Darren Bent - wasted talent

Darren Bent has a history of goals. We have seen this at his spells with Ipswich, Charlton and Sunderland, where the England front man was able to bang in goals for fun. This year, Aston Villa are currently struggling to find the back of the net, yet Paul Lambert decides to cast Bent aside, leaving him to warm the bench. For me, this is just a terrible decision. Lambert has instead turned to youth this season, with inexperienced youngsters such as Weimann beating Bent to a starting berth a number of times this season. No disrespect to Weimann, he is a striker who can score some good goals, but he isn't the poacher like player who's going to score 20 goals a season and win you games. Darren Bent is, and that's why I'm so astonished that he finds himself on the bench for a struggling Villa side.

£24 million to sit on the bench!?

Let me throw out there a few facts for you. Bent has appeared in 414 games throughout his career, scoring 176 goals. This equates to a 0.43 ratio, meaning Bent averages roughly a goal every 2.5 games. This is an impressive tally for a man who hasn't even reached his 29th birthday; and based on this you'd think that he will add to his goal scoring record; but only if he's in the first team. He's a goal scorer, and goal scorers need to be confident. If he's on the bench week in week out you are missing out on his goals and draining his confidence, and I believe this is the reason why Aston Villa are flirting with relegation.

At 28 years old, Bent has got his best years ahead of him. His transfer fees have accumulated to over £50 million during his career, and 2 years ago he traded Sunderland for Aston Villa in a £24 million deal. That's why I'm so astonished to not see his name in the starting XI week in week out. In my opinion, he's done more then enough to be the first man on the team sheet every week. He's scored 22 goals in 52 games in the claret and blue of Aston Villa, and his goals were vital for Villa last season. When he got injured Villa plummeted down the table, and were involved in an intense relegation battle after being in a seemingly comfortable position prior to his injury. This signifies the influence that Bent has when he plays and shows how much better they are when he is involved.


Could Bent (left) and Benteke (right) strike up a successful
partnership?

I'm not trying to slag off any of the other Villa players, I'm just clueless to how a £24 million man, who has even scored 4 goals from 13 in his International career, is being treated so poorly. Villa spent big bucks on him for a reason, and I have no doubt that Bent will repay them for that huge signing; but he must play. Like I said above, I have nothing against Weimann, I just don't think he's as good as Bent. It's as simple as that. The big Belgian, Benteke, who was signed from Genk in the summer, has done a very good job up top by holding the ball up and bringing others into play. He has even chipped in with 5 goals in all competitions this season, but this isn't anywhere near as prolific as Villa need to return to the top half of the table. I don't see any reason why Benteke and Bent can't start together. Bent needs someone who can give him chances, and I believe Benteke could possibly be that man. But Lambert decides against pairing them together, and to me this is another crazy decision by a man who's team is in desperate need to score goals.

Villa need goals. They have only scored 12 goals in 15 Premier League games this season, and this means they stand 19th in goals scored; only above winless QPR. When you have a £24 million pound man who has scored goals on a consistent basis throughout his career, you’d expect him to bang in the goals for you. However, he just hasn't had a chance and for me, it is madness. Goal scorers are hard to find nowadays, and I believe his talent really is wasting away on the bench. There are rumours that Villa will cut their losses and allow Bent to depart for £12 million and if I were in charge of a Premier League club, I'd do everything in my power to attain the services of the striker. But until the transfer window, it seems as if Bent will be wasting away on the bench for Villa, and I fully believe if given the chance he can transform his clubs fortunes for the better. But that's only if he's given the chance.