Aston Villa News 24/7Writer: J P Fear 
Date:Sunday October 14 2012
Time: 11:22AM
UK time is: 12:47:19
Choose your club
Other Sites
Network Navigation
Vital Partners
'If It's Football, It's Vital'
Darren Bent Gone By In January Transfer Window?
This news doesn`t surprise me but frankly IF Villa did sell this player in January.................
The Mirror say that both Liverpool (linked before) and QPR are interested in signing Villa`s record buy and top striker Darren Bent.
His frankly ridiculous treatment under Paul Lambert (he scores v Saints and is dropped, he comes off the bench and scores v Midlands top dogs WBA and is dropped) will no doubt make the England forward want out, why should a player of his quality sit on the bench?
Brought in by Gerrard Houllier to stave off the relegation battle just a few Jan`s ago, now it looks like he might exit and leave us in another.
Harsh?
I don`t think so. The guy scores goals, Villa are perennially short of goals.
I`m hoping our manager can get his arm around Bent, get him back to feeling important and stave off this threat. However, if he can`t, I`ll not be surprised in the slightest if Bent wants out and unlike some fans who will no doubt turn on the player (as is our way, just see the attitude to Barry after 12 years great service) I`ll not blame him one bit. He is of no use on the bench in my ever so humble.
Hopefully just the press putting 2+2 together, however the behind the scenes whispers suggest no smoke without fire. He`s basically been humiliated and replaced by a 21-year-old unknown from the non-descript Belgian league. In time Benteke might be quality. At this present time a) he isn`t b) Darren Bent is.
The paper report says he cost us £18m (and then it goes up to the £24m figure we all quote with add ons etc) and that Villa owner Randy Lerner would want to re-coup at least £12m. That part of the report I do not believe, simply because how would they know what Randy would want? He certainly won`t have told anyone in the press.
Our latest poll asks if you would sell Darren Bent.
So Far We Have:
IN
Burnley striker Charlie Austin: Click Here
Bordeaux midfielder Yoan Gouffran: Click Here
OUT
Darren Bent to QPR or Liverpool: Click Here
Vital F1 Prediction League - Join now for Monaco
Your Comments
I had a feeling that the club wanted/needed to sell him or anyone else to generate money to rebuild. how he has seemingly been treated in losing his place and captaincy, would indicate that he either doesnt get on with Lambert or the club are trying to force his hand. just out of interest, how much would you expect to get from his sale. I assume you would have to sell at a loss.
oxfordspur
He has been benched for a couple of games, as a result of which he came on hungry in the Baggies game and scored. Good strategy from the manager in trying to motivate a player who is often carried through games; who offers little except a foot from five yards out. Bent needs to pull his finger out and make things happen. Moreover, no one is bigger than the club. If we believe that we are lost without him then we are lost anyway.
On the other hand, what a ridiculous over reaction from the press, creating stories that don't exist. Bent does not have a God given right to play and if he is going to threaten to leave because his ego finds itself on the bench then good riddance any way. The gaffers word should be law and he should take it on the chin like the pro he is.
Villa_Grizzly
i think it maybe down to bents transfer from sunderland we paid £18 mil with £6 in add ons well if we pay the other £6 mil that will be £24 mil i read we will take £12 mil for him thats a loss of just £6 mil if we give sunderland £6 mil that will be £24 for a player that is 28 so once his contract is up and we sell him we would lose alot more than the £6 mil we would lose on him in if he goes in january ...... just a thought but thats not taking his wages into account too
wal
We already have a replacement ...... Bowery, mark my words, he is gonna be top drawer for us. Proper forward in every sense. UTV
astonmilan
Am I not correct in thinking the captaincy was only "on trial/temporary"? Anyway, besidesthat, if he is sold in January, it'll be a case of Relegation my Lord!!!
Pride of Lions
From what I undersand we do NOT have to sell to buy. Wages are the key, not transfer funds..It appears that wages are now at an acceptable level.. There is room to increase them bt not dramaticly. In the ideal world Hutton and Warnock would go meaning we could bring in one or two quality players on their wages..The transfer fees are not a major issue, but I believe that PL will continue to shop in the 'potential' market rather than the proven.
krfeskivilla
Slightly disagree with the article. I don't think his treatment by Lambo has been ridiculous, Bent scores goals - sometimes. Keeping him on the bench for a while has made him angry and motivated, that's when he scores goals. When he is an automatic choice he becomes lazy and complacent, as we all know.
However, he's light years better than Bent*****e!
