Gabby

[Chris Smith]

If Gabby and Darren Bent were both put up far sale this summer you'd see a higher calibre of club after our man.

Put Bent in a side that has to play against a 10 man defence most weeks and he'd score less than Gabby. If it was all about scoring records he'd be in South Africa.

[eastie]

If Gabby and Darren Bent were both put up far sale this summer you'd see a higher calibre of club after our man.

Put Bent in a side that has to play against a 10 man defence most weeks and he'd score less than Gabby. If it was all about scoring records he'd be in South Africa.

Bent should be in south Africa and heskey shouldn't be!

Gabby has age on his side but he must look to improve his finishing and goal tally next season, he will be better off alongside a player who  complements his style.

[Concrete John]

Bent should be in south Africa and heskey shouldn't be!

Bent isn't good enough for international football and Heskey, despite what we think of him, does a job for his country that Bent couldn't.

I'd take Bent over Heskey in the Villa side any day of the week, but I'd play Heskey for England ahead of Bent.  Weird, but true!

[curiousorange]

Bent is this generation's Ian Wright - prolific at club level, completely out of his depth against international defences.

[pauliewalnuts]

If Gabby and Darren Bent were both put up far sale this summer you'd see a higher calibre of club after our man.

Put Bent in a side that has to play against a 10 man defence most weeks and he'd score less than Gabby. If it was all about scoring records he'd be in South Africa.

And Gabby's not in South Africa, and also doesn't have the scoring record, having not made the last 30, which Bent did.

Like I said, he's a good player who could, and hopefully will, get a lot better.

Whilst it isn't all about scoring records, we need someone in next season who will put the ball in the net more often than Gabby and Carew have done (I would mention Heskey here, but it doesn't seem appropriate). A look at the goals for column for the last two seasons shows where we need to be improving more than anywhere else.

Hopefully it'll come from Gabby.

[TheSandman]

As Chris implied in his post Gabby is a better all round striker than Bent. He lacks Bent's scoring touch but he has other attributes.

I agree that Heskey shouldn't be in South Africa as whilst it's true he plays a role in the team as he has got older and lost confidence in the last year he has become less and less effective. However, I also agree that Bent's skill as a goalscorer doesn't translate on the international scene and anyway he's unable to play this hard working, defender scaring targetman role that Heskey has made his own. I actually think that Gabby could do this but with more goals and so I think it's not Bent, not Heskey but Gabby who should be in South Africa.

That said I'd probably want to see if an effective partnership could be made with Rooney and Crouchy whose international scoring record is magnificent before I tried Gabby.

[eastie]

A striker is measured by goals- give me a natural finisher like bent or owen than heskey anyday- hopefully gabby will start finishing better and get more goals next yr.

[Concrete John]

A striker is measured by goals- give me a natural finisher like bent or owen than heskey anyday- hopefully gabby will start finishing better and get more goals next yr.

But these natural scorers often lack some other basics of the game and don't do too much for the team, so need a striker alongside them to do the donkey work.  Hence why the Owen/Heskey partnership was so great in it's prime.

In Gabby we seem to have a player who does good work for the team and weighs with a decent goal tally himself, which is why he's so highly rated.  My only issue is that he probably hasn't got the touch and intellignece to be good enough for the very top of the game.

[MoetVillan]

Bent or Heskey for England IMO is a misnomer.  For starters, Bent hasnt scored enough important goals for England or for a top team.  You can argue Spurs all you like, but he wasnt making it count for Jellyface, who everyone lauds on here as a great wheeler dealer.  So suddenly he is not good enough for Spurs but someone MON should be buying?, I dont get the logic.  As for Heskey, the stats say, he plays with Rooney, Rooney scores.  Would you rather have a team, with not necessarily all the best players, or a team of indivuals.  I think England will get further this year as while i thought that man for man in 2006 we had a stronger squad, this time we have a better team.  And Hesky is in it for me.  I also think we have a strong asset in Gab.  A local lad, that wants to play for us, wants to improve and is fast as fuck.  Brilliant

[enigma]

As far as England are concerned, it's not a case of having either Heskey or Bent in the squad but Defoe or Bent. Heskey isn't picked for England to score goals as such. That much should be obvious by now.

Strange as it might seem but England will score more goals with a Rooney / Heskey partnership than they would with Rooney / Bent or Bent / Defoe for instance.

I think Rooney and Crouch will be the first choice strikers if he goes with two up front anyway. Otherwise it'll be Rooney on his own with Gerrard in behind.

[paul_e]

The problem with Gabby is that he is very very good in the big games, which makes it difficult to be overly negative of him.

I think what really needs to happen is for him to be rested more as I really think he sees bolton on the fixture list and thinks "80% in that one then".  I think he's doing htat, as much as anything, because he knows he needs to be able to play 90minutes 55-60 times a season, which is a hell of a lot to ask.

[Ross]

The problem with Gabby is that he is very very good in the big games, which makes it difficult to be overly negative of him.

That's a problem??!!

[Osbourne4England]

Gabby is absolutely wank. Please get rid of him! I'd snap anyone's hand off if the offered £8-£10million for him!

Seriously, his touch is crap, his finishing is woeful...but I could put up with this as he has blistering pace if he actually tried from time to time. But no, he seems content to strole about and pick up his wages. The bone idle twat

[Mazrim]

Gabby is absolutely wank. Please get rid of him! I'd snap anyone's hand off if the offered £8-£10million for him!

Seriously, his touch is crap, his finishing is woeful...but I could put up with this as he has blistering pace if he actually tried from time to time. But no, he seems content to strole about and pick up his wages. The bone idle twat

Please just fuck off.

[pauliewalnuts]

Gabby is absolutely wank. Please get rid of him! I'd snap anyone's hand off if the offered £8-£10million for him!

Seriously, his touch is crap, his finishing is woeful...but I could put up with this as he has blistering pace if he actually tried from time to time. But no, he seems content to strole about and pick up his wages. The bone idle twat

Please just fuck off.

He's been fucked off already.