Bentley's decision to throw water over Harry cost him his Spurs career

[Legend10]

He is a very talented player but has never really adjusted to the idea that he might have to actually work at it. Players like him are ten-a-penny in terms of talent, but it is the ones who can add a work ethic to their games that make it at the top, His biggest problem is that "luxury" players no longer really exist at the top level. He couldn't go and be what he was at blackburn now because those teams all rely on grafters to stay up.

VDV has ten times his talent and works his socks off every minute of every game. He should have learned from his example!

The sad thing is they are not!

If you look at most of the english players in the premiership and compare their natural ability with david bentley's there are very few that come close to him. That is what I have found so frustrating about his time at Spurs, ability in abundance but savethe odd moment no return for us!

 

[stevenqoz]

The nature of squad football today means that there will always be people out on the edge. Having just coached through a 38 game season with a squad of 17 players it is at times pressure filled, relationships are strained but as the coach you can't second guess yourself....you have an impression of the squad pecking-order and that takes time to alter. We cut two blokes from the squad even though their skill probably made entitled them to a run....it was their attitutude and potential to poison from the bench that swayed the decision. We won the double but clearly you can't please everyone. Bentleys story is not a one off in the EPL...the large size of squads make it common...... Berbatov, Owen, Ade, Gomez, Adam Johnson, Andy Johnson have all spent long periods of being effectively ignored recently.....

 

[AngerManagement]

I think Bentley flattered to deceive at Blackburn and we paid through the nose for a dude who looked impressive been the focal point of a smaller club.

Just like Santa Cruz looked impressive there but was unable to reproduce his form else where.

Just like Bent had great stats for CHarlton but was not good enough for us and just like in days gone by Ruel Fox and Andy Sinton were great for Norwich and QPR respectively but not really top draw if you take them out of their comfort zone

There are countless examples of players who produce either short term for a season or two or players who can do great things at one level (be it CHampionship or lower PL) and not do the same things when you put them in a bigger club with greater demands and greater expectations.

I think Bentley was set up to look good as the big fish in the small pond at Blackburn and frankly wasn't good enough to be the player we wanted him to be (Lennon's upgrade)

He has decent technique yes, but he's too slow and too weak and I think he lacks that mental desire and edge that separates winners from losers at the business end of top level sport.

 

[DiamondLites]

I remember being at the lane for our last pre season game against roma, spanking them 5-0 with bentley scoring twice. We all thought he was going to be a future spurs hero and that ramos was the best thing since sliced bread. How wrong we were...

 

[camaj]

While I'm the first to complain about Redknapp overlooking players who should have been playing I honestly can't agree with Bentley. He was awful when he had a chance to prove himself. Maybe Redknapp's lack of faith meant he lacked confidence and that affected his performances but I don't every remember thinking what a good player he was when he played for us, even before bucket-gate. He scored a nice FK once and hit one of the best goals I've seen against Arsenal but his performances were never up to par

 

[BringBack_leGin]

I can't believe there's anybody still comparing Bentley to Lennon positively. Aside from the fact that Lennon is infinitely faster and much harder working, Lennon also has the ability to control a difficult pass and turn instantly before either running or finding a team mate because he thinks quickly and has an excellent first touch. Bentley on the other hand receives the ball and dallies before trying something he's not capable of and losing possession. Lennon is also far more able to drift inside and make a clever pass down the middle, whereas I've never seen Bentley do anything other than take a stupid shot when he drifts inside. Lennons biggest problems are that he drifts out of games too easily and he goes into his shell too often, but those are both flaws I'm Bentleys game anyway.

Lennon might not be a world beater often enough, but he's better than Bentley in almost every aspect of the game apart from crossing from deep which is why, 4 years and 3 managers later, he's first choice and Bentley is in Russia. More technique, quicker thinker, much harder worker and fast as lightning. Two good seasons in Bentleys career doesn't change that, even Heskey has that.

 

[HodisGawd]

He's got nothing on Lennon, nothing. Lennon has been a great servant to the club, while Bentley's been a drain. Anyone who suggests otherwise should be ashamed of themselves. Bentley was never good enough, mainly because he thought he was. Rarely have I seen a more selfish, dandyish player with an over-inflated impression of his own ability. He could have been good, he did have talent, but he wasn't. He seemed to honestly believe he was the new David Beckham. Goodbye Bentley, please don't come back because we have Lennon and you'll never be as good as him. Even though he can't cross, doesn't score enough goals etc etc, Lennon is far superior.

 

[Phil_2.0]

David Bentley is not a bad guy at all and it all gets forgotten how much he played for us when we finished 4th. Good player but never worth 15m. He really looked slow during preseason.

 

[Spurger King]

I remember being at the lane for our last pre season game against roma, spanking them 5-0 with bentley scoring twice. We all thought he was going to be a future spurs hero and that ramos was the best thing since sliced bread. How wrong we were...

I was there too that day and thought the same thing. Gio played as well and I remember seeing him set up Lennon and thinking how he was going to be a big star for us.

 

[BorisTM]

David Bentley only has David Bentley to blame for not fulfilling his talent.

And what was the talent of his you are talking about?

 

[BorisTM]

Bobbins - not surprisingly, I respectfully disagree.

Whenever I've seen Bentley get his head up, he tries to chip the keeper from 30 yards or shoot from ridiculous distance when there are better options.