Saurat
Wouldnt surprise me if he went. He's for too high profile for us nowadays anyway. Lambert spent almos 20m in the summer and all previous season spending has been offest by players leaving.
son_of_cher
Hhhhmmmm... I have never been a fan. It's nothing personal Darren but you're a luxury at the moment. Yes your goal rate is nearly 1 every 2 games but over 2 seasons you have not done enough in overall play. Lambert needs to rebuild and as anyone knows, rebuilding is a dirty job and not an exact science. Some times you need to rip out some key sections to create a better overall structure. I think Bent is the equivalent of a conservatory, a nice extra but can't be used all year round on a consistent basis.
Relegated if Bent is sold? Really, if that were to happen then in all likelihood we would be relegated anyway. Bent is not a retaining wall against this, whereas Holman, Vlaar or Guzan are.
Enough of the building metaphors, I am at the boarder of my ignorance on that score.
Also the club could make a few quid on the extra 3 letters on Benteke shirts. Look after the pennies...
Mervin King's Pocket
Needed to be dropped to wake him up and shock horror it worked.
Said a few weeks ago he will leave for the smoke again with west ham or QPR!
Liverpool can't afford him,they still owe us for downing..never happen!
I for one think he is a lazy luxury we no longer have the pleasure of using for 90 mins.we need players that will run through walls for us this season,and bent isn't one of them.
He kept us up the year we got him but we have to cut his wage from the club and bring in more players to bolster the battle in January using the 16 million we would get for him,QPR etc!
brisbane lion
Partly agree Saurat, he had his one game on the bench, came off to score v Baggies, job done. To drop him a second time, job undone. Only one persons opinion matters in this, Lamberts. He is the one in the hot seat. But obviously we all have our opinions as to what we'd do/how we'd treat players. I'm basically gutted to have seen so many 'top' players depart and now I think we are too far the other way with faith in the lower league signings. I hope it works, it will be great if it does, but .. well, the here and now is played 7, got 5 points.
The Fear
oh and whatever you do, don't sell him to a relegation battle competitor, ie QPR. That would be total madness, better to send him to the stands than do that!
The Fear
Clueless... Sell your best asset off. The best goal scorer in the team... I don't understand... Last time I checked - goals win games. Not running. Not effort. Not technique. Goals. And the player with more goals than our entire team combined is considered not good enough? What world are you living in???? Wake up Villans! Get behind him or he will leave. And so will any chances we have of staying in the league!!!!!
Astriel
If the present Villa squad is a joke, then selling Bent would be the punchline.
OnMeHeadFred
Ive seldom disagreed so much with so many on here. Darren Bent has a goals to games ratio of about 1:2. I don't care if the rest of his game fails to compete with other strikers that also manage that level (not many!) - we need a striker that we can rely on to get 1 in 2!! The only time he didn't score was when we sold Young and Downing and played super defensive. He is not a luxury! He will score us goals and get us points. I argued with those saying Gabby should go because I think he needs an opportunity to flourish in a competitive team - but he has never been what you'd call a natural finisher. I understand that Benteke can play a role and do a job but he is not a natural finisher either - from what I can gather from Dutch stats and the sitters he's missed for us. Im not booing about him, but he's clearly not the prolific striker type. Too early for Bowery but Im sure I read his goals per game ratio in lower leagues was 1:4. Lastly - I disagree Bent needs to be angered to play better. He was banging them in all over the place for Sunderland before Asamoah Gyan took the limelight and then he did nothing. Bent suits being the big fish in a little pond and with our infantile squad, thats what he is. We need him very much. Not as captain fair enough, but as a key player. I dread to think what will happen if he goes (not least if he goes to QPR and keeps them up!)
revolutionatlast
revolutionatlast ..... check the Belgian stats, you may actually get some on Benteke then.
astonmilan
If we had Messi and Ronaldo playing and knocking in six goals a week each then there would still be 'fans' on here demanding they work harder in tracking back.
chocolate teapot
UNBELIEVABLE!! Sell Bent? FFS. Yeah great idea. His goals are invaluable. For YEARS we have been crying out for a goal scorer. We finally get one and people want to sell him!! It makes me think about giving up entirely on football and spending more time with the mrs. On the "stripped of Captaincy" issue. He should have NEVER beenmade Captain in the first place. A goal hanging striker as Captain!?! This is clearly a RIDICULOUS idea. I believe a Captain should always be a Midfielder of possibly defender but not a striker. It was clearly a temporary measure and he should have known that. Resting him for West Brom, fine. Not playing him against Spurs after he came on and scored against WBA..!!?? Mind boggling. Really, really surprised PL chose to do this. I do trust PL and at the end of the day he is the boss. I just hope Bent is in PL's plans long term.
