Darren Bent

[Villafirst]

Simple fact is we have no conventional wide player and are poor at creating chances for the likes of Bent to thrive on. No invention in the final third, hence only 10 goals scored. We don't play to Bent's strengths.

[Total knob-head]

Simple fact is we have no conventional wide player and are poor at creating chances for the likes of Bent to thrive on. No invention in the final third, hence only 10 goals scored. We don't play to Bent's strengths.

He's a complete forward though not just a finisher, I see no reason why Benteke can't play out wide with Bent in the middle. Gabby can also be used on the wing.

[Dave]

Simple fact is we have no conventional wide player

It's not a fact at all. N'Zogbia and Albrighton have spent their entire careers as wide-players and Gabby and Holman are hardly alien to playing there.

[eastie]

To those saying he 'must' play, what sort of team would you pick around him?

Standard back five, two of Westwood, El Ahmadi or Bannan in front, two of Ireland, Gabby, Holman or N'Zogbia playing wider but not in touchline-hugging winger sense, then Bent and Beneteke up front, with Weimann in reserve behind them. Hopefully working the same way that Bent and Kenwyne Jones worked so well at Sunderland.

If Kenwyne Jones could form a great partnership with Bent managed by Steve Bruce, one would hope a better player like Benteke should be able to manage it and a better manager like Lambert should be able to help develop it.

This , if we could  get nzogbia fit and firing he could be a great provider to bent and benteke.

Bent and jones were a real handful and no reason why bent and benteke wouldn't be as well.

[pedro25]

I think Bent and Benteke could work with the right midfield balance behind, probably Holman KEA Westwood Bannan.  I see that as neither a particularly narrow 4 nor a mix of 2 touchline hugging attacking wingers with the central 2 isolated, I think it's a nice balance between the two as Holman and Bannan will work hard and help the central guys out yet are comfortable pulling out wide and whipping crosses in also.  Ireland in for KEA could work as well at a push I reckon.  But even with 442 I think there is an argument to say Weimann and Gabby would deserve a place even as a central striker ahead of Bent because of their workrate and threat.

[Villafirst]

Simple fact is we have no conventional wide player

It's not a fact at all. N'Zogbia and Albrighton have spent their entire careers as wide-players and Gabby and Holman are hardly alien to playing there.

Yes but why doesn't PL rate them? They simply aren't in Young or Downing's class. For that, the blame lies at Lerner's door. He should have sold up in August 2010 instead of trying to do things on the cheap.

[Shrek]

Simple fact is we have no conventional wide player and are poor at creating chances for the likes of Bent to thrive on. No invention in the final third, hence only 10 goals scored. We don't play to Bent's strengths.

He's a complete forward though not just a finisher, I see no reason why Benteke can't play out wide with Bent in the middle. Gabby can also be used on the wing.

WHAT.! Complete forward??? Darren Bent is a poacher, that is all.

He can't hold up the ball, he can't head the ball and he doesn't work to try and win the team back.

He is nowhere near the complete forward.

[saunders_heroes]

Simple fact is we have no conventional wide player and are poor at creating chances for the likes of Bent to thrive on. No invention in the final third, hence only 10 goals scored. We don't play to Bent's strengths.

He's a complete forward though not just a finisher, I see no reason why Benteke can't play out wide with Bent in the middle. Gabby can also be used on the wing.

WHAT.! Complete forward??? Darren Bent is a poacher, that is all.

He can't hold up the ball, he can't head the ball and he doesn't work to try and win the team back.

He is nowhere near the complete forward.

He's certainly a goal scorer though. Something we haven't got n the team at the moment. 10 goals in 13 league games. A shameful stat.

[Shrek]

Simple fact is we have no conventional wide player and are poor at creating chances for the likes of Bent to thrive on. No invention in the final third, hence only 10 goals scored. We don't play to Bent's strengths.

He's a complete forward though not just a finisher, I see no reason why Benteke can't play out wide with Bent in the middle. Gabby can also be used on the wing.

WHAT.! Complete forward??? Darren Bent is a poacher, that is all.

