response to being placed on the bench, Bent replied: "Yeah, maybe. It's obviously been a difficult couple of weeks, losing the captaincy first off then finding out I wasn't playing today. But at the same time I thought the boys played fantastically well and battled all through the game, and we deserved a point."
Lambert, who showed his ruthless edge when he dropped Shay Given after the second game of the season, insisted there was no ill-feeling between him and Bent. "He's got nothing to prove to me, Darren, because I know what he can do," Lambert said. "As I've said before, I'll need everybody at the football club."
Although Albion started brightly and could have gone ahead when Long headed wide in profligate fashion, Villa looked the more accomplished side in the first half. Ben Foster, poor in midweek against Liverpool, tipped Brett Holman's 30-yard half-volley over the bar and produced an even better save to deny the same player later in the half, when the Australian's angled shot took a wicked deflection. "I said there were no worries about Ben Foster," said Steve Clarke, Albion's head coach, who had to reorganise after Chris Brunt pulled his hamstring and Billy Jones picked up a knee injury.
Long's goal arrived after Zoltan Gera's perfectly weighted pass released Morrison in the inside right channel. Played onside by Matthew Lowton, Morrison delivered a low centre that Long tapped in at the far post after Ron Vlaar had tried and failed to sweep the ball behind.
In a frantic finish, Romelu Lukaku twice came close to restoring Albion's lead, only to be denied by the post and Brad Guzan's reflexes – while at the other end Bent's whipped effort flashed inches over. By that point, though, the striker had already made his mark. "His goal was brilliant, it was a world-class finish – that's what he does," Lambert said. "I explained that the captaincy thing was to let him do what he did there, which is to concentrate on scoring."
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I don't really blame him for being fucked off with being dumped into the bomb squad having been bought for so much money and been made captain of the side albeit temporarily. Someone will write a thesis about this one day because the whole thing is so bizarre. Bent has had a pretty good career and part of him probably has mentally retired and is just seeing out his time in the game. He's made a lot of money, scored a lot of goals in the PL, played for his country and been fucked around by us. I don't blame him really for wanting out.
Totally agree with this. Lambert has messed the guy about something chronic. The only caveat is, I wonder if Bent's injury left as a lesser player and that's why he wasn't playing. Having said that, no way would I feel motivated if that's how I was treated.
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I think he's bone idle and therefore find it hard to warm to him as a player. I don't think he'll ever get more than five goals in a Premier League campaign again.
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I think he's bone idle and therefore find it hard to warm to him as a player. I don't think he'll ever get more than five goals in a Premier League campaign again.
Not only is he bone idle he is b-b-b-b-aaaaaaad to the bone. He is not stupid though, and well knows on which side his bread is buttered and how to work his ticket to screw the most return for the least effort.
In one sense, I don't blame him; he is just looking after number one. When all is said and done, he was b(r)ought in on as a mercenary with a specific mission: to keep us in the top flight, which he did. He probably thinks: I did the job, and now they have changed the rules sold all the mofockin wingers and expect me to track back and put my foot in and run around like a demented dervish. Fork that for a game of soldiers. Shudda asked for the money for the whole contract up front.
People talk about Lineker and Greaves and Gilzean and foxes in boxes but the game has moved on and, as Monty has argued, he is now about as much use as a marzipan fireguard. For fuck sake, one of the managers at Fulham, a very well respected coach, basically said Dozy Daz was a fucking fat fucker and should fuck off out of it.
Lambo has lost it big time, to be sure, and has now achieved critical mass of unresolved bats in his belfry but don't go beating him with Dozy Daz stick.
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I can't believe anyone is arguing this is lambert's fault
Bent has been shit for three or four seasons now
He did shot at fulham
He did shit under Mcleish
Lambert was proved absolutely right in ditching him for benteke
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He was good under McLeish, 9 in 22 league games, until that injury at Wigan. Since that injury he hasn't been the same player. There are plenty of things to give Lambert stick for, Darren Bent isn't one of them.
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He was good under McLeish, 9 in 22 league games, until that injury at Wigan. Since that injury he hasn't been the same player. There are plenty of things to give Lambert stick for, Darren Bent isn't one of them.
We'll never really know how things might have turned out though. At the start of Lambert's first season Bent scored three in seven, only to be hardly seen again until the end of the season.