Adam Deuce
I totally agree with the article, plus the most recent comments from Astriel and revolutionatlast. He scores 1in 2, even under Mcliesh! He brings us goals and goals win games, simple!!
antvillan
Selling Bent just confirms to me we have an inept chairman that does not want to pay the add on fee's to Sunderland if we keep him here, this is what this is about, its flippin obvious as soon as we get a decent player under Lerner they are sold, if anyone thinks this club is on the up can i have some of what your smoking please!
CLIVETHEVILLAN
I would reserve judgement for now. Benty has been given his wake up call and should be started if he keeps a positive attitude. Bent does not create goals but as others have said, who cares as long as he puts the ball in the net in the end. He is the poacher / dustman supreme. Given that Villa under Lambert is taking a lot more shots on goal and other wise putting the ball in the box this campaign, that is a recipe under which Benty ultimately should show his form.
Virginia Villan
Lets all just calm down a minute. There are no direct quotes, the press have just spotted an easy story with Bent being left out for a couple of games. Obviously if he continues to be left out I will agree it looks likely he will leave but at the moment we can safely say he's a Villa player. I would not be happy if he goes but at the end of the day if he's gonna throw his toys out just because he's been on the bench for 2 games let him go. No player is bigger than the club no matter how many prem goals he's got. Here's hoping Darren bounces back, starts playing with a smile on his face and banging them in for us.
Lion Heart
We need to move on gents. A bent type of player is a thing of the past. He really should have more than 1 string to his bow. Useless unless catered for in the extreme and not good enough to build a team around. Impact sub yes, quality but he doesn't deserve the guarantee of a start which is what he wants. Lambert is building, he can't do that with unwanted players that don't fit his style or the style of any new manager...
Villan444
If Bent is sold then Lambert loses my support. Simple. Benteke ISN'T the answer !
crosswesleyanchapel
444, change the record. Would you rather have all the players huffing and puffing, chasing balls down but ultimatley lose games? cus that my friend is what your are preaching. At least with Bent upfront we have a chance of scoring goals, cus as of yet, the others just aint cutting it...........
GibboVilla
I think Darren Bent needs a team to provide him with specific service, and he got that when we had Young and Downing. He can convert some of the chances teams make for him into goals, but it's often like playing with 10 men when he's up front. How many successful teams has Bent been part of? He didn't get much of a look in at Spurs, and my feeling is that he does not improve the overall balance of our team. I remember some years back when Everton won the league with a strikeforce of Andy Gray, Graeme Sharpe and Adrian Heath. When they bought Lineker, even though he scored lots of goals, the team didn't win anything. Is Bent that good? Who do you think would buy him - QPR, Southampton? Liverpool - no way.
itplowe
If Liverpool are really in for Bent interesting to see what their offer is if Downing is worth 20 mill. can they really afford Bent ?
Selling him to QPR would be shooting ourselves in the foot.I may feel Bents a lazy sod at times but if he gets goals we need him.
Merlin128777
Here's a thought. If Liverpool, who are desperate for a goalscorer, were to offer £8 plus Judas Downing, would you take it?
Regarding Bent, If we are selling to avoid add-on clauses being triggerred then that make's goode business sense. Bent is a disappointment for me, and I will be glad to see us cut our losses on him. Benteke will come good. In three years time all f those complaining about Bent's potential exit will be complaining even louder when Manure or Chelski take Benteke off our hands.
2big4seatswannastand
1 in 2 is all i need to hear, we'd be committing Hari Kari if we sold him.
Charizma
All thoseclaiming Bent is lazy and doesn't work for the team should actually try watching a game r two rather than just spouting off based on what they hear read (or in some cases have read to them). He works as hard as most forwards, he wins headers / flick ons, tackles back and I would suggest has cleared more corners and free kicks from our own box than anyone outside the centre halves. He is a natural goal scorer, a rare commodity that wins games. PL needs to get over himself and quickly, his treatment of Bent has been shoddy (I have no issue in dropping him to motivate him / rest him but to not even talk to him as the player inferred after removing the arm band and dropping him is poor, surpassed only by his treatment of Warnock and Hutton.
AVbornandbred
itplowe, liverpool did ok with rush, then aldridge then fowler, arsenal relied on ian wright for years and I seem to remember Man Utd doing okay with van nistleroy, andy cole, henrik larson etc
444 most successful prem managers would disagree with you Fergie brought in Hernandez a few seasons ago, Moyes recently brought in Jelavic etc Watch how much creating / defending Ba and Cisse do for Newcastle and then think where they'd have finished last season without their goals.
2big Benteke might eventually come good but at the moment he looks like Heskey and if we lose Bent now and rely on Benteke then we won' have to worry bout what he does in 3 years because we'll be in the championship and he'll be off at the end of the season.
