Darren Bent joins Fulham on loan (Reply #486)

[sonlyme]

One thing is clear - Bent is a goalscorer - but only in the right team.

Villa playing Bent isn't possible because we don't tend to control midfield. Yet.  In a team that can control midfield DB will be a 20+ goal a season striker again - Liverpool - or Arsenal would benefit from his services - as they can control the middle but then often struggle to turn that dominance into goals.

He can do only one thing well - score.

He's kept his gob shut and waited till we were safe before speaking - honestly - and respectfully of his situation.  He is right.  He needs to be playing - but given Villa are moving toward a Dortmund style of three flexible forwards he just doesn't fit in.

If Lambo has any sense he'll play 442 at Wigan and let DB thrive on some wide service and leave us scoring a hat trick.  Puts another few million on the fee and a nice three points for us.

[CJ]

Bent thrives in a team that plays with wingers, hence why he had an immediate impact when we had Young and Downing providing the balls into the box. Lambert doesn't use wingers and tends to play more through the middle. He was exactly what we needed when he came and Houllier spotted that (and if MON had bought him three years earlier things would have been very different) but he doesn't fit into Lamberts style so probably best for all concerned if he moves on.

[Martyn Smith]

I wonder if he'll still want to go if Benteke gets hooked out by a CL club first...

[PaulWinch again]

Good luck in the future Darren, always seemed a decent bloke and a good player.

[The Left Side]

Thanks DB, it was fun when we were playing your style of footy but we have evolved, I just hope he doesn't go onto to score a load of goals against us when he faces us again.

[Toronto Villa]

blimey eastie, disappointed in you son. This is being discussed in the transfer thread which you voluntarily help moderate

Apologies , was unaware of that - been off there for a while  tv.
Probably worthy of its own thread due to the quotes from bent himself though.

Now, now eastie. Be careful or Master Geppetto is going to get upset

[martin o`who??]

Good luck in the future Darren, always seemed a decent bloke and a good player.

Can`t improve on this, simple and accurate.

[eastie]

blimey eastie, disappointed in you son. This is being discussed in the transfer thread which you voluntarily help moderate

Apologies , was unaware of that - been off there for a while  tv.
Probably worthy of its own thread due to the quotes from bent himself though.

Now, now eastie. Be careful or Master Geppetto is going to get upset

Two days since i last visited , on a 6am shift so too busy to catch up with everything tv ,  geppetto is entertaining phil Thompson

[Matt C]

Right player, wrong time.

[Percy McCarthy]

I think I started the so-called 'anti-Bent'  campaign, although it wasn't that at all really. I just suggested that, in the absence of any actual money, TSM might have sold him in the January 2012 window in order to buy some decent defenders. In hindsight, given his record in the transfer market, I'm glad it didn't happen, as I wouldn't trust TSM to spend Portsmouth's transfer budget.

Must say though, we've come a long way since any suggestion we sell Bent was greeted by derision, horror and questions about one's sanity.

Fair play to him keeping his counsel while we were fighting relegation, and good luck. He's a very good player in a team playing to his strength. I was fucking buzzing when we bought him, but I must say I thought he was better than he turned out to be. I really should take more notice of other teams/players.

[Chipsticks]

Vents his frustrations, but without actually having a go at anyone or slagging them off.

Fair play Darren, I wish you the very best at wherever you go. Thanks again for that goal against Man City

[OCD]

Fair play Darren, I wish you the very best at wherever you go. Thanks again for that goal against Man City

That got my 30th birthday off to a bloody good start.

[Salsa Party Animal]

I hope we will be able to use Darren Bent as a bait for very big signing ie a 15 millions  playmaker or something.  He is a very good striker but he just don't fit or given the chance to play with Benteke and Agbonlahor together. But Paul Lambert have to make the decision.

[London Villan]

Like the manager that should have signed him he has lost out to football evolution. The sort of player he is thrives on being the focus of the team, but there are hardly any teams in the top flight that play to that system any more.

No idea where he is likely to end up, who in the top ten would want him? It may be that he ends up at somewhere like Galatasaray or the MLS.

[N'ZMAV]

Bent would thrive in a side who play wide and get lots of crosses into the box. His best spell at Villa was when Albrighton, Young, Downing and Kyle Walker were providing lots of crosses and through balls. It's obvious our new style has left him behind. I think a bid of around £7mil will be enough to see him leave in the summer. Somewhere like Cardiff maybe?