He can't hold up the ball, he can't head the ball and he doesn't work to try and win the team back.

He is nowhere near the complete forward.

He's certainly a goal scorer though. Something we haven't got n the team at the moment. 10 goals in 13 league games. A shameful stat.

So is it about Bent scoring goals or Villa winning? Southampton Bent scored, but we lost, we need a balance. If that means playing Gabby and him only getting 6 goals, then fine if they get us more points.

The facts are, in the current system, we are a better team without Bent.

[Chico Hamilton III]

The facts are, in the current system, we are a better team without Bent.

Yes, but the current system has got us to third from bottom with 10 goals scored all season

Plan B time?

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Yes Darren Bent is a goalscorer but little else besides. That is not to say he is idle or his attitude is wrong, it is simply the sort of player he is.
We do not have sufficient quality to allow anything other than 10 outfield players all working effectively as a unit for the team.
If Bent had been on the pitch for us against Arsenal the team performance would have been less and we would probably have lost.
Darren Bent needs to be with a team where the other 9 outfield players are of sufficient quality to pass and create chances in the area which he can put away. Which brings me back to Arsenal.
If instead Darren Bent had been on the pitch for them against us he would probably have put away one of the chances they created and we would still have lost!   

[Monty]

Bent doesn't thrive off wing play so much as counter-attacks - which of course often happen down the wings, as that's where 'pace 'n' space' are, especially if the opposition full-backs have advanced - but his use of the ball (even if he retains it) is pretty poor if we're attacking a defence in position. His relative lack of ability to hold onto the ball isn't just poor offensively - if we're the team attacking it can leave us vulnerable on the break. Also, if he's our out-ball on the break and he loses it - or more often, isn't making himself available to receive - that is dangerous as it just allows the opposition the ball, and gives them wave after wave of attacks with relatively little to worry about on the break, especially as we don't have much by way of winger.

Benteke is better on both fronts - contributing to our more standard attacks with superior build-up play, and holding the ball up for us to break effectively through him - not to mention that he's proving himself more than adequate as a finisher on the break as well. Add into this the need to play three in midfield to keep the ball (the diamond just did not work, and this 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 is clearly superior for us), and Benteke's selection becomes a mere formality to me.

This being said, in pure footballing terms having a traditional poacher like Bent to come off the bench is clearly a useful option, as Hernandez proves so often: there's more space late in the game, often a more stretched, end-to-end pattern of play, and it's a new threat which defenders might not adjust to (interesting to note that when Hernanez started against Norwich he was clearly nowhere near as effective, and United missed the impact of his coming off the bench fresh late in the game). The fact that he's being left out suggests to me that he thinks he's better than playing from the bench, that he's not putting in 100% in training.

I've seen people refer to him as a luxury player or some such, but this isn't Riquelme or Zlatan we're talking about here: he doesn't have the amazing creative talent to justify some arrogance or disregard of teamwork, merely some useful talents which have to be moulded to fit the team like everyone else (apart from Riquelme, Zlatan etc). If he thinks he's better than the team based in his rather prosaic abilities then flog him to whoever's foolish enough to handicap their team, or who are content to play on the break and have one player score fifteen instead of five scoring eight or nine.

[TonyD]

I think Zog and Bent will be heading for the exits in Jan.  That should give PL and nice warchest.

[Shrek]

The facts are, in the current system, we are a better team without Bent.

Yes, but the current system has got us to third from bottom with 10 goals scored all season

Plan B time?

Has it?

Since Bent was dropped, we drew with West Brom, Norwich and Arsenal then beat Sunderland.

That's 6 points from our 10 (yes Bent scored against West Brom)

Prior to that we got 4 points against team like West Ham, Southampton with Bent playing.

So I would say we have improved as a team since Bent was dropped.

Edited Baggies not Fulham

[Chico Hamilton III]

Since Bent was dropped, we drew with Fulham, Norwich and Arsenal then beat Sunderland.

That's 6 points from our 10 (yes Bent scored against Fulham)

I'm a  bit confused

we lost to fulham 1-0


edit - I understand what you were saying now.

Don't totally agree, mind