VDV and Modric were always aware of their teammates' movement, and would use it to put them in or to distract defenders and buy time and space for themselves. My abiding memory of Bentley at Spurs is of trying to do too much by himself or throwing in an aimless cross.

When he was at his most effective at Blackburn, Mark Hughes basically had him crossing the ball early to hungry strikers. A simple gameplan where he didn't have to think too much.

Bentley wanted Wenger to play him as a Number 10 or second striker and the Whinger sold him.

What better options are you talking about? Do you remember Lennon or Bale, because frankly Bentley was always played as a winger right or left, trying a better option after cutting on the inside? NO. They always tried to shoot. So did Bentley. You know why? Because that is what they were told by Arry. They either had to beat the defender and cross it or cut inside and try to shoot. That was the whole "genius" idea. That's why Arry brought in Crouch. Remember? We needed a tall man in the box for them crosses.

Here is some "ridiculous distance" Bentley magic.

 

[yanno]

What better options are you talking about? Do you remember Lennon or Bale, because frankly Bentley was always played as a winger right or left, trying a better option after cutting on the inside? NO. They always tried to shoot. So did Bentley. You know why? Because that is what they were told by Arry. They either had to beat the defender and cross it or cut inside and try to shoot. That was the whole "genius" idea. That's why Arry brought in Crouch. Remember? We needed a tall man in the box for them crosses.

Here is some "ridiculous distance" Bentley magic.

And thus the limitation of YouTube clips in judging a player's all round game is revealed.

Yes, Bentley had a couple of great moments, which I hugely enjoyed and cheered.

Unfortunately, all Spurs fans who watch the club regularly know that the ratio of "Bentley magic" to "Bentley tosh" was certainly north of 1:20. And those 20 moments of sheer frustration at a move breaking down or a shot or cross ending up in the crowd don't appear on YouTube.

If you'd read my posts properly, you'd realise that by better options I'm talking about footballing intelligence. When a player cuts inside, they'd don't always have to shoot. A VDV or Modric would cut inside and look for a 1-2 or a through ball at least as often as they decided to shoot. And if nothing was on, they'd keep possession and start probing, looking for an opening.

Footballing intelligence. VDV probably isn't much faster than Bentley, but unlike DB he has a world class footballing brain.

 

[McFlash]

He wasn't quick enough to be played out wide

And wasn't athletic enough to be a central midfielder

Perhaps he could have played the number 9 role?

That's where he started, at the goons.

As for the water incident fucking up his career in England... Bollocks. Drink driving, poncing about with his hair and his partyboy lifestyle stalled his career at Spurs.
Refusing to turn out for England B ruined his England career.
There's no one else to blame for the past few years, other than Bentley.

Aside from that, I've always thought that he's supposed to be a good laugh to have around the place but then, there's a time and a place for larking about and maybe that's the problem.
I wish him well as there's a good player in there, and a decent bloke too. He's just got to find him again.

 

[McFlash]

Bobbins - not surprisingly, I respectfully disagree.

Whenever I've seen Bentley get his head up, he tries to chip the keeper from 30 yards or shoot from ridiculous distance when there are better options.

He he. That reminded me of Ghaly's last game for us. Except that Hossam wasn't trying to chip the keeper, he was just chipping it over the defence...to nobody...three times!

And he had the cheek to throw his shirt? I was sat by the dugout and was tempted to have a pop at him on his way past but he was quite a big lad...and he was clearly angry...and I remembered the whole 'teeth' incident!

 

[southlondonyiddo]

I feel sorry for him people never gave him a chance and after meeting him and talking to him on twitter I can honestly say he's a great lad.

Also think he was good in ore season probably one of our stand out players

Good to see you've not lost your sense of humour

 

[BorisTM]

And thus the limitation of YouTube clips in judging a player's all round game is revealed.

Yes, Bentley had a couple of great moments, which I hugely enjoyed and cheered.

Unfortunately, all Spurs fans who watch the club regularly know that the ratio of "Bentley magic" to "Bentley tosh" was certainly north of 1:20. And those 20 moments of sheer frustration at a move breaking down or a shot or cross ending up in the crowd don't appear on YouTube.

If you'd read my posts properly, you'd realise that by better options I'm talking about footballing intelligence. When a player cuts inside, they'd don't always have to shoot. A VDV or Modric would cut inside and look for a 1-2 or a through ball at least as often as they decided to shoot. And if nothing was on, they'd keep possession and start probing, looking for an opening.

Footballing intelligence. VDV probably isn't much faster than Bentley, but unlike DB he has a world class footballing brain.

There was a reason I put Bentley in the same group as Bale and Lennon, and not the group of VDV and Modric, when they were played on the wing. Bentley didn't have the luxury of playing with Walker like VDV did, he was paired with Corluka most of the time. So his role, as it was set by Arry just like that of Bale (after arry started playing him as a winger) and Lennon, was to make a run and either beat his defender and make a cross or cut inside and shoot with his weak foot. But the problem was that Bentley didn't have Bale's and Lennon's speed so his runs ended up short and not so close to the box most of the time, with him trying to make some room switching the ball from one foot to another. As a result his crosses tended to be deep and his shots further out. Yet he still managed to score 4 goals and provide 7 assistances in the season when he was started in 19 games.

If you had watched the videos carefully you would have noticed how Bentley scored those long range goals - he was already in the middle when receiving the ball, with enough time to control it and measure his shot, without being under pressure from a defender on his back. Another thing that is common for all three is the lack of Arry's input, which is why I put them in a chronological order.