Goals come at a high price – Bents move to Villa is a proof of that – Part 1
It’s often that Harry Redknapp speaks to the media and comes up with something to say which makes the headlines. However, he often makes a fool out of himself, none more so then when he compared the unfortunate http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Darren-Bent-c10358 with his wife – when judging their
goal scoring abilities.
Aston Villa’s move for the former Tottenham player for a reported £18m plus another £6m for add ons, goes on to show that if Darren Bent has any ability it is his goal scoring ability. The money spent on Bent shows the faith Randy Lerner has in his manager,
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gerard-c14664 Houllier.
It is strange transfer in many ways. Firstly the amount is emphatic and secondly Bent has decided to move from a 6th place club to a 17th place team in the league. The transfer has already been depicted as a panic move by Aston Villa
owners, after seeing their team fighting for relegation after more than half the season gone.
However, some parties believe that the move is an excellent show of intent by Villa owners, which will not just lift the players but also the fans. It also adds and releases the pressure from Gerard Houllier.
The pressure of getting the sack is surely over unless the results don’t change but the pressure of making sure that positive results are delivered after the capture of one of the most consistent premier league goal scorers is now on Houllier.
Bent has rebuilt his reputation as a genuine top flight goal scorer at Sunderland under the guidance of Steve Bruce. His ill fated spell at White Hart Lane is best remembered for the jibe from his manager that “my missus could have scored that”, after Bent
had missed a sitter.
The Englishman never really recovered from that saddening statement by his manager, but he still managed to score 17 goals that season for Spurs; even though most of his 43 appearances that season came from the bench.
Bent has had to face criticism for his lack of all round ability. However, similar things could have been said about http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michael-Owen-c25355. Owen’s main weapon was his pace and ability to score goals; quite similar to that of Darren Bent.
Statistics show that Bent is one of the most consistent goal scorers in the Premier League. He has scored goals where ever he has been. His record at Ipswich town is of 55 goals in 144 games in all competitions. At Charlton, who like Ipswich struggled at
the bottom of the table while Bent was there, he managed to score 37 times in 79 games.
He moved to Tottenham when Charlton were relegated. Although he spent most of his time on the bench in his two years at Tottenham, Bent scored 25 times for Spurs in his 79 games at the club.
However, since moving to Sunderland, Bent has been called upon to the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fabio-c13152 Capello and has scored a sensational 36 goals in only 63 appearances.
One wonders why clubs have paid such huge sums of money for his services, he must possess some talent for sure. Spurs slashed out £16.5m on him, while Sunderland paid £10m to bring Bent to the north of England. Now, Aston Villa has smashed a club record
deal, which could rise up to £24m to sign Darren Bent.
If anything, these price tags suggest that goals come at a high price and there have never been shortage of clubs willing to pay huge sums for Bent.
Now that Houllier has been assured of the confidence the club hierarchy has in him, he needs to show that he has the confidence in Bent to score those all important goals for Villa to take them up the table.
Continued is part 2
Tags: