Darren Bent

[Morpheus]

It is mostly reading bwtween the lines - something you shot me down for doing just under a month ago.. yet so far I have not been wrong.

(not that I am onto any sort of victory but just stating that is all)

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Which debate are you referring to?

[VillaCas]

You really do post some biased rubbish on here.

How do you know if we played Bent instead of Benteke or a combination of the two that we would be relegated? You can't possibly know that with any kind of certainty.

Bent was certainly not a panic buy either. We knew what we were getting and got exactly that!

Bent's present form is more to do with how the present manager has set the team up and also the fact that the player's confidence is unsurprisingly completely shot due to being unceremonlously stripped of the captaincy and then preference given to Bowery on the bench.

There is actually more chance of us being relegated with Bent being sold without an able replacement than anything else!

You and Lax are living in the past. Most people on here can appreciate the Lambert is trying to improve the way we play. Bent's style is out of date - he will suit a team who can afford to keep him on the bench as a supersub (we can't afford that).

Benteke is the modern style CF who can bring other players into the game. Bent will be gone in January and we will move forward without him

If we played Bent instead of Benteke we would be in trouble....If we played Bent and Benteke together we would never win enough ball in midfield. Fact

[LondonLax]

Yes because we were great last season

Are you deliberately being obtuse?

We were rubbish last season but we were better at this stage we are than this season, largely due to Bent's goals.

Bent and Benteke looked a good partnership against Swansea. Bent got the assist for Benteke and he set up another sitter which Benteke unfortunately missed. They played together against Southhampton and Bent scored there as well. Unfortunately we had a poor second half and for some reason Bent was dropped. He came on as a sub against West Brom the next game to score again and rescue a point for us but has hardly played since.

We are struggling to score goals and leaving our best goal scorer out of the match day squad. It makes no sense.

[Keyblade]

Lambert would be mad not to try Bent and Benteke together again.

[Morpheus]

I see where you are coming from but it's such a narrow minded view.

I assume that you are stating that goal poachers will become extinct leaving the link forward as the future of the game.

While there are definitely more teams playing this way due to what I call the 'Barca Effect' not all coaches will want to play this style of football. There are other factors to consider. Managers would have to take into consideration the type of player their club could afford and then what would be the most effective way of using those players. Not every club is going to be able to afford players who have technical ability on the ball to play a passing game with one link forward.

Europe is also littered with teams who still play with width and two upfront just as much as you see teams with just one forward. Sometimes one style of football isn't enough to break teams down so they switch formation. There are just too many variables in football for all teams to play one way and that's why players like Bent will never become extinct!

[CI]

Yes he went off at Wigan in Feb,

[Shillzz]

Playing Bent and Benteke together sounds like a good idea, but it would require a change in formation. Personally I wouldnt want to deviate away from the tactics that have seen us pick up a solid amount of points since the Sunderland game. This is the main problem, the only way that Bent can play in the current formation is to drop Benteke, which clearly isnt going to happen at the moment, and rightly so.

[Keyblade]

If Lambert goes 3-5-2 again, I hope it's Bent starting up front with Benteke.

[mikeyp102]

If we played Bent instead of Benteke we would be in trouble....If we played Bent and Benteke together we would never win enough ball in midfield. Fact

It's not fact it's opinion... Playing the formation we did against qpr, bent could quite easily have played alongside benteke rather than gabby. We would then still have enough bodies in midfield to win and utilise possession (yes we may not have done that against qpr but it was the first time it was played)

[AvfcRigo82]

Which debate are you referring to?

This one - That Darren Bent will be leaving.

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[jacketspuds]

It would be a shame not to try Benteke and Bent up front for one of our upcoming matches. There is no way Lambert is dropping him for "football reasons" as most managers should be able to get a team working with both strikers, who are very different in style, playing together.

He'll be sold in January IMO. I just hope we can spend some money next month to improve our squad and we don't get an excuse that the summer spending of £20m was funded by a future sale of Bent.

[AvfcRigo82]

It would be a shame not to try Benteke and Bent up front for one of our upcoming matches. There is no way Lambert is dropping him for "football reasons" as most managers should be able to get a team working with both strikers, who are very different in style, playing together.

I feel he might play one more game for us maybe two at a push within the December fixtures.

He'll be sold in January IMO. I just hope we can spend some money next month to improve our squad and we don't get an excuse that the summer spending of £20m was funded by a future sale of Bent.

I can't see that happening. PL & The fans would not be too pleased if it did either.

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[briny_ear]

Obviously Lambert doesn't rate Bent and isn't going to have a serious try at getting him and Benteke working together. This is perplexing considering how we are struggling for goals.

Still, lambert's his call and he lives or dies by the results he gets, so one can only assume he has a better plan ready to unveil once he's sold Bent and bought a replacement in January.

[TrentVilla]

They played together away at Southampton and we ended up getting turned over, I've heard Lambert refer to this match several times when being asked about the situation with Bent.

I think Lambert has made his mind up that the two together just isn't an option that he wants to persist with.

I'm not saying I agree with him, just that he has tried it and seemingly has made his mind up about it.

[Morpheus]

This one - That Darren Bent will be leaving.

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I really can't remember unless you go back and then quote it. Once I see it I will then answer your question.

[AvfcRigo82]

I really can't remember unless you go back and then quote it. Once I see it I will then answer your question.

More the argument as a whole rather than certain posts made.

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[LondonLax]

They played together away at Southampton and we ended up getting turned over, I've heard Lambert refer to this match several times when being asked about the situation with Bent.

I think Lambert has made his mind up that the two together just isn't an option that he wants to persist with.

I'm not saying I agree with him, just that he has tried it and seemingly has made his mind up about it.

That is some pretty bizarre management to write off one of our best players over a poor half of football. Even more so when you consider Bent scored in that game.

[TrentVilla]

I didn't say he wrote off Bent based on that one game. I simply said he tried them as a partnership in that game and he is on record as saying that in his opinion it didn't work.

[CI]

Southampton away was more about our defence and midfield capitulating rather than what Bent/Benteke did or didn't do that day

We were 1 up and Benteke then missed a sitter as did bent to make it 2 then 3 nil.

I turned to my mate in the stand at the time and said we will pay for those misses.

[Morley_crosses_to_Withe]

Exactly. It was shoddy defending and poor performances across midfield that caused us to piss three points up the wall. Nothing to do with Bent. Perhaps Lambet should drop the whole defence from that day, or make each midfielder an outcast.

Or he could just decide that his management isn't working for the club based on that one day, but that would be ridiculous (as is banging on about Benteke and Bent not working that game and thus implying the partnership will never work).