David Bentley last night

[Monkey Bastard Hands]

I didn't see a Bentley thread after last nights game so thought i'd start one.

After reading through the match ratings from the Arsenal game it seems to be the general consensus that Bentley is shit and should never be allowed to play for us again.

I agree he had a poor game but let's just take a step back and put a sense of realism in the air shall we?

• Firstly, the whole team had a shocking game.
• It was his first game for us this season after coming back from injury. No gradual substitute appearances, he was thrown straight into a full game and he played the full 120 minutes.
• He was being played out of position, on the left wing.

When you consider these three things I don't think it's fair to judge him too harshly. It's already been proven that Bentley is pretty ineffective when playing on the left side, and playing Lennon on the left with Bentley on the right is also a waste of talent. Therefore, as happened last season, you can really only play one of them in the team, not both.

He's been out for 3 months and had virtually no pre-season training so of course he's going to be lacking that match sharpness. He was clumsy on the ball last night, but rather than get on his back and relegate him to the reserves how about we remember that it takes a few games before players regain their full ability - how many players can really spend 3 months out and come back all guns firing?

I think it's far too early to start judging him based on this one performance. With Lennon also struggling for form maybe it's time to put Bentley in the starting lineup for a couple of games with a full strength team and see how he gets on. I bet it won't take long for him to regain his touch and sharpness. Let's not forget that only a few months ago he was playing regularly when Lennon was out, and did a very good job. coys.

 

[Misfit]

he did alright the end of last season I agree. When he regains fitness and plays on the right again, I'll judge him. he hasn't set the world alight since he's been here, that's for sure. I still think part of the problem was his price tag - halve that and he'd be given more slack - and when he came into the club things went to hell in a hand basket pretty rapidly. Nobody is blaming him, it would be nonsensical to do so, but still... Lingering memories of a depressing time.

 

[Kendall]

He had some great touches last night and has a lot of ability, but he's dumb and his decision making is schoolboy at times.

He really seemed to settle down last season, perhaps because he knew Lennon wasn't coming back in a hurry. He just looked like he was too desperate to make a big impression last night instead of keeping the ball and keeping it simple.

 

[stemark44]

Don't worry about Bentley,he will come good - just needs a couple of games to find his form.

 

[3Dnata]

His free-kick to Keane was quality and could have been credited as an assist with a bit more luck.
He did a very good £16 million worth of cover but that is not his fault.
On the minus side he only seems able to play RW, I'm afraid in the days of 25 man squads and being in a CL side that isn't good enough, I wondered whether Ramos thought Bentley ould have been a second striker but that didn't work. At the World cup many top sides had players playing not in their favoured positions, VDV did it at the weekend for us which caused a stir amongst some but we had BAE and Bale on the left so it's a matter of finding a way to play our best 11.
I fear Bentley will end up somewhere like Bolton or Birmingham where they can afford to play to his strengths and he'l look decent again. It is a pity pre VDV he was our best dead ball player.

 

[dvdhopeful]

He played a massive role for us when Lennon was injured last season, he can do the same this year too

 

[beats1]

He wasn't great but he was hungry, looking for the ball and keeping himself open and imo did better than lennon and gio, but there was nothing going to pav, other than long balls for to chase

He was also playing out of position

 

[ajspurs]

I don't rate Bentley a great deal to be honest. Him to never play for Spurs again is incredibly harsh to say mind...

I think even last season, he did OK, nothing more. He added balance to the side which was much needed after we had Modric on the left and Kranjcar on the right, two in-field wide men, which didn't really work at all.

Last night he was awful though. I would still definitely give him a chance just for the fact that he played on the left and he's certainly better on the right but that's still no excuse for the amount of times he lost the ball and for his selfish decisions.

And for anyone who says: "Yea, says the guy with bentley in his sig", I loved that moment, I'd have it if it was bloody Gardner who did that, so I haven't suddenly turned on Bentley :wink:

 

[MrShibby]

The best part of Bentley's game is his ability to whip in quality crosses. In a perfect world he'd be planting heaps of chances onto Crouch's bonce, but this world ain't perfect...

 

[spurdownunder]

Great to see some Sanity in this thread.
Bentley is awesome cover for Lennon. And Lennon's having a mare at present, so fully fit, Bentley might get a run based on form sooner rather than later.
I still rate him.

 

[lifeof...]

I think putting the words Bentley and Awesome in the same sentence boarders on insanity.

Even taking into account his lack of match time, he was, when judged on the whole game, poor. Making, what a poster may feel are, justified reasons for a poor performance / part of his game. Does not escape the fact, he was poor, whatever the "deemed" reason.

 

[Spurz]

regardless of his injuries, out for few months and whatever else, he still display his fundamental flaws in his game ever since he was here. He never looks up when he has the ball. he dribbles in blind alleys and tries to do everything on his own. never a simple pass, always tries to be too clever when he is not. he has not change and will not get much better when he is fit.

 

[scat1620]

He had some great touches last night and has a lot of ability, but he's dumb and his decision making is schoolboy at times.

He really seemed to settle down last season, perhaps because he knew Lennon wasn't coming back in a hurry. He just looked like he was too desperate to make a big impression last night instead of keeping the ball and keeping it simple.

That's the thing that strikes me most about him. He evidently has a LOT of natural skill (which would be even more scary if he had some pace about him), but during his time at Spurs he seems to pick the wrong option in a given match situation far more than other players of similar ability. He often dribbles or shoots in situations where he should pass, or passes in situations where he should be whipping in an early cross etc.

