When ex-Arsenal boy David Bentley made his big money move Tottenham four years ago pundits and fans alike were projecting a big future for the Peterborough born England International. I think it’s fair to say that he’s failed to live up to expectations throughout his time at White Hart Lane. Even loan moves to Birmingham City and West Ham have ended in disappointment. So does Tottenham’s wily winger still stand a chance or is his career dead in the water?
Let’s not forget, this is the kid who was asked by Arsene Wenger to take part in Arsenal’s first-team training sessions at just 16-years-old. He’s the same player who once earned comparisons to Dennis Bergkamp and a man that Mark Hughes once described as ‘a great talent with a big future’. Let’s put it this way, there’s a reason Spurs were willing to shell out £15m for his signature back in 2008.
Unfortunately for Bentley he’s only made 42 appearances in four years at Spurs and has only scored 3 goals. Worst of all, he spurned an opportunity to impress whilst on loan at Birmingham City. He failed to break into City’s first team, even though their squad wasn’t exactly sparse with talent and returned to White Hart Lane with his career still in tatters.
He’s been a bit unlucky this season. He was loaned out to West Ham at the end of August, but was soon ruled out for six months following a troublesome knee-injury. As a result the Hammers stuck a ‘Damaged Goods’ label on him and sent him back to Tottenham for treatment. At this stage it looked as though David Bentley would face yet another season without making any significant inroads.
Fortunately, he has recovered well from his injury and is working hard in training to make things right. This has been reflected in Harry Redknapp’s decision to include Bentley in his 25-man squad listing for the rest of the season. As the year rolls on, Redknapp will be forced to rely more and more on squad players and there’s a good chance that Bentley will be called upon to prove that he can still cut it at the top level. The hope amongst Spurs fans at the moment will be that he can rediscover the form he had whilst at Blackburn (2006-2008).
He’s 27-years-old now and really ought to be in the peak of his career. His circumstances have held him back but he now has one last chance to show his quality. The sad truth is, if he fails now he’ll be remembered as a laughing stock.
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