Spurs sign Bent

[red rovers]

spurs have signed bent from charlton for 16.5m pounds

[superfrank]

Ridiculous money. Is he better than Henry or Berbatov? I don't think so.

He's a good player though. It's just unfortunate for him he'll have such a big pricetag.

[EalingGreen]

Ridiculous money. Is he better than Henry or Berbatov? I don't think so.

He's a good player though. It's just unfortunate for him he'll have such a big pricetag.

There is a commonly held view (perhaps not you, SuperFrank) that English clubs pay over the odds for English players. Personally, I don't see why otherwise hard-headed Chairmen should suddenly lose their reason in this respect - especially when many of them are not English themselves!

There is usually a good explanation, which is why it's not realistic to compare e.g. Bent with Henry or Berbatov on a like-for-like basis.

Re. Henry, he's nearly 30, so after his present contract expires, he'll have virtually no sell-on value, whereas Bent is 23 - three or four good seasons at Spurs could see them get their money back if they sold him. Also, Bent's wages at Spurs are said to be £45k per week. Henry's are probably three times that i.e. an extra £3m(?) per year over four years = £12 million.
Also, Charlton were at least as determined to keep Bent as Arsenal were Henry.
Then West Ham drove up Bent's price, by agreeing the full asking price of £17 million up front (plus a reputed £70k per week wages :eek:). If truth be told, there weren't any other rival clubs in for Henry who were prepared to stump up more than Barca.

As for Berba, transfer fees in Germany are generally much lower (I think the record ever paid by a German club is around £15m - certainly less than £20m). Primarily this reflects the fact that continental players tend to move clubs more frequently than in England. Also, strict financial regulations mean German clubs cannot go into debt by paying huge wages or transfer fees.
More generally, there is more of a risk that even the top foreign players won't settle into English football e.g. Schevchenko, Crespo and Veron at Chelsea alone.
And in any case, Berbatov was a rare bargain on Spurs' part. If Spurs were to sell him now, he'd command at least £20 million - probably nearer £30 million, in fact.

On top of which, if Bent can become an England regular, his "image rights" etc will be worth much more to Spurs (e.g. shirt sales) than for any other Nationality (esp. Bulgarian!).

[superfrank]

There is a commonly held view (perhaps not you, SuperFrank) that English clubs pay over the odds for English players. Personally, I don't see why otherwise hard-headed Chairmen should suddenly lose their reason in this respect - especially when many of them are not English themselves!
I do actually believe that myself but my understanding of it is that there are so few truly top English players at English clubs and that's why they cost so much.

Henry would be more expensive but like Bent his image will generate an awful lot more revenue for Barcelona.

Really though the sad thing about all football these days is every single player is over-priced.

[red rovers]

there is an interview with bent on the bbc sport website

[gustavo]

Anseo
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/sol/newsid_6250000/newsid_6257100?redirect=6257136.stm&news=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1&nbram=1&bbram=1

[pete]

The reason they paid so much for him is because he is English & proven goal scorer in the Premiership. Spurs could have spent similar money on La Liga player but would be uncertain if he would be suited to english style.

[Cymro]

If he delivers on what he's shown for Charlton in the past few years he'll be just about worth the money. At his age with his current ability I'd have said 8-10m would have been his price range but with the Premiership market being ridiculously overpriced as it is that is probably the best deal Spurs could have got on him.

IMO they'd have got a better player if they looked abroad to be honest.

[Lionel Ritchie]

Heard today that Sol Cambell has asked for a transfer back to Spurs as their strikers are Bent and Keane.








:eek:




:D

[endabob1]

The actual deal is £12.9m with add ons taking it to £16.5 I think it's safe to assume those add ons relate to Spurs making the transition from 5th to top 4 & the CL money will more than compensate.
There's no doubt that the fact that he's English inflate the price but he's 23 and has an impressive scoring record in 2 years in the Premier League with a struggling team.
I think the Englishness inflates the price for 2 reasons, Firstly you know there are no settling or adapting issues going on, in a case like this where Bent is moving from one London club to another, he may not even have to move home (although their training grounds especially are on completely oppisite sides of the city) the player has played in the same league and this takes a huge part of the risk out.
Second thing is less tangible but I think it's important for clubs to keep a core of locally produced players in their side, Chelsea have done it, Utd have done it, Benitez admitted bringing in so many Spaniards was a mistake, ok so he recitfied it by buying Pennant, Bellamy & Crouch but you get the idea. Of the top clubs only Arsenal have consistently bought abroad and I think this is because Wengers attempts in the past to buy British have failed misserably.

Spurs have made a concerted effort to keep their side predominantly UK/Irish & young in what appears to be an attempt to build a strong base for the future, Bent at 23 falls perfectly into the type of player they want, Charlton would be well aware of this and look to hike the price especially in light of the new Sky/Setanta money coming this season.

[Roadend]

I'd like to see how Bent will do not being the focal point of the team.

[Steve Bruce]

Spurs did pay over the odds. But if Bent scores 20+ goals this season and get into 4th spot, then the money was well spent.

It was a bit like Carrick last year for Man Utd. United spent atleast 6 million more than they should have. But he was enough to help Man Utd win the league, qualify for the Semi-Final of Champions league and final of FA cup.

