Darren Bent joining Brighton on loan

[dave.woodhall]

An enigma almost from the start. Him at £18 million was "overpriced" yet in the same window £50 million for Torres and £35 million for Andy Carroll were perfectly fine. He ht the ground running, scored goals at a rate we hadn't seen since Andy Gray at his peak, yet for some reason he was never idolised by our supporters like he should have been. What was even stranger was that somehow, during his first summer, we started saying he cost too much as well. He was always about to be sold, right up until the injury which in hindsight ruined his career. And if he hadn't got injured we would probably have finished a few places higher up the league and McLeish may well have stayed. The best natural goalscorer England could boast, finished at thirty. 

He was very popular when he first arrived. Although he scored at a very fine rate he didn't do it for long enough to be idolised, as you put it. It became apparent too quickly that we didn't have the players to supply him with enough service, and that he wasn't going to do a whole lot for the team other than goal hang.

The bit about him being "always about to be sold" is just wrong.

Look back at the transfer speculation every window between his arrival and his injury. He must have had at least six medicals at Liverpool for a start.

[PeterWithe]

Have his kind of player really been that popular down the Villa? you could argue that we have rarely seen his kind of goalscorer in my time, since the early to mid 80s, but we always seem to favour graft over guile, not that there is owt wrong with that.

[Clampy]

The Bent move has been confirmed now.

[saunders_heroes]

I'm not surprised he's been loaned out, after all we have an embarrassment of riches up front.

[supertom]

Another way to look at this move I guess could be that Lambert wants to send Bent out to get a run of games under his belt, and hopefully goals so he's sharper when he gets back here. It may not be entirely over for him here.

It probably is, but maybe there's still the faintest glimmer of hope. If he goes there and scores 6 in 6 and comes back half a stone trimmer, then we might just benefit from him come january. Alternatively he may just do enough to tempt someone into making a jan move and we could get at least something back for him.

[LTA]

Bent seems to type who 12 months down the line will turn round and say "I don't want to play anymore". Will score in a team which put chances on a plate for him, but simply has now desire anymore.

[Hoppo]

It all went wrong for Dazza when he went shopping..

[Chipsticks]

Another way to look at this move I guess could be that Lambert wants to send Bent out to get a run of games under his belt, and hopefully goals so he's sharper when he gets back here. It may not be entirely over for him here.

It probably is, but maybe there's still the faintest glimmer of hope. If he goes there and scores 6 in 6 and comes back half a stone trimmer, then we might just benefit from him come january. Alternatively he may just do enough to tempt someone into making a jan move and we could get at least something back for him.

Agreed with you here Supertom, worst case scenario is he plays shit and even then we're only back to where we are now.

[lovejoy]

Brighton are a very workman like team, struggle with attacking flair and have a deeply unpopular manager. I think he'll fit right in.

[tom jennings III]

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2892/transfer-zone/2014/11/26/6520021/official-bent-makes-brighton-loan-switch This picture is exactly how I'll remember him.

[ADVILLAFAN]

Brighton are a very workman like team, struggle with attacking flair and have a deeply unpopular manager. I think he'll fit right in.

That's 3 of our players there now, Bennett, Gardner and Bent.

[Toronto Villa]

Another player who would have flourished in a long term Houllier system in my opinion. Two attacking wide me, creative players behind the front two type arrangement. When he doesn't have to do more than what he is very good at, then he is a great player to have. Otherwise he is such a luxury that a team not playing the right system or worse struggling not playing the right system aimply cannot afford to have.

[David_Nab]

I recall the summer after he signed and we sold Young and Downing a newspaper Journo commented to the effect of , what team spends that kind of money on a striker like Bent only to 6 month later sell his supply line.

Bent would only work with the players to provide the chances and we sold our best 2 and never replaced them.Again showing that those in charge had no idea what they were doing.For the player himself even without the 2 players mentioned and with AMC as boss he still scored the injury and benching seemed to have wiped him out.I can't see him recapturing his form even at a lower level.

[amfy]

We'll draw them in the cup - half their team won't be able to play against us, and we'll still lose!

[silhillvilla]

We had them in the cup in the 2004/5 era ? I think ?