There's a story about David Bentley.
I kid, I kid. I'm all out of Bentley stories. I could tell you my epic about Arturo Lupoli, his
secret agent dog and his layabout sidekick, but it's all a bit too similar to an episode of Scooby
Doo and I need to give it some work.
So, what's going on in the world of Arsenal?
Slowly some of those long standing absences are working their way back into the Arsenal squad
and not a moment too soon. The latest update has Kieran Gibbs ready and available for next week's
Arsenal Champions League first leg against AC Milan if Wenger so desires. Thomas Vermaelen stuck at
left back might finally get some relief and relocate to his more familiar centre back role with
Laurent Koscielny.
There's a story about David Bentley. When he went to Norwich on loan from Arsenal they were in a
training session and he, thinking he was some kind of comedic genius, belted the ball straight up
into the air and said 'ave it!', like Peter Kay in that ad for John Smiths. Nobody thought it was
funny, least of the all Norwich manager.
Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur
6 February 2012
20.00 GMT
Anfield
History:
Total: 153
Liverpool Wins: 70
Tottenham Wins: 45
Draws: 38
Last Premier League Meeting: 18 September 2011 – Tottenham 4-0 Liverpool
Form:
Liverpool: The last three games have been perhaps the best run of three games Liverpool have had
this season, advancing in both cups with first a 2-2 draw against Manchester City in the League Cup
then a 2-1 win over Manchester United in the FA Cup, before pulverizing Wolves a weekend ago by a
3-0 scoreline.
You have to fill a 25 man squad with somebody and given the three major loan departures and one
permanent sale earlier this week, perhaps it's no surprise at some of the names being included by
Spurs this week.
In addition to those departures, Tom Carroll and John Bostock also went out to Derby and
Sheffield Wednesday respectively so are David Bentley, Bongani Khumalo and Simon Dawkins literally
there to ‘make up the numbers?
Arseblog has teamed up with Thomas Cook Sport, official travel partner of Arsenal, to offer two
lucky fans the chance to win a pair of tickets to their Barclays Premier League clash with
Blackburn Rovers on Saturday 4th February.
The Gunners will be in search of three valuable points against and some revenge against a
Blackburn side for whom we scored two goals back in September.
Featured image: Nicolae Stoian
The next edition of the Philly Soccer Show podcast, scheduled to be recorded
tonight, will feature USMNT U-23 coach Caleb Porter and the Philadelphia Union's top pick in
Thursday's SuperDraft, Chandler Hoffman.
Philadelphia Union
Sunderland blog the Roker Report tells fellow SB Nation affiliate the Brotherly Game that team
manager Martin O'Neill responded to a reporter's question about rumors of a possible Michael Farfan
loan by saying people should not read too much "into these things.
It's been an unhappy stay at Aston Villa for Jermaine Jenas and after waiting to make his debut
for the Midlands side, news has been confirmed that he is likely to out for the rest of the
season.
The announcement on Tottenham's official club website reads,
‘Jermaine Jenas has undergone surgery to his left Achilles tendon and is likely to miss the
rest of the season, but should return for the start of pre-season.
Before entering hospital for his minor heart surgery, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp revealed that
West Ham were keen on taking Jake Livermore across London as part of the Scott Parker deal back in
August.
With injuries hitting the club at the start of the season, Jake filled in admirably and although
his appearances since have been restricted to the Europa League, he is certainly one for the
future.
Why 'new Becks' Bentley is battling to save his career
I really fear for my mate David Bentley after hearing about the knee surgery which has ruled him
out for another six months. It seems like only yesterday that he was being hailed as the new David
Beckham after scoring a sensational hat-trick for Blackburn as we beat Manchester United 4-3 at
Ewood.
By Alan Duffy
A young David Bentley celebrates his only goal for Arsenal
Once touted (mostly by himself) as the man to replace David Beckham on England's right wing,
Tottenham's David Bentley is set to miss six months of action following an operation on his left
knee.
For our Monday profile this week, we follow previous studies of the likes of Joey Barton and Pascal
Chimbonda with another man whom our 2006 selves might express surprise would be plying his trade
in the Football League come the second decade of the millennium. David Bentley's decidedly up and
down fortunes are pondered upon by Olly Cooper.
So, up next, the North London derby. The most honorable Arsenal versus Tottenham's lily-livered
lily whites, new and improved with everyone's favorite traitorous mercenary from Togo who, when
he's not enjoying long walks with sharp spikes over former teammate's faces and ankles, enjoys long
runs to rub salt in the wounds of the away support.
