HENRY V BENT... WHO'S REALLY WORTH £16M?
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Q So, Darren Bent is worth £400,000 more than Thierry Henry. How does that work?
A It doesn't, at face value - or by any orthodox judgement. But after watching their north London rivals lose the best player in the history of the Premiership, Spurs are convinced they have pulled off a real coup. Bent has signed a six-year contract and Tottenham know the new TV contract, guaranteeing every top flight club £40m a season, will only push up transfer prices. And they are paying Bent £45,000 per week, 40 per cent less than he turned down at West Ham.
Q Yes, maybe. But come on - there's no comparison between them, surely?
A The stats bear that out. Henry scored 226 goals in eight years at Arsenal, averaging 28 each season, while Bent found the net 38 times in two years at Charlton, where the pressure was vastly different. Henry was the talisman and heartbeat of Arsene Wenger's side, capable of sheer genius and the scourge of Spurs on a number of occasions. Suddenly, Bent has got to deliver for a big club, which has to target a top-four place and finish above the Gunners for the first time since 1995. It's a massive jump - and massive ask.
Q Doesn't it look like Spurs have paid over the odds again - as so often in the past?
A At first glance, possibly, although chairman Daniel Levy will doubtless point to Dimitar Berbatov, whose value has shot through the roof in 12 months, and the fact that Spurs have a crop of young, talented and English players, all on long-term deals, and Welsh youngster Gareth Bale. Getting Bent to sign for six years is a statement of intent, too.
Q Perhaps, but it's still £16.5m for a player who won't even be an automatic first-choice, isn't it?
A Yes - unless Levy decides to flog Berbatov. Martin Jol believes that Bent can work with Berbatov, who would drop off while the new man plays on the shoulder of the last defender, but the Berbatov-Keane partnership will be the starting pick.
Q So who is the happier this morning - a Spurs fan delighted at the new signing, or the Gooner laughing at the money Tottenham have paid to get him?
A no-brainer. They may have paid over the odds, thanks to Charlton's successful game of hard-ball, but Spurs have got more attacking options than they did last season, when their four frontmen scored 19 more than the five men Wenger used up front including the now-departed skipper. Arsenal have lost a player who simply can't be replicated. -
arsenal got have gotten a lot more for henry if he didn't want to leave...
spurs is siao siao in recent years acquiring english youngsters and then replacing them with more english kids...now overpriced!!
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if he is as good as he is then how did charlton end up relegated?
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one player dosent make a teamOriginally posted by dragg:if he is as good as he is then how did charlton end up relegated?
the 16 millon spent on bent could be used for a decade maybe cos he is only inn his mid 20s whereas henry is already 29 and may last till he is 32 or 33. -
true that Henry may only last another 4-5 yrs, but the quality he going to bring is in that short time, is incomparable. Bent may play till the same age Henry retires, but he is never going to replicate the goals scored or the excitement that Henry brought to the game.Originally posted by used:one player dosent make a team
the 16 millon spent on bent could be used for a decade maybe cos he is only inn his mid 20s whereas henry is already 29 and may last till he is 32 or 33.
It is a big loss to Gunners, and all EPL Fans that Henry left.