Zatman Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 He is Belgian citizen so probably not an issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I completely forgot Bent still played for us :lol: We've really not missed him at all have we? It's amazing that we paid 18m for him. Though, I will admit at the time I thought it was a great signing. Shame all of our creative players wanted to leave straight after. 35 goals in 32 games in the league this season, I'd beg to differ. Yes Benteke has been absolutely great, but we have still lacked a lot of tap-ins and "free" goals this season IMO. Benteke has scored 15 goals, 3 of them being penalties, and lots of them have been good strikes - not many have been tucked away from 4 yards out because he is a totally different player. Weimann has 6 goals and he has been pretty good at developing his game, but still I would have liked to see him hit double figures. Think he can be looking at that next season though With regards to Darren Bent, when he plays he has the ability to make other player contribute more. He goes where the ball is going, not where it's been, scoring those easy tap-ins and that creates havoc for the defenders. Say whatever you want about his overall contribution in open play, and he has been a victim this season because we haven't been able to create lots of chances. However, this season has been a travesty altogether but I think he would have scored 10+ goals if he had not been injured. For Sunderland he scored 24 league goals just a coupe of seasons ago and that is wicked high for a club like that. They too had lots of decent players but they didn't create a lot of chances, still he scored that many goals. Our problems this season is due to our midfielders being constantly changed, injured, out of form, suspended, down on confidence etc. With better midfielders you create more momentum and more chances, chances Darren Bent will score from. He has gone from hero to scapegoat without really playing much, and looking at our position in the table it's not like we have thrived without him - even if Benteke has been marvelous at times. I see signs of us selling him in the summer, and he will probably go to another club in the Premier League where he will play and score lots of goals again. My dream is that we invest in the midfield and again manage to score lots of goals, with Benteke and Bent playing together. Weimann can play striker and also on the wing, which gives Lambert some options along with Agbonlahor. It is much more likely that Benteke will leave this summer if you ask me, especially if he keeps on scoring the last few games. We can hope all we want, but the form he has put up will form interest from the best clubs and there is no chance of him staying if Arsenal put up a bid. I dread him going to Liverpool though, they certainly need some strength up top and we all know Benteke can handle the ball with his feet as well, unlike Andy Carroll who was deemed unfit for that setup. I also know that if we sell Darren Bent this summer, everyone on here will say good riddens and all, but I just think it's a disaster to sell on such a player for a low fee when his talent is there for all to see. He has played very few games this season, not enough for me to conclude he is not good enough for this team under Lambert. Certainly not when we have scored very little and find ourselves near the bottom of the table. We'll see though, impossible for any of us to predict what is most likely to happen next season. Will we have the same manager, since McLeish was fired after staying up with points similar to what we will get now? Will we even play in this league? Will Benteke leave? Etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I completely forgot Bent still played for us :lol: We've really not missed him at all have we? It's amazing that we paid 18m for him. Though, I will admit at the time I thought it was a great signing. Shame all of our creative players wanted to leave straight after. 35 goals in 32 games in the league this season, I'd beg to differ. Yes Benteke has been absolutely great, but we have still lacked a lot of tap-ins and "free" goals this season IMO. Benteke has scored 15 goals, 3 of them being penalties, and lots of them have been good strikes - not many have been tucked away from 4 yards out because he is a totally different player. Weimann has 6 goals and he has been pretty good at developing his game, but still I would have liked to see him hit double figures. Think he can be looking at that next season though With regards to Darren Bent, when he plays he has the ability to make other player contribute more. He goes where the ball is going, not where it's been, scoring those easy tap-ins and that creates havoc for the defenders. Say whatever you want about his overall contribution in open play, and he has been a victim this season because we haven't been able to create lots of chances. However, this season has been a travesty altogether but I think he would have scored 10+ goals if he had not been injured. For Sunderland he scored 24 league goals just a coupe of seasons ago and that is wicked high for a club like that. They too had lots of decent players but they didn't create a lot of chances, still he scored that many goals. Our problems this season is due to our midfielders being constantly changed, injured, out of form, suspended, down on confidence etc. With better midfielders you create more momentum and more chances, chances Darren Bent will score from. He has gone from hero to scapegoat without really playing much, and looking at our position in the table it's not like we have thrived without him - even if Benteke has been marvelous at times. I see signs of us selling him in the summer, and he will probably go to another club in the Premier League where he will play and score lots of goals again. My dream is that we invest in the midfield and again manage to score lots of goals, with Benteke and Bent playing together. Weimann can play striker and also on the wing, which gives Lambert some options along with Agbonlahor. It is much more likely that Benteke will leave this summer if you ask me, especially if he keeps on scoring the last few games. We can hope all we want, but the form he has put up will form interest from the best clubs and there is no chance of him staying if Arsenal put up a bid. I dread him going to Liverpool though, they certainly need some strength up top and we all know Benteke can handle the ball with his feet as well, unlike Andy Carroll who was deemed unfit for that setup. I also know that if we sell Darren Bent this summer, everyone on here will say good riddens and all, but I just think it's a disaster to sell on such a player for a low fee when his talent is there for all to see. He has played very few games this season, not enough for me to conclude he is not good enough for this team under Lambert. Certainly not when we have scored very little and find ourselves near the bottom of the table. We'll see though, impossible for any of us to predict what is most likely to happen next season. Will we have the same manager, since McLeish was fired after staying up with points similar to what we will get now? Will we even play in this league? Will Benteke leave? Etc etc. Lambert won't leave, and benteke wont go to liv, but agree with the rest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KjParton Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 (edited) We can see when he's on the pitch Bent doesn't do anything now. Did he touch the ball on Saturday against Stoke? (Legit question) If we were going to keep him we'd have to buy players that can work around him. Or change our tactics to suit him. Bent thrives of crosses into the box (something we haven't really done that much this season) and he also loves through balls between the defence where he finds himself in one on ones. When we had Young & Downing they were the perfect players to play with Bent. If we were going to keep him we'd need to invest in wingers again. Edited April 11, 2013 by KjParton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oaks Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Only thing I can say with any certainty is one/some of our signings will be players we've never even heard of. so their automatically shit To be fair its better than some MON signings knowing them to be shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John_10 Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 If we were going to keep him we'd need to invest in wingers again. Even if we sell bent i'd like us to sign at least one winger in the summer. Gabby and weimman have done well recently out there but i think there's room for improvement and obviously it would be good to have options instead of relying on bowery or albrighton. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Yep, wide midfield is an area I would like to see us improve in the summer. For me central defence and wide midfield are the key areas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John_10 Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Yep, wide midfield is an area I would like to see us improve in the summer. For me central defence and wide midfield are the key areas Yes, priority areas for me as well. Ideally it would be great if we could add Cb Attacking midfield player Winger All good enough to go straight into the starting 11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagicMushroom Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 (edited) Cant see us bringing in a winger, not since Lamberts stumbled on to the present formation. Attacking wise, we are fine and will continue to get better as Benteke and Weimann develop. In midfield we have Gardner to come back and we also have Carruthers waiting in the wings(excuse the pun!) My guess is, Lambert will concentrate on addressing our defensive weakness by bringing in a central holding midfielder and central defender, both of whom will be experienced and proven. Then its a case of filling in around the edges, replacing the likes of Ireland and Bent with hungry young players. Edited April 11, 2013 by MagicMushroom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyBM Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 if anything, i think we have too many centre mids and could do with culling a few, westwood, sylla, nzogbia, delph, herd, gardner, el ahmadi, carruthers is all we need, that would see ireland, makoun and bannan out (and stans contract is up as well isnt it?) im more interested to see what we do in the keeper situation (as well as defense) if given leaves to pursue first team football which is understandable, who will push guzan, as he does seem to be thriving on knowing theres another good keeper biting at his ankles marshall has another job and siegrist is still young Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattyp_avfc Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Outs... Bent Ireland Dunne Hutton Bannan (Hopefully) Makoun Petrov (Move to Coach/Ambassadorial role) That's what I'd guess at anyway... We need 2 Cb's I think... Unless Williams is going to be used as a 5th Cb... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condimentalist Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Everyone is very optimistic about Ireland leaving. Don't see it, not with the wages he's on. The best we can hope for is a loan where we pay 50%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I think we'll sign a Boateng this summer. No idea which one, there are literally hundreds of them out there, I'm hoping a big DCM Boateng . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristchurchVillan Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I think we'll sign a Boateng this summer. No idea which one, there are literally hundreds of them out there, I'm hoping a big DCM Boateng . George? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyBM Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 we definitely need 2 centre backs, if nothing else, we used to have such a good defense... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Vlaar should improve next season, problem is he is injury prone, baker should improve . I think a decision is needed regarding Clark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PieFacE Posted April 11, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted April 11, 2013 I think we'll sign a Boateng this summer. No idea which one, there are literally hundreds of them out there, I'm hoping a big DCM Boateng . What an strange thing to say. I think we will sign a Steve this summer. No idea which one. Hope its a good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelle Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I think we'll sign a Boateng this summer. No idea which one, there are literally hundreds of them out there, I'm hoping a big DCM Boateng . What an strange thing to say. I think we will sign a Steve this summer. No idea which one. Hope its a good one. Would that include Dale Stephens or is it just a Steve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeaniimacaroon Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 (edited) Players to be moved on: *idea of high/low wages come from media. not working on anymore knowledge than that. Bent (He doesn't really contribute to our style of play anymore, probably on too high wages to be 3rd/4th striker and play a handful of games a season). Given (I'd quite happily keep him as 2nd keeper, but (a) I don't think he wants to be a 2nd keeper and (b ) he too is probably on quite high wages for 2nd keeper). Ireland (He shows the very occasional glimmer of what he was once at City, but we have too many central midfielders as it is and again high wages). Hutton (Just awful). Delfouneso (I think he is a more championship level striker, if Blackpool made an offer I'd be tempted to take it). I'm really torn on Bannan and Albrighton. When they both first made their mark I really wanted them to keep up their great form, but they haven't been quite up to it the last two season (obv. Albrighton hasn't really had a chance this season). Perhaps just keep them as they keep the competition in midfield up. Just. Players to get in: Experienced Defenders! Actually quite like the thought of Phil Neville,not the player he used to be but still good enough for us I think. Could really help the young players in defence. Edited April 11, 2013 by jeaniimacaroon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Hasnt Phil Neville played in midfield for the last 8 or 9 years ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts