Darren Bent

[Crayola Kid]

yeah but, if they had gone down, would we still be praising lamberts bold stance against his 18m quid misfit?  he was treated quite badly from the outside, at least as poorly as when 'arry slated him for missing a chance and compared him to mrs redknapp.  he may have deserved it, i dont know but lambert may have taken flak  at the end of the season if one of those wins had been a defeat

[Cronky]

Villa were in trouble because they were forced to play a very inexperienced side, due to financial issues. He got the Bent issue dead right. With strikers, it's all about the right combination and Bent didn't feature in that.

[Guest bimpy474]

Villa were in trouble because they were forced to play a very inexperienced side, due to financial issues. He got the Bent issue dead right. With strikers, it's all about the right combination and Bent didn't feature in that.

 

Eh ? Lambert spent £22m in the summer.

[toontownman]

Don't fret... its all a smokescreen for Gary Hooper.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23300214

[Ronaldo]

The way Bent is just doesn't correlate with Lambert's philosophy. Same with Carroll and Rodgers. I couldn't care less.

[Incognito]

The way Bent is just doesn't correlate with Lambert's philosophy. Same with Carroll and Rodgers. I couldn't care less.

 

But Steve Morison and Grant Holt did ?

[Tiresias]

People are way over complicating this. Benteke is a better striker than Bent and couldn't work with him so he dropped Bent. His Norwich played to their strengths, so does his Aston Villa, whose problem was never scoring goals with benteke up front, but defending.

[Stuy_O]

He doesn't like players who he feels won't give 100%, especially so when you're embroiled in a fight to stay up. Same reason Stephen Ireland never got close.

 

If they had been higher in the league I reckon he'd have given Bent more games.

[Guest chopey]

There was also a rumour that if Bent played a certain number of games Villa had to pay Sunderland more cash

[Tiresias]

There was also a rumour that if Bent played a certain number of games Villa had to pay Sunderland more cash

 

Sounds like bollocks dreamt up by the Bent lobby. Benteke is the better striker and even if they'd gone down it would have been the right call

 

anyway why am i fighting the corner of the fucking aston villa manager ffs

 

wish we had lambert

[Guest chopey]

Probably, I would like to see Bent come but I cant see Bent as a partner for Cisse, I still think we will play one up top

[TRon]

So Benteke cost £7m...then he was hardly some fresh faced kid as was the impression I got from Brummie's post. Lambert was proven right to back him in any case, he scored the goals and kept them up and no doubt he's a better all round player than Bent. Really we should be targeting this type of signing as well, but Bent is still a quality striker. Maybe just a goal scorer, but considering how few of our players score goals I can see why Pardew is keen to bring him in.

[Ronaldo]

The way Bent is just doesn't correlate with Lambert's philosophy. Same with Carroll and Rodgers. I couldn't care less.

 

But Steve Morison and Grant Holt did ?

 

Hugely different when you're trying to escape and survive. At Villa there's more latitude to implement his true style. Cost them plenty of points last season, mind.

 

Holt and Morison do much more work than Bent, though.

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

The way Bent is just doesn't correlate with Lambert's philosophy. Same with Carroll and Rodgers. I couldn't care less.

 

But Steve Morison and Grant Holt did ?

 

Hugely different when you're trying to escape and survive. At Villa there's more latitude to implement his true style. Cost them plenty of points last season, mind.

 

Holt and Morison do much more work than Bent, though.

Which is why both of them are in the Championship, now? 2011-2012 Norwich had a much better season than 2012-2013 Aston Villa as well. The job Lambert did last season is vastly overrated. I admire their transfer strategy, but Lambert needs his team to show a lot more on the pitch than it has. People act as thought the team had much better results the second half of the season, but I wasn't impressed. They still limped to an easy 2-1 defeat in that massive match against us and every victory they had outside of Swansea and Liverpool happened against a fellow relegation contender.

[Ronaldo]

Not even sure why you quoted that. Are you insane, Baba? Are you completely insane?

[Cronky]

Villa were in trouble because they were forced to play a very inexperienced side, due to financial issues. He got the Bent issue dead right. With strikers, it's all about the right combination and Bent didn't feature in that.

 

Eh ? Lambert spent £22m in the summer.

 

The bigger picture is that in the three seasons since O'Neill left, there was a net spend of minus £3m. They were a club forced to economise and Lambert did have a very young squad. And they spent hardly anything in the January window even though they were in deep trouble. Lambert did a very good job in keeping them up.

[Segun Oluwaniyi]

Not even sure why you quoted that. Are you insane, Baba? Are you completely insane?

What? I'm not sure I entirely understood what you were saying about Holt and Morison, tbh. You think they are better players than Bent? You think they fit better into the "Lambert system".

 

If people haven't noticed, I'm fully in favour of the Bent acquisition, btw.

[Disco]

Not even sure why you quoted that. Are you insane, Baba? Are you completely insane?

What? I'm not sure I entirely understood what you were saying about Holt and Morison, tbh. You think they are better players than Bent? You think they fit better into the "Lambert system".

 

If people haven't noticed, I'm fully in favour of the Bent acquisition, btw.

 

Lambert plays pretty direct football and those two are OK (especially Holt) at holding it up. Bent, not so much. There is no arguing Bent is a better player though.

[Incognito]

Not even sure why you quoted that. Are you insane, Baba? Are you completely insane?

What? I'm not sure I entirely understood what you were saying about Holt and Morison, tbh. You think they are better players than Bent? You think they fit better into the "Lambert system".

 

If people haven't noticed, I'm fully in favour of the Bent acquisition, btw.

 

Lambert plays pretty direct football and those two are OK (especially Holt) at holding it up. Bent, not so much. There is no arguing Bent is a better player though.

 

This was my point, although I agree Lambert did wonders keeping that Villa squad up last season, it's farcical to say his teams don't play anything other than direct football...he did at Norwich and he has done so far at Villa. Bent doesn't really perform in a long ball hold it up system, or any other really than playing solitary, on the shoulder of the last defender..he is a fine finisher but a limited player.

[Guest bimpy474]

Villa were in trouble because they were forced to play a very inexperienced side, due to financial issues. He got the Bent issue dead right. With strikers, it's all about the right combination and Bent didn't feature in that.

 

Eh ? Lambert spent £22m in the summer.

 

The bigger picture is that in the three seasons since O'Neill left, there was a net spend of minus £3m. They were a club forced to economise and Lambert did have a very young squad. And they spent hardly anything in the January window even though they were in deep trouble. Lambert did a very good job in keeping them up.

 

The net spend is irrelevent, we are talking about since he took over and he spent £22m, so damn right they should have stayed up. It's no one fault he bought young players. To his credit he backed them and it worked, and they will be a much better side this season coming imo. But for people to say he did well is nonsense, he did well with players he had but it was him who put himself in that situation. And it was him who dropped the more experienced player in favour of those youngsters, again to his credit.

 

I'm sick of hearing Villa are hard done by, that is plainly not the case since Lambert took over.

[colinmk]

He has had to buy young to improve the wage bill to some extent I think Bimpy. Lambert did a great job last season.

 

 

[healthyaddiction]

They lost a lot of player on frees last summer (mostly the overpaid players from the O'Neill era) so that money was spread thinly to boost the squad.  Other than Benteke no player cost more than couple million.  It was just they bought several players.  At least that's how I see it.

[Guest bimpy474]

He has had to buy young to improve the wage bill to some extent I think Bimpy.

 

 

 

How does he improve the wage bill by buying young players, yet still have Ireland, Bent, Dunne and a few more sitting in the stands. The maths long term might be better when they've gone tbf, i'm not saying he doesn't deserve credit because he certainly does. He took a brave decision and it worked out well, and the team will be much better in the future.

 

But to claim he has spent nothing is laughable, whether or not he spent it on cheaper wages and on youngster or not, he still spent over £20m.

[Crayola Kid]

a season of tiny margins in the premier league.  villa ended up a win or two from top ten but in fact spent the whole time down the bottom.  if they had dropped, i think lamberts refusal to play the percentages of working to bents strengths would have made him look a fool.  but they just about stayed up, so he did the right thing.  perhaps he's the 'lucky general'.  but perhaps without either bent or benteke to call on, villa will struggle

[colinmk]

He has had to buy young to improve the wage bill to some extent I think Bimpy.

 

 

 

How does he improve the wage bill by buying young players, yet still have Ireland, Bent, Dunne and a few more sitting in the stands. The maths long term might be better when they've gone tbf, i'm not saying he doesn't deserve credit because he certainly does. He took a brave decision and it worked out well, and the team will be much better in the future.

 

But to claim he has spent nothing is laughable, whether or not he spent it on cheaper wages and on youngster or not, he still spent over £20m.

 

I think Dunne was injured or on the piss, Ireland is off his tits and he probably didn't want to make a rash decision with Bent because he could have been useful.

 

Aye he definitely spent money, I think those high earners were always on the list to be out the door though and I imagine it is part of a long-term strategy.