15+ goals a season is good, I'm not saying it's bad. High profile names also think he isn't good enough if he has only warranted moves to Spurs and Sunderland and had 2/3 international call ups in recent years.
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Has he ever scored 25(ish) goals in a season before? No? Ah. Well, there you go.
Also, you keep saying "the team needs to revolve around Bent." Sunderland play with two CDM, two wingers, one CF and one striker. So do England.
Bent
Malbranque - Jones - Henderson
Cana - Cattermole
Rooney
Gerrard - Heskey - Lennon
Lampard - Barry
Well **** me, would you look at that.
No, he's not scored 25 in a season before, but he has score 15+ 3 times. My point is he just isn't good enough and that the other 4 strikers edge ahead of him.
Ipswich: 55 goals in 141 games.
Charlton: 37 in 79.
Spurs: 25 in 79.
Sunderland: 25 in 40.
Why is he thriving at Sunderland (no offence) and not playing at a big club and had a handfull of caps? As much as you disagree with me, there's something that managers don't like about him.
Is it such a foreign concept for you that Bent could just be hitting form? Who knows. He's a goalscorer. Why has he scored against United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs from a crap team such as Sunderland? I know Liverpool fans who wanted Bent, I know United fans who want him. It's because we bought him for 17 million once add ons are paid. If he had scored 17 goals (a good return I wouldn't have dared to dream of) then thats one million a goal. Only Sunderland would be daft enough to pay so much for a previously unspectacular striker. But hey it seems to have started to pay off already. I don't get why you can't see that at the moment Bent is scoring more freely than Defoe and so he is the in-form goalscorer behind Defoe. Nobody in that squad should be in on past merits. Not Defoe, not Ferdinand, not Cole, not Carrick.
you can chat on all you like about heskey not having enough starts this season, enough goals etc, the fact that him and rooney link up great is why Fabio chose him. im sure ive said this last year but Heskey is the target man and he will create opening for Rooney and when these two play alongside eachother in the WC, we'll see that Rooney scores more than usual, so what if Heskey doesn't score?
My point is that the fans of other clubs may want him, but the professionals/managers don't; there has to be something wrong with him. He's got a similar goal:game ratio to David Villa this season- why isn't he there? He did do well at Spurs, considering the fans never warmed to him and most of his appearances were from the bench. He did well in a **** Charlton side too, where he was the highest scoring English striker. He hasn't magically found this goalscoring form since he's been at Sunderland. He's got goalscoring ability but I'll say it again: I don't think he's generally good enough for England.
Even if he stayed at Spurs and hit similar form I really don't think we would have finished 4th.
Darren Bent's a proven goalscorer and, at the end of the day goal's win you games.
Seeing the squad that England have chosen, I think they will play either of these two formations:
Green
Johnson -- Terry -- Ferdinand - A. Cole
Barry -- Lampard
Gerrard -- Heskey (CF) -- Lennon/Joe Cole
Rooney
or
Green
G. Johnson -- Terry -- Ferdinand -- A. Cole
Barry
Lennon -- Gerrard -- Lampard -- J. Cole
Rooney
I hope it's the second TBH.