Ivan Gazidis spoke on a variety of issues at a meeting of sports business leaders in London
earlier this week and he made some interesting comments about the Arsenal Way.
First Gazidis said:
"We as a Club are operating in a self-sustaining way and are concerned about value.
Ivan Gazidis spoke on a variety of issues at a meeting of sports business leaders in London
earlier this week and he made some interesting comments about the Arsenal Way.
First Gazidis said:
"We as a Club are operating in a self-sustaining way and are concerned about value.
The selection of a child in Tottenham's lineup added fuel to the suggestion that Redknapp wasn't
too bothered about the Carling CupFredi Kanoute, Michael Brown, Jermaine Jenas, Pascal Chimbonda,
David Bentley, Jamie O'Hara and now Roman Pavlyuchenko and Massimo Luongo. It's just as, if not a
little bit more, depressing a list as Pearce, Waddle, Southgate, Batty, Vassell, etc.
Let me start by stating the views held below are entirely my own and in no way represent the
views of the site.
Anyone who has read my pre-matches over the seasons will know that I am not a huge fan of
Blackburn, I will go further and say that for many seasons they have represented all that is
reprehensible in football from top to bottom.
After spending a whole transfer window trying to offload fringe players and missing out on key
transfer targets due to inflated prices and a lack of squad spaces, Spurs fans must be astonished
by comments in Harry Redknapp's latest interview.
"If David wants to come to Tottenham I'd welcome him with open arms, he's definitely still good
enough to play in the Premier League"
This statement is a clear indication that there is no relationship between Harry and the board,
and further highlights the lack of vision Harry has for the future of our club.
Did you see that remarkable stat this week that, before the game against Wales, Scott Parker had
won seven caps for England under three different managers over the course of 8 years whilst playing
for five different clubs?
Nothing like consistency of selection, eh?
Since his debut against Denmark in 2003, the following players have been capped in (broadly)
midfield:
Alan Thompson (1 cap)
Shaun Wright-Phillips (36 caps)
Stewart Downing (29 caps)
Kieran Richardson (8 caps)
Theo Walcott (18 caps)
Aaron Lennon (19 caps)
Joey Barton (1 cap)
David Bentley (7 caps)
Ashley Young (17 caps)
Gabby Agbonglahor (3 caps)
James Milner (19 caps)
Tom Huddlestone (3 caps)
Adam Johnson (8 caps)
Jack Wilshere (5 caps)
Now, of those, the most capped are basically wingers: Wright-Phillips, Downing, Walcott, Lennon,
Young, Milner.
Transfer Window Helps Tottenham to Mature - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
The transfer window closed with Tottenham Hotspur making only two significant deals, but
perhaps the North London club has finally grown up.
The signings of Emmanuel Adebayor and Scott Parker, address issues within the Spurs line up, but
left the fans with a deep sense of anti climax.
Up until the very last day of the transfer window it had looked as if much of the deadwood was
staying at the Lane. However, deals can happen very quickly and Jermaine Jenas and David Bentley
will both be lining up in claret and blue this season, and their lack of first team action at Spurs
could see both deals becoming permanent.
So the dust has settled on the summer transfer of August 2011 and while it was a busy day at
Spurs Lodge, was it a satisfactory one?
Five of our fringe players have left the club, albeit two are on loan with seemingly no future
at the Lane and while Harry Redknapp said at the weekend that fresh faces were needed, we only
ended up with one – Scott Parker who arrived from West Ham.
'What? Nothing to see here folks. Please keep it moving.'
Joining our ever-growing roster of 'Drunk Off Their Ass' listees is Miss Kimberley Mills,
girlfriend of Tottenham's David Bentley. Welcome hon!
Mills (plus her beau and Gareth Barry) were just three of the numerous patrons who had to flee
London's Whiskey Mist night club Sunday night after a bloody brawl broke out.
On a day when many managers strive to negotiate the ideal transfer fee for their ideal targets,
there is often a realization that the ideal deal might not be struck after all.
Fortunately for these managers, not all is lost when they fail to agree a fee for someone they
really want to bring to their clubs.
Bryan Ruiz' expected move to Fulham might not happen after all.
Newcastle United has swooped in with a bid that is said to have trumped that of Fulham, meaning
that the Costa Rican attacker could be on his way to St. James Park instead of Craven Cottage as
had been reported on Tuesday.
Football Spy video: Transfer Deadline Day special, evening update
Darren Lewis is back with his teatime transfer news update as deadline day heads into the home
straight. He's got news on Mikel Arteta, Peter Crouch, Craig Bellamy, David Bentley and Wilson
Palacios who could all be at a new club by 11pm tonight.
With a few hours to go before the transfer window closes, the only confirmed deasl involving
Spurs to date is the signing of Scott Parker from West Ham and David Bentley's loan to the
Hammers.
Beyond this, there is a lot of momentum concerning a bid for Gary Cahill which may involve
Sebastien Bassong going the other way.
Tottenham have signed Scott Parker from West Ham for £5m. The England player has been on
Tottenham's radar since the start of the summer and it seemed clear at the end of last week that
Spurs were going all out to seal this transfer before the end of the window.
Parker will be 31 in October and having just broken through into the England set up, he was
determined to force a transfer back to the Premier League, because in case you'd forgotten, West
Ham are a Championship side now.
Redknapp doesn't deny interest in Cahill and Cole
Peter Crouch and David Bentley could be on their way out
View the full story here: The Mirror
A news article on 2011-08-31 09:22:58 from: The Mirror
This news item has been reproduced from today's media.
Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. |
Subscribe: Main Listening Report | Complete List Here
The Premier League has just kicked off and so Damon and Damian take a look at their respective
team's chances. Here is Damian looking ahead to his team's Tottenham's 2011-12 season, complete
with worksheet, while there is also a transcript below.
Finally Spurs have addressed their goal scoring problems of last season, with the loan signing
of controversial striker Emmanuel Adebayor. Attackers from all over the world have been linked with
Spurs this summer, but the club have decided to put their faith in the strong Togolese forward.
So Spurs fans have finally discovered David Beckham's reasons for training with Spurs. We were
all of the opinion that he was teaching Aaron Lennon how to hit the perfect cross, whilst
explaining to David Bentley that looks alone won't win competitive matches.
It would appear though that he was actually on a scouting mission for L.
Episode V of Spurs Wars sees Spurs fight back from 3-1 and 4-2 down against our local rivals at
their gaff, in what was Harry Redknapp's first North London Derby in October 2008. What a
welcome! The game was memorable for an outstanding David Bentley goal, plus a quality Jermaine
Jenas goal, yes I know, in the same game, who would have believed it!
Episode V of Spurs Wars sees Spurs fight back from 3-1 and 4-2 down against our local rivals at
their gaff, in what was Harry Redknapp's first North London Derby in October 2008. What a
welcome! The game was memorable for an outstanding David Bentley goal, plus a quality Jermaine
Jenas goal, yes I know, in the same game, who would have believed it!
While the finances at Spurs don't seem to be an issue, our reluctance to lower asking prices is.
You can't sell what people won't buy, so with this in mind, maybe it's time we took a leaf out of
the Italian's book and started to think seriously about player swaps.
By adopting this strategy we don't have to spend a fortune on transfer fees, and we don't risk
scaring off potential buyers every time we quote a transfer value for one of our players.
You don't have to look too far for a daily dose of nonsense from the Daily Mail and today's
story suggests a three player swap for Mirko Vucinic involving David Bentley, Robbie Keane and Niko
Kranjcar. It may not surprise anyone to learn that Roma's coach Luis Enrique isn't interested in
any of the players involved.
Morning all.
Our transfer business continued a-pace yesterday as we provided another signing for another
club. As expected Jay Emmanuel-Thomas joined Ipswich for around £1m. It's an unsurprising move
considering his career trajectory and his age. If he'd stayed at Arsenal this year he would have
had to be included in the 25 man squad and with Arsene Wenger clearly not considering him a player
of that stature a move was the only realistic option.
Every club makes mistakes, some large ones too such as Juan Sebastian Veron, Andriy Shevchenko,
and Jose Antonio Reyes just to name a few. As Spurs fans we've also seen some large transfers go
wrong over the years. Names that spring to mind are Sergei Rebrov (£10m), Dean Richards (£8m) and
more recently David Bentley (£15m).
The chaps landed in Seff Efrica this week. And if that fact alone didn't knock you off your
swivel chairs then wait until you hear they've pencilled in an actual football match for this very
afternoon. With linesmen and everything. Northern riot forecasters, The Kaizer Chiefs, primed and
ready for their three ‘o clock appointment in the balmy Jo'burg sunshine.
At this stage of the summer, a lot of Spurs fans are starting to get a little jumpy about the
lack of activity in the transfer market. One the one hand, we haven't seen any sign of the striker
that we expected and have been told that we need, while on the other there hasn't been much
evidence of the ‘streamlining' that Daniel Levy promised.
