Why are the Media so Anti-Villa?

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

I was going to start a new thread but I’ve put it in here. Did anyone see You’re On Sky Sports last night? I don’t normally watch this but I had control of the remote and one of the main topics was Darren Bent. Jason Cundy was fronting the show and he was a complete arse and even said that the move and the money paid smacked of desperation! So any ‘Sky 5’ club can spend what they want but we cannot? Basically Cundy was, imo spouting a load of crap.

Perry Groves was his guest and to be fair to him he spoke a lot of sense saying that he almost guarantees goals etc  but he did make the faux pas of suggesting that Randy was in the wrong not giving this money to MON to spend

[PeterWithe]

On the iPlayer:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00xltwz/Look_North_(North_East_and_Cumbria)_19_01_2011/

Nice to see Villa is headline news somewhere...

What was the answer to 'who is going to finish higher' I cant quite make it out.

[Shrek]

In the Sun they say Liverpool want Ashley Young, but deal unlikely as Villa want 20million.

Which part of "they are not for sale end of story" didn't you understand?

Honestly It's soo sad.

Jason Cundy is a snob who thinks he was a great player and sounds clueless when talking about Football.

[PeterWithe]

In the Sun they say Liverpool want Ashley Young, but deal unlikely as Villa want 20million.

Which part of "they are not for sale end of story" didn't you understand?

Honestly It's soo sad.

Jason Cundy is a snob who thinks he was a great player and sounds clueless when talking about Football.

In my experience as a Villa fan it is never the best idea to start crowing that we wont sell a player.

[Lee]

Heard Green on 5 live last spouting the same old crap about Randy not giving M O'N money. When did he become the Oracle of all things football.

The only presenter i've heard question O'N spending is Mark Saggers on TS.

He knows nothing about nothing ..  typical; BBC pundit

[TimTheVillain]

Tom Dross with a more informed view in the Evening Mail ......

http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/west-bromwich-albion-fc/west-bromwich-albion-fc-news/2011/01/19/darren-bent-transfer-tom-ross-on-the-impact-for-midlands-football-97319-28011936/

[garyshawsknee]

Jason Cundy is a snob who thinks he was a great player and sounds clueless when talking about Football.

Should that be a K instead of a S in the word snob?

[TimTheVillain]

Jason Cundy is a snob who thinks he was a great player and sounds clueless when talking about Football.

Should that be a K instead of a S in the word snob?

Nope, it should be a T instead of a D.

[Shrek]

No he is so up his own arse, he has no sence of real life, he is a snob but also a complete knob!

[Fernando Partridge]

Media comments on that number 39
Is Darren Bent worth £24m?: Stuart James highlights the net worth of Darren Bent in transfer fees. “Those who have enjoyed following Darren Bent on Twitter (69,261 at the time of going to press) should brace themselves for a barren spell as Aston Villa’s club-record signing waits for the storm from the north- east to blow over. ‘Not for a few days,’ said Bent when asked whether he would carry on tweeting at his new club. ‘I can imagine that I’m getting annihilated by the Sunderland fans. I’m going to leave it.’ Unfortunately for Bent, the criticism does not end there. Steve Bruce, Sunderland’s manager, ensured the 26-year-old would be answering questions not only on what it feels like to be cumulatively the most expensive British player – his transfer to Villa, which could be worth up £24m, means Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland and his latest employers have spent a total of £53m on him – but also whether his head had been turned a few weeks ago.”

Martin Samuel chimes in to the debate. “Is Bent worth £24m? No. Yet in a climate in which relegation costs £30m and instant promotion would be far from guaranteed, his signing makes business sense to Lerner. He has to gamble because logic – stay as you are and Villa will slowly pull away from the bottom three because they have a superior squad – is getting him nowhere. Yet buying Bent is a huge risk. The last time he went to a high profile club for big money, he seemed cowed by the experience and there is a theory that he is best as a big fish in smaller pools, as happened at Ipswich Town, Charlton and Sunderland. Put under the spotlight, as he will be now, he wilts. There is certainly belief within the England international set-up that Bent’s unfortunate run of injuries when called up to the squad may be an adverse reaction to pressure. Is he the man for the big occasion? Is he right for Aston Villa? This very much depends on how one regards the strain of Villa’s fight against relegation. If Bent gets a good start, he undoubtedly has the talent to shoot his new club out of trouble; if he stalls, however, the intensity will mount, the numbers will be a burden, and Houllier cannot afford his man to be crushed by expectation. As for Lerner, this will have been an education. A successful football club must embrace common sense, but madness, too. The trick is to not to allow too much of either.”

Martin Keown looks at Bent’s psychological profile. “Bent has scored only one goal in his last eight league games. His confidence has been affected, and Villa have made him feel wanted again. This move puts him back into the spotlight. But I don’t think that is healthy – you can’t fill that need for extra confidence by moving every time you feel a bit down. When Bent is confident, he is always looking to pull off the shoulder of the last defender; to stretch the opposition defence and pounce on a through ball. He is a goal machine and that is a vital commodity – especially for Aston Villa at the moment. He can play that role on his own up front or in a partnership – as he did so well with Kenwyne Jones last season. Bent has improved a great deal technically since his Tottenham days. He has learned to improvise with his finishing, adjusting his body so he is in a better position to shoot. His use of both feet is impressive, too.”

Oliver Holt sticks the boot in to Bent. “Until yesterday, I had a lot of respect for Bent. I admired the dignity with which he had handled his desperately harsh omission from England’s World Cup squad last summer. I liked the way he had settled at Sunderland. I admired the way he was playing. I was happy he was on to a good thing at the Stadium of Light. But I don’t feel like that now. The guy’s just another mercenary. Another player with no roots. No loyalty. No soul. Sorry @DB11TT, but you’re a tweet… an absolute tweet.”

Sam Wallace adds his two penneth. “Bruce’s relationship with Bent is known to have been problematic even before the past few days’ dramatic developments and yesterday the gloves were taken off when the deal finally went through at 5pm after delays relating to the £6m sell-on fee owed by Sunderland to Bent’s former club Tottenham Hotspur. Sunderland believe that Bent has been angling for a move since an offer for him from Fenerbahce, the Turkish club, was rejected in the summer. As for Bent, who signed a four-and-a-half-year contract worth around £80,000 a week, he is understood to be angry that Sunderland were so hasty on Monday in making public his transfer request.”

[SteveD]

Another player with no roots.

He'd still be playing for Charlton, or maybe Brentford or Leyton Orient. Maybe Holt should give up his highly paid gig and work for the Stockport Express and find his own "soul"?

[Shrek]

On the iPlayer:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00xltwz/Look_North_(North_East_and_Cumbria)_19_01_2011/

Nice to see Villa is headline news somewhere...

What was the answer to 'who is going to finish higher' I cant quite make it out.

That link doesn't lead to a specific clip? Where is it guys?

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

Why are Villa fans so obsessed by the media?

Who gives a shit what they think? They reflect modern society, which, on the whole, is fucked up.

[Nev]

I would gather together all of this shit and give to the players to read, Bent included. No better motivation than the desire to prove people wrong.

I tend to naturally defend journalists, I don't like to read platitudes particularly when it comes to my club but some of the articles written are beyond the pale and lack respect.

None of these writers would be so vicious about the likes of Rooney or Ferguson, despite their appalling behaviour and this sort of selective criticism does journalism no favours at all.

The hipochrisy in football is breathtaking and it's up to football writers to flag it up. Not fuckin' join in.

[damon loves JT]

That link doesn't lead to a specific clip? Where is it guys?

There's been another `Look North' since then, so it's probably made way for a story about a chip pan fire in Ryhope