Darren Bent

[Shrek]

It's not misleading, he doesn't get involved, he doesn't contribute

He contributed last season, or has that been forgotten already?

Isn't last season irrelivent? 1 goal in our last 10 I think isn't enough, granted he missed 3 games.

I Do hope he gets his mojo back and the team can all adapt.

[Clampy]

It's not misleading, he doesn't get involved, he doesn't contribute

He contributed last season, or has that been forgotten already?

Isn't last season irrelivent?

Not really, without his goals we might have gone down.

[Pete3206]

It's not misleading, he doesn't get involved, he doesn't contribute, he just creates more pressure for his own team. We play worse with him in the team.

I'll give him one thing, he is certainly unique, I've never known a player like him.

So being top scorer is no contribution?

[Ian.]

With his

It's not misleading, he doesn't get involved, he doesn't contribute

He contributed last season, or has that been forgotten already?

Isn't last season irrelivent? 1 goal in our last 10 I think isn't enough, granted he missed 3 games.

I Do hope he gets his mojo back and the team can all adapt.

How can it be irrelivent? He is capable of scoring and playing well as proven in his career. He helped to keep us up last season and in doing that does he not deserve a little faith from us now?
 It is not all his fault as the whole team is suffering from loss of form and confidence.

[TimTheVillain]

Bent would be brilliant at say arsenal , he would score 25 prem goals a season , at the moment with Villa , he is looking like Luke Moore. 

...or Swansea.

[eastie]

It's not misleading, he doesn't get involved, he doesn't contribute

He contributed last season, or has that been forgotten already?

Isn't last season irrelivent?

Not really, without his goals we might have gone down.

The thing is most of his goals were set up by young or downing- both have left and whereas houllier played to his strengths Mcleish doesn't.

[Clampy]

He definatley needs more service, that goes without saying and that's Eck's job to sort that out, which so far he's failed to do. I would'nt be selling him though.

[Shrek]

He definatley needs more service, that goes without saying and that's Eck's job to sort that out, which so far he's failed to do. I would'nt be selling him though.

Theres my gripe, he needs better service, he needs to get involved more.

And last season is irrelivent. What I mean by that is the past is the past, Torres and Carroll were good first half of last season, Bent was good for most of it.

But he doesn't look the same player as last season, he isn't making these runs off the shoulder of defenders, he stands by them basically cancelling himself out as an option.

The manager needs to get his confidence back and some how get the team to play as a team, because at the moment Bent looks an outsider.

[ozzjim]

He definatley needs more service, that goes without saying and that's Eck's job to sort that out, which so far he's failed to do. I would'nt be selling him though.

Theres my gripe, he needs better service, he needs to get involved more.

And last season is irrelivent. What I mean by that is the past is the past, Torres and Carroll were good first half of last season, Bent was good for most of it.

But he doesn't look the same player as last season, he isn't making these runs off the shoulder of defenders, he stands by them basically cancelling himself out as an option.

The manager needs to get his confidence back and some how get the team to play as a team, because at the moment Bent looks an outsider.

Sorry Shrek, but being involved more will adversely effect his goal ratio. His runs are behind defenders, into space in the box that relies on someone seeing it and having the ability to hit it. The way we were set up last season, Young could have put Bent clean through 4-5 times a game and often over hit the ball, yet he still got 9 in 14. This season he has 6 in 15 or so, so not woeful but not bad, in a side that is just not creative at all.

The working gripe annoys me too, he linked play a number of times last night, found team mates etc. and because it is Bent it is ignored, people believe the preconception that he is poor at it. He even wins the flicks from the hoofs a fair amount, but there is no one around him for the flick.

[itbrvilla]

He scores for fun at Charlton, are we now creating less opportunities than Charlton did when Bent was there?

[Toronto Villa]

It's not misleading, he doesn't get involved, he doesn't contribute

He contributed last season, or has that been forgotten already?

Isn't last season irrelivent?

Not really, without his goals we might have gone down.

That's bollocks Clampy. Without his game we WOULD have gone down.

Seriously, why anyone would ever want to sell him is utterly beyond me.

[Shrek]

He definatley needs more service, that goes without saying and that's Eck's job to sort that out, which so far he's failed to do. I would'nt be selling him though.

Theres my gripe, he needs better service, he needs to get involved more.

And last season is irrelivent. What I mean by that is the past is the past, Torres and Carroll were good first half of last season, Bent was good for most of it.

But he doesn't look the same player as last season, he isn't making these runs off the shoulder of defenders, he stands by them basically cancelling himself out as an option.

The manager needs to get his confidence back and some how get the team to play as a team, because at the moment Bent looks an outsider.

Sorry Shrek, but being involved more will adversely effect his goal ratio. His runs are behind defenders, into space in the box that relies on someone seeing it and having the ability to hit it. The way we were set up last season, Young could have put Bent clean through 4-5 times a game and often over hit the ball, yet he still got 9 in 14. This season he has 6 in 15 or so, so not woeful but not bad, in a side that is just not creative at all.

The working gripe annoys me too, he linked play a number of times last night, found team mates etc. and because it is Bent it is ignored, people believe the preconception that he is poor at it. He even wins the flicks from the hoofs a fair amount, but there is no one around him for the flick.

Can't argue with that really. I do remember Ash over hitting so many passes.

Is Bent still making those runs now though?

[Dante Lavelli]

Bent cannot be in two places at once.  His currency in football is runs off the last defender's shoulder.  That's pretty much what he has done all his career.  This is great as it creates opportunities for chances.

On the flip side it encourages players to make longer, more ambitious passes resulting in us losing possession.

He is great in a counter attacking team that do not worry too much about retaining possession whereas he is not suited to a game plan like Arsenal who try and pass teams to death. 

[Legion]

Unlike us, who bore teams to death.

[ktvillan]

He scores for fun at Charlton, are we now creating less opportunities than Charlton did when Bent was there?

Almost certainly.