He has got the talent, but if people think Lennon has no football brain (btw, I think Lennon's football brain is decent and has improved every season at Spurs to date) then they must despair at Bentley's ability to pick the right option. I'm happy to have him at Spurs as a back-up/alternative to Lennon in out-of-form periods, but boy is DB a frustrating player to watch at times.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

I think it's more of a personal thing against Bentley with some people. Tuesday night, he did an outrageous piece of skill to beat Eboue, carried the ball forward, ignored Pav and Gio and shot from 25 yards which went wide and over. Especially where I was sitting, he was called allsorts from every angle. "You useless ****!!" someone behind me even shouted.

10 minutes later, Pav picked the ball up, cut inside, ignored anyone else and shot from 25 yards, the ball went wide. Same guy behind me..."Suuuuuuppppeerrr, Super Pav....."

Personally I like Bentley as a back up when we have an overlapping fullback, but it still fucks me off no end that we shelled out £16m on him. Potentially worse business than however much we actually spent on Darren Bent.

 

[C-oops]

I have no real complaints about him and value him as a squad member. Last night his descision making was poor and as has been mentioned he was a bit clumsy on the ball. I suppose he has always been a bit guilty of taking a shot when better passes are on. Play him on the right though. He's not a left winger. It slows his and our game down when he has to stop and cut inside every time he gets the ball. Give him time and he'll be back to how he played at the end of last season. Hopefully Lennon poor form so far will spur them both on to fight it out for the rm position

 

[StartingPrice]

he did alright the end of last season I agree. When he regains fitness and plays on the right again, I'll judge him. he hasn't set the world alight since he's been here, that's for sure. I still think part of the problem was his price tag - halve that and he'd be given more slack - and when he came into the club things went to hell in a hand basket pretty rapidly. Nobody is blaming him, it would be nonsensical to do so, but still... Lingering memories of a depressing time.

This.

He had some great touches last night and has a lot of ability, but he's dumb and his decision making is schoolboy at times.

He really seemed to settle down last season, perhaps because he knew Lennon wasn't coming back in a hurry. He just looked like he was too desperate to make a big impression last night instead of keeping the ball and keeping it simple.

All of this, but, as I expain to whenever I defend him and someone thinks I am obsessed with him or summit, he ain't the brightest penny in the pocket, and some of his decision making is still dominated by an unconrollable urge for that Champagne Moment.

Don't worry about Bentley,he will come good - just needs a couple of games to find his form.

I hope, this.

He wasn't great but he was hungry, looking for the ball and keeping himself open and imo did better than lennon and gio, but there was nothing going to pav, other than long balls for to chase

He was also playing out of position

This, I felt.

I have no real complaints about him and value him as a squad member. Last night his descision making was poor and as has been mentioned he was a bit clumsy on the ball. I suppose he has always been a bit guilty of taking a shot when better passes are on. Play him on the right though. He's not a left winger. It slows his and our game down when he has to stop and cut inside every time he gets the ball. Give him time and he'll be back to how he played at the end of last season. Hopefully Lennon poor form so far will spur them both on to fight it out for the rm position

And this.

And, as others say, he was out of position. Also, as one fo the few 'senior' players, there was a lot of weight on his shoulders that he is ill-equipped to carry, and he was playing with nyoung and inexperienced players who maybe werren't quite on his wavelength.

Don't see any need to get into a fluster about his performance, it wasn't that bad.

 

[Samson]

It wasn't great management, I didn't think. He was set up to fail, and failed. Now that's not a problem with Dos Santos, say, but like it or not, Bentley cost much the same as Luka Modric. We need to invest the time and effort in getting a decent return on that, if we actually want an upgrade.

 

[g_harry]

Bentley preformance was a disgrace from a so called pro footballer earning millons - shocking.

 

[gregga]

I think it's more of a personal thing against Bentley with some people. Tuesday night, he did an outrageous piece of skill to beat Eboue, carried the ball forward, ignored Pav and Gio and shot from 25 yards which went wide and over. Especially where I was sitting, he was called allsorts from every angle. "You useless ****!!" someone behind me even shouted.

10 minutes later, Pav picked the ball up, cut inside, ignored anyone else and shot from 25 yards, the ball went wide. Same guy behind me..."Suuuuuuppppeerrr, Super Pav....."

Personally I like Bentley as a back up when we have an overlapping fullback, but it still fucks me off no end that we shelled out £16m on him. Potentially worse business than however much we actually spent on Darren Bent.

This is spot on.

Bentley didn't have a great game on Tuesday but he showed flashes of brilliance and hit a few very good free kicks.

Towards the end of the game he visibly lost heart and I think that's what upset a lot of people but in the first half his use of the ball was better than almost all our other players.

Overall he lost possession no more than anyone else did yet he has come in for way more stick than almost any other player.

Bottom line is he cannot play left wing - he looks totally lost out there and Redknapp's decision to play him there was utterly baffling.

I still think he deserves a spell in the first team in his favoured position to give Lennon a kick up the arse.

 

[nailsy]

I actually thought he did OK considering it was his first game this season and he was playing on the wrong side. I thought he looked our most dangerous attacking player in the first half. He definitely needs to work on his decision making but I'm sure that will improve if he gets more game time.

I should probably admit that I sank quite a few beers during the first half of the game so my view of the game could be completely different to those of you who were sober.