If he hadn't been ostracised for no reason, maybe he wouldn't have decided that he couldn't really be arsed anymore.
But then if he had been used more, maybe Benteke and Weimann (at the time) wouldn't have developed as well or as quickly and we'd still have been worse off overall.
Cause and effect, innit.
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I don't remember bent scoring three in seven at all!
Even under Mcleish his lack of contribution to play was a problem. I remember several of us arguing - after or best performance under Mcleish when gabby played up top v chelsea - that bent just didn't offer the hold up, link and target play needed to play up front by himself
Lambert spotted that straight away and tried a diamond for a bit. He played bEnteke in the 4-2 win at citeh in the cup - and it's been obvious ever since that bent's days of being a good top flight player are finished
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About the only tactical thing which Lambert has got right is to not play Bent, and he still managed to make a mistake in bringing him on against Southampton. Bent kept us up one year with his goals, but so did Marcus Allback - and Allback tracked back.
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The thing Lambert should have done is keep him away from the buffet table.
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you mean he ate that as well as the grub on it? Greedy fucker
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I wonder if he will get a recall after scoring today. That must really fuck with Lambert's mind
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This notion that Bent 'just needs service' inadvertently sums up why he is, in fact, useless. This is a player who requires the entire team to be set up to give him the ball how and where he likes it, and he does nothing else for anyone else. The stats bear this out - whenever Bent has scored more for a club, the team overall has scored fewer (check his seasons at Spurs).
I'm not sure I buy that. On that basis, the fact that he scored goals for us in his first half-season should have meant relegation.
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Well, Bent came in when we had nobody scoring at all - essentially, we were a team set up for a goal poacher but without an actual goal poacher. Bent filled that role and we did better, but he contributes so little to the team that, essentially, if he's going to score at all then he's going to be the only one in the team doing it - everyone else has a little extra work to do away from goal in order to set him up.
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I think Bent was much more motivated by England than anything else. Once the injury at Wigan wrecked his chances of being England number 9 in the Euros, he has never looked the same since.
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Well, Bent came in when we had nobody scoring at all - essentially, we were a team set up for a goal poacher but without an actual goal poacher. Bent filled that role and we did better, but he contributes so little to the team that, essentially, if he's going to score at all then he's going to be the only one in the team doing it - everyone else has a little extra work to do away from goal in order to set him up.
I take your point but the bit in bold is a huge exaggeration. You can't tell me none of the clubs he played for got any benefit from him because that demonstrably isn't true. There are circumstances in which Bent can be perfect for your team - as indeed he was when we first bought him. He never got a crack at one of the really top clubs because a) they could afford better, and b) their other players contributed enough goals to not require what he could do, but a career record of better than 1 in 3 would do, and did, very nicely for most clubs. Now age and injury have caught up with him he's a busted flush, obviously, but I wouldn't dismiss him quite so casually.
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I'm obviously not speaking literally - of course other players in his teams did score goals, but his presence made this less likely because of his all-round non-contribution. 1 in 3 is good if you assume that the rest of the team is also fairly likely to score, but with Bent around this is less the case. He was perfect for us for one half-season because the team was set up for a finisher but didn't have one until he showed up, but the amount by which he will improve a team has a very solid limit on it.
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Fair enough. I know you like your forwards to be allrounders, pivoting their bollocks off, whereas I prefer them to be above all else a reliable source of goals, so we shall have to agree to differ on this one.
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Well, they do eventually have to pivot round and face goal. All-round does include goals - Heskeys need not apply.
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The thing you have to ask yourself is would you have Bent ahead of any of the other main strikers at the club right now? For me no. Certainly not ahead of Benteke, and for all their inconsistencies Gabby and Weinmann both have things to offer and at least have a few goals to their names this season. I do think that Bent has had a bit of a rough time under Lambert. For his first two seasons at the club he did pretty well for us, and then two seasons ago when Benteke was still settling in and Gabby was out of form, and Weinmann still settling in, then I think Bent should have easily been our second choice striker, or played a bigger role off the bench anyway. But fact remains that since then his form and fitness has hit the buffers, and it makes sense all round to send him to a club where he will get regular games.
I did think he would struggle even in the Championship, but fair play to him he's off the mark.
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"Pivoting their bollocks off" is definitely the best phrase I've heard for days.
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Good finish.
