Summer 2010 Transfer Thread: B*llsh*t, Rumours & Wishes

[Concrete John]

bent

So you're saying we shouldn't be trying to sign 24 goals in 37 appearances, third highest scorer in the league this season, Darren Bent because he isnt foreign?

No, he's saying we shouldn't sign him as he was Spurs 4th choice striker 12 months ago.

Do try to keep up!

[Mazrim]

Now, Jermain Defoe is a good striker but I'd choose Darren Bent over him every time. I've also been saying that for years.

[cheltenhamlion]

He scores goals and lot's of them. Who gives two shites about his game?

[Monty]

Now, Jermain Defoe is a good striker but I'd choose Darren Bent over him every time. I've also been saying that for years.

Harry Redknapp and Fabio Capello would disagree with that.

(Okay, Redknapp's not a great example, but it's hard to argue with Big Don Capello on issues like this.)

[Mazrim]

Now, Jermain Defoe is a good striker but I'd choose Darren Bent over him every time. I've also been saying that for years.

Harry Redknapp and Fabio Capello would disagree with that.

(Okay, Redknapp's not a great example, but it's hard to argue with Big Don Capello on issues like this.)

I dont care. In the premier league, he scores more goals.

[Greg N'Ash]

i'm saying redknapp brought in crouch and defoe, and needed to sell. keane he couldn't give away so bent was sacrificed

[cheltenhamlion]

He couldn't give Keane away? That's plain daft Greg.

[Monty]

It's not quite as simple as individual vs. individual. Bent is flourishing at Sunderland, but was clearly out of place in the Tottenham system, and for reasons similar to the ones I've set out in the past as to whether he might struggle for us - I agree with Collymore, he doesn't quite have the intelligence, movement or anything approaching a rounded game that is so necessary at the top-level. Even Defoe has worked hard to add other attributes to his natural game - Bent I suspect either hasn't tried, or hasn't been able to.

I think it's a matter of a side playing to a striker's strengths.  Spurs never did that with Bent and Sunderland are, hence he's scoring so many.  And lets not forget his goals to games ratio wasn't bad for Spurs either.

For what it's worth, I agree that he doesn't have a great all round game, but then neither does Defoe, IMO.

The difference is Defoe clearly makes more of an effort to overcome his shortcomings, which do go some way towards doing so, whereas I feel that Bent is someone who prefers to just play his natural game in his comfort zone. It's definitely a matter of playing to a striker's strengths, as it is indeed for any position.

I feel that goal-tallies can really tell a lie sometimes about strikers. Ok sure, Bent scores plenty, but how many does the rest of his team score? He scores goals in teams that are geared towards feeding him, which basically means that the rest of the team don't score many goals, so as a team they don't really score many more than Bent himself. Sunderland's midfield is defensive and counter-attack based, and they play a big target man up front to create space for Bent. You could argue that's the way we play - I'd say that's the problem with the way we play.

If you look at a lot of the goals that Drogba, Tevez and so on have scored, they have simply been on the end of teamwork that often includes them in the move, resulting in tap-ins. The idea that Gabby couldn't finish some of those chances but Bent would is one I find very difficult to imagine. If you put Drogba in our team, there's no guarantee that he'd score more than Carew, or that our team would score more than they do now.

[Greg N'Ash]

He couldn't give Keane away? That's plain daft Greg.

well he's on loan at celtic which is virtually the football equivalent of the knackers yard

[Concrete John]

Now, Jermain Defoe is a good striker but I'd choose Darren Bent over him every time. I've also been saying that for years.

Harry Redknapp and Fabio Capello would disagree with that.

(Okay, Redknapp's not a great example, but it's hard to argue with Big Don Capello on issues like this.)

I think Bent is suited to a club side that get the ball forward quickly and, as I said before, play to his strengths.  With England he needs to fit in around a lot of quite frankly better players and play to their strengths, which he probably can't do, and it's a more patient technical approach.

So I agree with Capello not picking him, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't be a good player for us!

[Mazrim]

i'm saying redknapp brought in crouch and defoe, and needed to sell. keane he couldn't give away so bent was sacrificed

So? What's that got to do with anything?
You said; "Surely there's SOMEONE better than spurs' 4th choice striker?"
Firstly, he's the third highest scorer in the league (5 more than Defoe, even though Defoe scored 5 in one game), secondly he isn't Spurs' 4th choice striker now, should never have been so and has outscored all their strikers despite being in a poorer team.

This is the guy you're sugegsting we shouldn't sign? That we should do better than?
This is probably why you're loathe to name players we should sign, yes?

You're not alone though. A few people were saying at the start of the season things like "Darren Bent? pfft."

[Chris Smith]

i'm saying redknapp brought in crouch and defoe, and needed to sell. keane he couldn't give away so bent was sacrificed

Bent played about 30 league games in 2 years at Spurs, he was clearly 4th choice.

[Lv]

I'd take Louis Saha over Bent, full fitness he's world class.. his proneness to injury is a worry however..

[Monty]

Now, Jermain Defoe is a good striker but I'd choose Darren Bent over him every time. I've also been saying that for years.

Harry Redknapp and Fabio Capello would disagree with that.

(Okay, Redknapp's not a great example, but it's hard to argue with Big Don Capello on issues like this.)

I think Bent is suited to a club side that get the ball forward quickly and, as I said before, play to his strengths.  With England he needs to fit in around a lot of quite frankly better players and play to their strengths, which he probably can't do, and it's a more patient technical approach.

So I agree with Capello not picking him, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't be a good player for us!

That's one way of putting it. Another way of putting it is that both Spurs and England are trying to get to the highest level of football competition (though England are rather closer than Spurs), and that Bent's lack of those technical skills holds him and therefore whatever team he's playing for back at the highest level. As we want to be competing at the top, we have to play a more patient, technical style (which I believe we will), and thus Bent would not fit in with us as he's frankly consistently found wanting at the top level.

[Mazrim]

I'd take Louis Saha over Bent, full fitness he's world class.. his proneness to injury is a worry however..

I've always rated him too but fitness wise, he's about as reliable as Mr Bump.