Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert denies rift with Darren Bent

[ozzjim]

Scored 2 in his last 120 minutes. Should have started.

[VillaAlways]

From the Birmingham Mail

Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert explained that his decision to again start with record signing Darren Bent on the bench was purely tactical.
 
Bent had stepped off the bench to rescue a point in the derby draw against West Ham a week earlier for his second goal in two league games.
 
The England striker spoke out after the previous match, saying he was going to speak to the manager for an explanation over why he was dropped.
 
But Lambert claimed his decision to again pair Benteke and Gabby Agbonlahor was “the right one” despite Benteke’s costly miss.

“It was the system we played,” said Lambert.

“We marked Gabby up wide. It was the right one in my view. Darren has been great, we have not had a crossed word.
 
“We were in the game, we are coming to a place that’s vibrant and they are coming at you from all angles. We had chances to score. You can’t be too critical.
 
“Darren is better with someone up beside him. If you are playing with one up, Christian gives you a different option because he can get hold of it.
 
“Darren thrives on things going in behind. That was the only reason why we have done it. You know Spurs’ full-backs are going to bomb on at every given opportunity to give them width.
 
“That’s the reason I did it. Darren’s been fine. But that was my thinking. Get a target man up the pitch.
Darren has been fine. I would tell you. I would understand why he’s frustrated at being left out. Darren will play games, that’s for sure. It’s a team. I will need everybody.
 
“He was fine when I told him. I’m not going to make a mountain out of molehill. I know what was said.”


Read More http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/aston-villa-fc/aston-villa-news/2012/10/08/aston-villa-paul-lambert-insists-benching-bent-again-was-right-decision-97319-31990025/#ixzz28hBg58JU

[Dante Lavelli]

Obviously it did not turn out well, but I think the logic is pretty sound there.  Had we gone 442 it is likely we’d have got swamped in midfield and Bent +1 would have been isolated up front.

The reality is, Spurs are just better than us at the moment.

[pedro25]

I think it runs deeper, difficult to prove my theory at this stage but here goes.  We all wanted the high earners such as Warnock, Collins, Hutton, Heskey, Cuellar etc. moved on, those that were not contributing to the first team.  However I believe Lerner has tasked Lambert with removing all the high earners from the club.  Given makes one mistake in over a season and is immediately replaced, Bent is reduced to sub to make way for other strikers that will score nowhere near as many as him this season, N'Zogbia has a terrific game at City but is immediately replaced by a half fit Albrighton, Clark is near as damn it promoted to first choice centre half over Dunne by PL publicly in pre season (albeit Dunne is injured of course).  Ireland being dropped for Herd v West Brom etc.  Basically I think PL is tasked with removing Given, Dunne, Ireland, N'Zogbia and Bent from the club and these players may not get a fair crack of the whip this season imo even though they may have plenty to offer.  We'll have to wait and see.

[N'ZMAV]

Bent doesn't contrubute enough to the whole game, and against a proper good side, like Spurs we need players who can improve our posession of the ball. And also, there's no guarentee that Bent would have scored the chances the other players didn't.

[VillaAlways]

I think it runs deeper, difficult to prove my theory at this stage but here goes.  We all wanted the high earners such as Warnock, Collins, Hutton, Heskey, Cuellar etc. moved on, those that were not contributing to the first team.  However I believe Lerner has tasked Lambert with removing all the high earners from the club.  Given makes one mistake in over a season and is immediately replaced, Bent is reduced to sub to make way for other strikers that will score nowhere near as many as him this season, N'Zogbia has a terrific game at City but is immediately replaced by a half fit Albrighton, Clark is near as damn it promoted to first choice centre half over Dunne by PL publicly in pre season (albeit Dunne is injured of course).  Ireland being dropped for Herd v West Brom etc.  Basically I think PL is tasked with removing Given, Dunne, Ireland, N'Zogbia and Bent from the club and these players may not get a fair crack of the whip this season imo even though they may have plenty to offer.  We'll have to wait and see.

I must admit it has crossed my mind,but in doing so would surely be a recipe for relelegation,which would surely be more costly long term than getting rid of a couple of high earners.I think it's highly unlikely, Given was in poor form in the Euros prior to the Everton game.He needed to be dropped.Ireland has started every game and is now injured.As you say Dunne is injured,so no choice but to go with Clark . I think N'zog will get his chance

[VillaAlways]

Obviously it did not turn out well, but I think the logic is pretty sound there.  Had we gone 442 it is likely we’d have got swamped in midfield and Bent +1 would have been isolated up front.

Which is exactly what happened when the changes were made.Bent barely got a touch of the ball

[Dante Lavelli]

Pedro - I’d imagine there is probably an element of that, but I would not be surprised if Lambert has instigated it to an extent rather than just Lerner.  Lambert has a history of buying and using hungry players rather than established stars, presumably finding them easier to manage.

Trimming the wages will give Lambert more scope in the transfer market and better control of the club. 

Also, Lambert was in a pretty strong position at Norwich so he did not need to take on such a poisoned challenge unless he bought into the idea.

[Concrete John]

I've always thought that the wages issue was more to do with what we're getting for our money.  So with Bent, who is a first team regular and scores goals, there can be value argued into his high wages.  With the likes of Warnock, etc. we could get just as good for less, hence wanting him out. 

[N'ZMAV]

Ireland would be more of a drain than Bent. Bent's goals give value for money.

[saunders_heroes]

I've always thought that the wages issue was more to do with what we're getting for our money.  So with Bent, who is a first team regular and scores goals, there can be value argued into his high wages.  With the likes of Warnock, etc. we could get just as good for less, hence wanting him out. 

I think Lerner wants every high earner off the wage bill wether they contribute of not. Bent is the last of these. The consequences of this is obvious, and we're looking like relegation fodder. Lerner really hasn't got a clue about football.

[Concrete John]

I've always thought that the wages issue was more to do with what we're getting for our money.  So with Bent, who is a first team regular and scores goals, there can be value argued into his high wages.  With the likes of Warnock, etc. we could get just as good for less, hence wanting him out. 

I think Lerner wants every high earner off the wage bill wether they contribute of not. Bent is the last of these. The consequences of this is obvious, and we're looking like relegation fodder. Lerner really hasn't got a clue about football.

No, he just wants a total wagebill that is sustainable.  This doesn't mean we'll be relegation fodder, just that we have to me smarter and less wasteful in how we spend our money.

[saunders_heroes]

I've always thought that the wages issue was more to do with what we're getting for our money.  So with Bent, who is a first team regular and scores goals, there can be value argued into his high wages.  With the likes of Warnock, etc. we could get just as good for less, hence wanting him out. 

I think Lerner wants every high earner off the wage bill wether they contribute of not. Bent is the last of these. The consequences of this is obvious, and we're looking like relegation fodder. Lerner really hasn't got a clue about football.

No, he just wants a total wagebill that is sustainable.  This doesn't mean we'll be relegation fodder, just that we have to me smarter and less wasteful in how we spend our money.

But you get what you pay for in life. It's all well and good paying out low wages  but the consequences of that is having a poor team with poor results. If you sell all your best players don't be surprised to find your team struggling at the wrong end of the table.

[Dante Lavelli]

Exactly right Concrete John in my opinion.  We’ve had years of waste which started in the last years of MON and then continued by the skewed appointment of managers.  Finally I think we have found a manager who will look to build the club from the bottom up and hopefully maximise the potential of the squad. 

For me, this prudent approach is the only way I can see us growing for a sustained period and crucially having the resources and flexibility to buy the odd superstar.

[kippaxvilla2]

Apparently Darren has been fine.