Sometimes you need to buy over the odds to get the right player in. Their are better players about. But some times better players are not always better eg Veron is a better player than Carrick, but Carrick is better suited to Man Utd and English football. So better isn't better in this instance.(I know probably not the best terminology, but I hope you know what I mean)

[red rovers]

well spurs should have a good team next season robenson,chimbonda,bale,king,dawson,lennon,malbraq ,beabatov,defoe,keane,bent in 4 2 4

[endabob1]

More likely to be
---------Robinson---------------
Chimbonda-Dawson-King-Bale----
Lennon-Jenas-Zokora-Malbranque
-------Bent--Berbatov-----------
With Kenae & Defoe used as rotation strikers
I also have a sneaky feeling Bale will play left side of midfield

[bellavistaman]

Heard today that Sol Cambell has asked for a transfer back to Spurs as their strikers are Bent and Keane.







:eek:




:D

POTM brilliant!! :D Fcukin brilliant

[Paulie]

There's no guarantee Bent will even be a starter for them. Keane and Berbatov seem to have a very good understanding between them so they will take a bit of shifting. To be honest, while Bent is a decent player, Spurs have paid too much money on a striker when there are other areas of their team in much greater need of strengthening. From what I remember they struggled a little bit early on in the season to score goals but that few weeks aside, they've been fine in that regard. Their main problems were at the back where they conceded an awful lot of goals, nearly as many as teams towards the bottom of the league. So surely common sense would say that if you're scoring enough but conceding too many the area you focus on is the back four. I know that midfield players have to take some responsibility as well but from what I remember of Spurs last season they need one and possibly two centre halves. This is even taking into account the fact that Gardner should play a lot more next season.

[pete]

More likely to be
---------Robinson---------------
Chimbonda-Dawson-King-Bale----
Lennon-Jenas-Zokora-Malbranque
-------Bent--Berbatov-----------
With Kenae & Defoe used as rotation strikers
I also have a sneaky feeling Bale will play left side of midfield

Spurs need to sign a quality left sided midfielder now to complete the team.

[bellavistaman]

Surely Keane or Defoe will get out of there!!

[Roadend]

A central midfield of Jenas and Zakora will guarantee them a UEFA cup spot again.

[Bluebeard]

To challenge for a top four spot, I reckon a quality left mid, another good central midfielder to challenge for a spot, and a strong central defender to play 40-50 games a season as cover for Ledley King :D

[NeilMcD]

Spurs need a centre back and another left sided player and a central midfielder in my view. Keane is going nowhere but I reckon that Defoe and Mido will be on their way. If they get 10m for Defoe from Villa they will be happy I think with the business they have done as Bent is a much better all round player than Defoe.

[Bluebeard]

Spurs need a centre back and another left sided player and a central midfielder in my view.
Is there an echo in here?;)

[EalingGreen]

As a Spurs fan, I continue to be encouraged by the clubs progress. Off the pitch, the Board seems to have things in order financially, with a clear vision of how they wish to proceed (backbone of young British/Irish players, supplemented by top quality foreign players).

On the field, the squad is building season by season under Jol, who clearly knows what he wants. (It was notable that when Spurs transferred Ziegler the other day, he was the last of the players signed by Santini).

In particular, youngsters like Lennon, Jenas, even Huddlestone, now have solid Premiership and European experience under their belt, the foreigners like Zokora and Lee now know the English game better and the team looks to be maturing nicely together.

In the past, Spurs always finished mid-table (or below), on account of our ability to beat the bottom teams (if not much else). Under Jol, we have been good enough also to beat the middling teams, thereby establishing ourselves as "the best of the rest" (5th in the League).

Next, we need to be consistent in competing with and beating the top teams. If we can do that, we can break into the Big Four (or enlarge it into the Big Five). Personally, I wouldn't be disappointed if this took another season or two, since it's liable to be more solid and sustainable than previous efforts by the likes of Leeds, Newcastle, even Villa.

In fact, if you look to MU as the example, when Ferguson took over, he was already an accomplished manager in his mid-40's. He inherited a decent enough team (Robson, Whiteside, McGrath etc), and was given money to spend. Yet he still didn't actually win the League until his 7th full season in charge. These days, he'd have been sacked long before then; how grateful must those MU fans who were calling for his head be, that they were not heeded by the Board!

Therefore, I feel that if we can maintain our present progress (huge "if", admittedly), I'd hope for us to be challenging seriously for the Title, but realistically not before 2010.

P.S. Someone commented on the deficiencies in Spurs' defence costing us last season. This was quite correct, but I'm sure this can be remedied if only we can get and keep Ledley King fit, our captain and arguably most important player.

[endabob1]

keep Ledley King fit, our captain and arguably most important player.

No arguably here, a fully fit King is in my opinion the most rounded and verstaile centre half in Britain, quick, strong, reads the game well and is even a decent passer.

For some reason EG I had you down as a Utd fan.....

[gustavo]

I reckon Bent will start on the bench at the start of the season then its up to him to force hhis way into the team

[DmanDmythDledge]

and a strong central defender to play 40-50 games a season as cover for Ledley King :D
Exactly what they've got, just signed Younas Kaboul from Auxerre. Class player, strong as an ox. Definitely a better player than Dawson imo.