Hopefully this will get Bent fitter and he can come back to (hopefully) a new manager and we can start getting some goals out of him. Give him the right service and he's still got the movement and instinct. If he keeps scoring for Brighton it will undoubtedly do his confidence the world of good.
Fitness is the big thing. He needs to shed some paunch and come back fit enough for the Prem.
I hope he's still got something at this level. It's unlikely but it's more likely than us signing anyone half decent to replace him.
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Dailt Star (http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/416153/Former-England-striker-Darren-Bent-200-000-supercars-stolen-Xmas)
Former England striker has £200,000 supercars stolen in burglary days before Xmas
HEARTLESS thieves have raided the home of Aston Villa's £18million striker Darren Bent and driven away two of his luxury supercars just days before Christmas.
By Tom Rawle / Published 18th December 2014
The 30-year-old's home in Little Aston, Staffordshire, was targeted in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Raiders got away with the England international's high-spec Range Rover and top of the range Audi RS6 – believed to have a combined worth of almost £200,000.
Staffordshire police rushed to the address at around 3.15am and discovered locks on a uPVC window had been snapped using a new breaking technique.
They found thieves had then made an "orderly" search of the house and found the keys to each car before driving them away.
Sergeant Richard Morris, of Staffordshire Police, said thieves are now more commonly targeting the flawed cylinder locks.
He said: “Thieves have devised methods of snapping these types of cylinders locks in a matter of seconds while still being able to operate the lock to open the door.
"They’re then able to look for the keys to the cars they’ve seen outside and drive them away.
“This threat can be reduced simply by upgrading the cylinder to one that is specifically designed to prevent this method of attack."
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shame he couldn't have been in one of his cars when came on to the pitch for us. Might have got him somewhere near the ball on occasion.
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I had my Toyota Supra stolen about ten years ago. Two weeks later it was found by the police. My drivers door lock and ignition needed some repair but on the plus side I had gained a selection of dance CD's in the glove compartment and an impressive amount of women's G-strings scattered all over the inside of the car considering it had only been gone a fortnight. I'm surprised the thief had the energy to pinch cars.
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Wonder why they didn't take the Ferrari unless db9 has it down in Brighton with him
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Good finish.
Hopefully this will get Bent fitter and he can come back to (hopefully) a new manager and we can start getting some goals out of him. Give him the right service and he's still got the movement and instinct. If he keeps scoring for Brighton it will undoubtedly do his confidence the world of good.
Fitness is the big thing. He needs to shed some paunch and come back fit enough for the Prem.
I hope he's still got something at this level. It's unlikely but it's more likely than us signing anyone half decent to replace him.
No chance
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I had my D reg VW Golf broken into in Italy.
They chucked a load of CDs around as they went through the glove compartment and nicked a packet of fags that had been left on the passenger seat.
It wasn't until I drove all the way to work and noticed the hole in the door where they'd drilled just below the lock and flicked it open that I even realised it'd been broken into, my car was always such a mess.
Totally feeling your pain today, DB9.
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I thought this clever the first time read. But I've realised on second looks that it's got an iambic pentameter thing going on.
Lambo has lost it big time, to be sure,
And has now achieved critical mass
Of unresolved bats in his belfry
But don't go beating him with Dozy
Daz stick.
Laurence Olivier or Peter
Sellers - either voice suits.
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I had my D reg VW Golf broken into in Italy.
They chucked a load of CDs around as they went through the glove compartment and nicked a packet of fags that had been left on the passenger seat.
It wasn't until I drove all the way to work and noticed the hole in the door where they'd drilled just below the lock and flicked it open that I even realised it'd been broken into, my car was always such a mess.
Totally feeling your pain today, DB9.
There's next to zero car crime over here, mainly due to the fact that it's almost impossible to get stolen cars off the island. My missus routinely loves her car parked outside the house unlocked with the keys still in it.
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My missus routinely loves her car parked outside the house
Well, whatever does it for her.
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My missus routinely loves her car parked outside the house
Well, whatever does it for her.
That's made me think of that pic of a bloke shagging a car. Mid bleach please.
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My missus routinely loves her car parked outside the house
Well, whatever does it for her.
Crazy kid!
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Just reading this, amazingly the wine stayed in my mouth. No need to clean the keyboard.
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He scored another today. Hopefully somebody takes him off our hands in January.
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Brighton stayed at the hotel where I did a course today. They were in the meeting room down the corridor to us and I held the door open for Sami Hyypia when I slipped out. Unfortunately I didn't cross paths with any of our lads, not that I would have known what to say.
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Brighton stayed at the hotel where I did a course today. They were in the meeting room down the corridor to us and I held the door open for Sami Hyypia when I slipped out. Unfortunately I didn't cross paths with any of our lads, not that I would have known what to say.
Well maybe you should get better trousers as opposed to having your junk slip out in front of other men.
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Interesting how your mind works TV.
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Interesting how your mind works TV.
It's a dark, dark place.
*Classical music plays loudly in the background. Wipes away tears. Sharpens knives*
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There's next to zero car crime over here, mainly due to the fact that it's almost impossible to get stolen cars off the island. My missus routinely loves her car parked outside the house unlocked with the keys still in it.
Ah yes, the myth of Little Aston and Four Oaks. Full of doddering old Doug Ellis types? If you're not a drug dealer, you're a professional car thief or dimwitted footballer who shows off their bling by leaving their cars parked outside....
Have a look at the interior of some of the more expensive properties for sale in B74 on www.rightmove.co.uk
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Hyypia has quit as Brighton manager, could mean big fat Daz on his way back to B6.
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He's done pretty much everything that could be asked of him down there, so I wonder if somebody near the top of the Championship might fancy throwing a million or two at us for him in January.
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My missus routinely loves her car parked outside the house
Well, whatever does it for her.
That's made me think of that pic of a bloke shagging a car. Mid bleach please.
You need to watch The Counselor, Cameron Diaz & a car windscreen...................
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Fun(ish) fact. Of the last 10 Brighton games, in only 2 of them have none Villa players scored.
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Apparently me holding the door open for Hyypia was too much for him. I'm sure there's a few people who would like me to hold the door open for Lambert if it had the same result.
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He's done pretty much everything that could be asked of him down there, so I wonder if somebody near the top of the Championship might fancy throwing a million or two at us for him in January.
He'd be perfect in the Championship for a team looking for that final push. Not often you get one of PL's best ever goalsscorers available. He needs a run of games in a team that work around him and just get him the ball in areas where he is lethal. Championship level defenders won't always have the required level of awareness so he can take advantage. His time is past with us and did the business when we most needed it. I wish him the best in finding an Indian summer to his career.
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He's done pretty much everything that could be asked of him down there, so I wonder if somebody near the top of the Championship might fancy throwing a million or two at us for him in January.
He'd be perfect in the Championship for a team looking for that final push. Not often you get one of PL's best ever goalsscorers available. He needs a run of games in a team that work around him and just get him the ball in areas where he is lethal. Championship level defenders won't always have the required level of awareness so he can take advantage. His time is past with us and did the business when we most needed it. I wish him the best in finding an Indian summer to his career.
I think we'd be looking at closer to a million than two to be honest, if that. We may decide just to give him up early for next to nowt like Ireland.
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As he is out of contract in the summer, and he is still going to want to pick up decent wages, I doubt we'd get much for him from a Championship club. If he leaves in Jan I reckon there is a good chance it will be on a free.
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As he is out of contract in the summer, and he is still going to want to pick up decent wages, I doubt we'd get much for him from a Championship club. If he leaves in Jan I reckon there is a good chance it will be on a free.
Even if we end up paying 50-75% of his wages that's still going to be the at least the equivalent of another Sanchez or Okore's wages freed up (if the rumoured £65K/week was true)
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I doubt he would even start at Blackpool at the moment
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He's used "Super excited", "hey guys" and bought half and half scarf's. He should not only have be thrown out for being a Brummie Red twat, but he should also have been put in stocks so people could pelt the whopper.
He sounds like the Arsenal fan out of the Fast Show.
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He's used "Super excited", "hey guys" and bought half and half scarf's. He should not only have be thrown out for being a Brummie Red twat, but he should also have been put in stocks so people could pelt the whopper.
He sounds like the Arsenal fan out of the Fast Show.
I appreciate we've wasted a lot of money and Bent looks like he has practically retired these days, but that's pretty harsh on him
;-)
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I can see someone taking a punt on him in January. Leicester? Palace?
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If they do I hope we are savvy enough to make it a loan then go permanent so he can't score against us.