AVbornandbred
Hernandez rarely gets a game and never gets 90 mins. Impact sub in a solskjaer role for Bent. Yes please all day, but for 90 minutes he offers so little that he's easy to counteract or restrict his service. He's a deadly finisher but with nothing to finish, partly as he doesn't create anything. He will run about and put the effort in under PL but I can't remember him making a successful tackle!!! He hasn't got any assists although did set up ONE good chance for Benteke who should've done better. 1 chance of note isn't enough though surely?!?! When he was dropped for the cup game, it gave him a kick up the backside but it also gave other players belief that they could do a job and that they had the manager's faith. It's not all about Bent. Deadly finisher. 70 percent of the time but he really isn't that good.
Villan444
He is compared to what we've got & to what we can afford 444. It would be madness to sell him. I can't remember being as excited about a player joining as I was when he did since David Ginola
AstonBilla
I don't think you can compare Bent with Rush, Aldridge, Fowler, Wright and Van Nistelrooy - and those Liverpool, Arsenal and Man Utd teams might also have the edge on the current Villa team. Bent played well for minor teams such as Ipswich, Charlton and Sunderland. If he becomes available in January, does anyone think Chelsea, Man Utd., Man City, Arsenal, Spurs etc would be interested? Yes, a good player, but not a world-beater.
itplowe
Have Your Say
Recent Articles
The Vital Villa Fantasy League Winner! (Monday May 20 2013)
Lambert Thanks Fans For Vociferous Support (Sunday May 19 2013)
Stats: Wigan v Aston Villa (Sunday May 19 2013)
Wigan v Villa - Team News 19/5/13 (Sunday May 19 2013)
We Deserve To Finish Higher (Saturday May 18 2013)
Pre Season Takes Shape (Friday May 17 2013)
Something For The Weekend (424) (Friday May 17 2013)
Lambert Sticking To His Policy - No Big Signings (Friday May 17 2013)
Shaun Maloney Speaks To Vital Wigan About Stan (Friday May 17 2013)
Mystic Mug Sits On Fence To Beat Lawro! (Friday May 17 2013)
Archived Articles
Vital Members League (view all)
| 1. | Pride of Lions | 873 |
| 2. | The Fear | 663 |
| 3. | BodyButter | 440 |
| 4. | kefkat | 375 |
| 5. | CDX_EIRE | 309 |
| 6. | ClivetheVillan | 248 |
| 7. | Villan57 | 241 |
| 8. | thefacehead | 239 |
| 9. | DeanoVilla | 196 |
| 10. | mike_field | 180 |
League Results (view all)
| Latest Results | ||||
| Wigan | 2 | - | 2 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 1 | - | 2 | Chelsea |
| Norwich | 1 | - | 2 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 6 | - | 1 | Sunderland |
| Man Utd | 3 | - | 0 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 1 | - | 1 | Fulham |
League Table (view table)
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 12. Fulham | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | -10 | 43 |
| 13. Stoke | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | -11 | 42 |
| 14. Southampton | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | -11 | 41 |
| 15. Aston Villa | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | -22 | 41 |
| 16. Newcastle | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | -23 | 41 |
| 17. Sunderland | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | -13 | 39 |
| 18. Wigan | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | -26 | 36 |
Breaking League News
| VIDEO: Wenger Praises 'Exceptional' Attitude
» Arsenal : 20/05/2013 12:45:00
|
| VIDEO: Chelsea Plan For Title Challenge
» Chelsea : 20/05/2013 12:43:00
|
| Saints Player Ratings For 2012/2013
» Southampton : 20/05/2013 12:28:00
|
| Moyes begins work at United
» Everton : 20/05/2013 10:13:00
|
| Adkins pleased with Royals' character
» Reading : 20/05/2013 10:00:00
|
| Neville to be named Everton boss?
» Everton : 20/05/2013 09:59:00
|
| Arsene Wenger, Now Is The Time
» Arsenal : 20/05/2013 09:32:00
|
Current Site Poll (view all polls)
|
|
1 © - All content copyright Vital Network Ltd, not to be reproduced without explicit permission Copyright Issues
Cookie Policy
At Vital Football, we along with most other modern websites use small files called 'cookies' to create the most secure, effective and functional website possible for our users. Without these files our business model, based on advertising, breaks down and we would be unable to continue to provide the services that you are here to utilise. By continuing to use this website after seeing this message, you consent to our use of cookies on this device unless you have disabled them. For full details please read our Cookie Policy which can be found here. However, if you would like to disable cookies on this device, please view our Cookie Policy which contains an opt-out tool for disabling advertising cookies. Please also visit our information pages on 'How to manage cookies' if you would also like to block all other types of cookies. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies.