Special Report - The Love Affair With Darren Bent

Even though Posts By Panos is a one-man show, it is time to expand our horizons through a variety of Special Reports, courtesy of football fanatics from across the globe. Our first Special Report is courtesy of Mutaz Bakhiet, a life-long Sunderland supporter. Mutaz shares his view on Darren Bent and his recent transfer from Sunderland to Aston Villa. Enjoy after the jump.

 

Darren Bent did incredibly well as a Sunderland player.  It seemed like every time he played he was trying to repay the faith shown to him by Steve Bruce and the Sunderland faithful after being saved from his Tottenham hell.  He pounded his chest to the supporters and kissed the badge every time he scored to show his love for the club and city that adopted him as their favourite son.

 

In a league where loyalty means everything, he seemed to be the most loyal, one that couldn’t and wouldn’t be turned by brighter lights or a thicker wallet.  He seemed to enjoy the small town appeal and simplicity of life in the northeast that allowed him to focus on his football and stay away from the distractions that have almost ruined the careers of countless other footballers.  He loves scoring goals, and Sunderland loved him for doing it.  It seemed like a match in heaven.  But oh how we were so wrong! 

Bent scored 32 Premier League goals in 58 appearances after leaving Tottenham Hotspur for the Stadium of Light in the summer of 2009.  Since the summer 2005 his Premier League goals tally – with Charlton Athletic, Spurs and Sunderland – is 81. Only Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney – with 82 – have scored more.  However, the comparison with those two players ends there.

He’s is a decent player, not exceptional but decent.  But in my opinion, he has a small football brain. He hangs on the shoulder of the defender and hopes to get a run in on goal.  That’s about it.  He is caught offsides way too often.  He can strike a ball and run at pace into the channels but that’s about all you’re gonna get.  It’s OK…but certainly not worth £24 million. 

He’s about fourth or fifth choice striker for England at a time of poverty of striking options and as soon as any decent competition arrived at Sunderland he seemed to feel his position was under threat.  Once he had his head turned…he was off.

If you want a player to set up goals, he’s not that.  If you want a team player, he’s not really that either.  If you want someone who won’t be moody and make a big fuss, he’s not that either.  But he does score quite a few goals and he thinks this makes him much, much better than he really is.

The fact he’d leave a club in a European spot for a relegation fight has left me and countless other people scratching their heads.  It’s something that I’ll probably never understand and proves to me that the move was based only on money and nothing else. 

 

The fact that Sunderland made about £10 million profit from him after his goals helped push them up the table and into a position to attract better players, is a superb result for Steve Bruce.  So in that sense, everyone is happy.  Bent can go to a club and be the big man while he and his agent can benefit from a cut of another massive transfer fee.  Sunderland have already spent some of the money made from Bent on the signings of Sulley Muntari from Inter Milan and Stephane Sessegnon from PSG.

I just hope the Villa fans don’t feel like he is one of their own when as he starts kissing the badge.  Karma is a ….

-Mutaz Bakhiet