Darren Bent's Inflammatory and Immature Swipe at the Tottenham Faithful

Lets not talk about last Saturday. I don't know whether it was injuries, fatigue, poor tactics or pre-occupation with the FA cup but the lads just didn't turn up and we were well and truly dominated by a frantic Sunderland side. Whatever it was, and despite the damage it has done to our chances of the Champions League, I have done my mourning and am looking forward to this April's rollercoaster of fixtures. However, there was something from the Sunderland game that has left a rather unpleasant taste in my mouth and looking at the forums I am not alone.

There was never any question Bent would score against us. Not only was it sod's law but, as the statistics show, the guy is good at hitting the back of the net. It was also no surprise that the goal would mean a lot to him, after a prolonged transfer and a very public spat with 'Arry. Yet the way he reacted after both goals was beyond me. For those of you unable to get hold of the highlights (in particular with the first goal), Bent scored and made a deliberate bee-line for the away support. Running past the Tottenham fans he turned and made a talking gesture with his hand whilst pointedly thumping his Sunderland badge. The reaction from the travelling yids was unsurprisingly furious and he was fortunate not to be struck by a bottle thrown from the crowd.

Now don't get me wrong, there are a few reasons for Darren to feel slightly aggrieved. Arry's Sandra comment was, in hindsight, ill-advised, although unfortunately probably accurate (another one for the 'Darren Bent Howlers Xmas DVD'). Then there was the issue of his transfer which took a number of weeks to complete and ended in a famous foul mouthed rant on Twitter. Perhaps someone should have informed him that football is ultimately a business and our notoriously savvy chairman was merely (and understandably) driving to drive up the price. He got what he wanted, slated Redknapp and the board in the media but even then couldn't let it lie. His goal celebration was aimed directly at the fans themselves, designed to cause fury, and I just don't understand why.

My friends tell me he was cheered during the warm-up and I remember him being applauded at the corresponding fixture at the Lane. Sure he was criticised by some fans during his time here for some dire misses but just ask Crouch, and even Defoe, how that feels because I hear both players criticised in the terraces week in week out.

Bent's celebration was unprovoked, unnecessary and put the safety of the stewards and fans at risk. I see no difference between his celebration and that of Adebayor, who suffered far worse abuse from his own fans. Adebayor ran further but Bent made a deliberate policy of running away from his own support to the Tottenham end, even adding and hand gesture abscent in Adebayor's celebration. For all his faults, one only need look at Robbie Keane's attitude to his former clubs upon scoring, to see how a real professional acts.

Bent is, I'm told, quite a big reader of fan sites so if you are reading this, well done Darren. You have turned a large body of fans with no hard feelings against you (dare I say many were actually happy for you) fully and whole-heartedly against you. Real professionals control their emotion and can deal with the pressure. You have shown yet again you cannot handle either; so come this Summer, don't waste too much time sitting by the phone...

InArryWeTrust

A Polite Request for Darren Bent: Sit Down and Shut Up

You might have noticed that Darren Bent is scoring goals this season. With half the season gone his brace at Sunderland puts him a solitary goal behind our little pocket rocket in the race for the Golden Boot. You would have to be living under a rock not to have heard the sickly sweet praise being heaped on him by the chest waxing, teeth whitening, perma-tanned metrosexuals on MOTD. Suddenly there are calls for a place on the plane to South Africa. After all, he's scoring goals, that means he must be good..right?

I never disliked Darren Bent as a person when he was at Spurs. Unlike Berbatov he covered plenty of ground, chased up loose balls and genuinely looked like he gave a toss when he scored. However, few Tottenham fans will look back in bleary eyed nostalgia at the 'good old days' when Benty was spearheading our attack. At best he was the kind of player who didn't suit our style of play. Playing the ball over the top or lumping long balls forward for flick ons has never been (and hopefully never will be) the way Tottenham play. At worst (and probably closer to the truth) he was out of his depth. The pressure of playing at a top club, the looming spectre of his price tag and his pairing with considerably more accomplished players left him looking distinctly average.

I can hear the 'Bent for England' lobby now, checking their stats through spectacles steamed up with nerdish indignation "He scored goals for you...he was your top scorer". Yes, Bent scored goals for us but what the stats don't tell you is how many times he missed headers, ballooned simple shots and wasted golden opportunities getting the ball trapped under his feet. The number of times a move would build up over several minutes only for Bent to run it out of play or shoot hopelessly wide are too numerous to recall. When I think of his name I do not think of his goal tally, I think of the frustration and fury I felt watching him, the howls of derision from every other fan in the stand and the laughter of my mates at the pub everytime he blew a chance.

Despite all this I felt no bad feeling towards him and was happy to see him linked with a move away in the summer. Before we could wish him all the best my news now feed was flooded by reports of his foul mouthed tirade on Twitter. I can understand the frustration and uncertainty involved in such a prolonged transaction but this isn't Championship Manager, this is real life with real money. Tottenham is not just a football club, it is a business, and an incredibly successful one. Levy was only doing his best to get a realistic return on our admittedly inflated purchase price.

Since his move, in every interview I have watched he has dropped in references to Tottenham and 'Arry in particular. All have been negative, not only about 'Arry and his management style but about the dressing room, the board and the club itself. A true professional would stand tall and let the goals speak for themselves. They would have the self-respect not to be drawn into bitching about a former club in the media, the dignity to remember who took a chance on them in the first place. Defoe spent more time on the bench over the course of years than Bent ever did yet when he moved to Pompey there wasn't one negative remark, only a profound sadness that things hadn't worked out how he had wished.

My most fervent desire is that Bent gets a place in the England team so that millions of people all round the world can see what a thoroughly average and mentally weak player he really is.

InArryWeTrust