One of the more peculiar rumours that did the rounds hours before the transfer window slammed shut yesterday was that Spurs outcast David Bentley would be heading to QPR with Jermaine Jenas and Andros Townsend to work with the very boss that jettisoned him out of Spurs just as he was beginning to find his stride.
David Bentley, who shares his initials with the man that many once though he would replace in the England team, has been something of an enigma ever since he handed in a transfer request from Arsenal where he felt that he was not getting enough playing time and subsequently ended up at Blackburn Rovers. After three years at the club, Bentley ended up at Spurs where he, and most observers as well, thought he would find his true calling and fit into a club that seemed tailor made for him.
With their tradition of classy and charismatic midfielders, word had it at the time that Bentley could one day be mentioned in the same breath if he plied his trade carefully.
During the disastrous reign of Juande Ramos, when Spurs flirted for a while with being dragged into the quicksand of a relegation battle, Bentley was somewhat of an anonymous player in the team, which could also be said of the whole club at the time. Enter Harry Redknapp.
The famous man-manager, equally quick to put an arm around a shoulder as he was to barking out orders on the training ground, finally allowed Bentley to gradually emerge from the shadow of Aaron Lennon and he found himself becoming more and more involved in the first team, including a spectacular 40-yard volley against his former club Arsenal at the Emirates in the famous 4-4 draw. Things began to look up for DB…until that infamous night in Manchester when Spurs qualified for the Champions League for the first time at the expense of Man City thanks to a headed Peter Crouch goal. In the euphoria of Spurs achieving the impossible, Bentley’s exuberance got the better of him, fatefully leading to Bentley and Younes Kaboul emptying a full barrel of ice all over Harry Redknapp as he gave a live interview on Sky Sports.
Now, in the United States it’s seen as a sporting tradition that every winning coach receives a dunking like that be it with ice, brightly coloured energy drinks or just plain old water; you couldn’t get any odds on that happening at this Sunday’s Superbowl because it’s taken as a given by all US teams, from high school, collegiate and professional levels that the victorious coach gets a soaking. In fact, he or she would probably be disappointed if they went home dry! Maybe poor Bentley forgot that we aren’t in the US and that this practice is yet to really catch on over here.
Either way, Redknapp famously stated that this act signaled the end for Bentley at Spurs, and the player learned that hell hath no fury than an old school manager publicly scorned. No one, it appears, holds a grudge like Redknapp.
The Spurs boss was heard to comment that Alf Ramsey and managers of that generation would not have been treated in such a disrespectful manner, but there’s the rub; it wasn’t a disrespectful prank as such, it could actually be argued that it was an act of respect and affection as opposed to anything malicious or spiteful.
But Bentley has paid the price as he has watched his career sadly evaporate as he was unceremoniously loaned out to Birmingham, West Ham and then exiled to Russia before arriving at the ultimate indignation- being spoken of as one of the players who could enhance Redknapp’s reputation by pulling off the Great Escape.
Something happened between transfer morning and lunchtime that saw Bentley’s name quietly dropped from the Spurs trio mentioned as coming to Harry’s rescue, although we don’t know what Bentley himself thought of the situation. But it’s shame that a real talent like this may be one of those players quietly forgotten before he really had a chance to make a mark in the prime of his career.
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droopy face redcrap is a cunt.
Redknapp has said his wages were too high.
I read this article and had to smile. There were some truths in there but it was so funny how the writer conveniently left oht other important aspects. I think he must be a relative or close friend of David Bentley.
Not once in the article did he mention poor form and poor performances.
Bentley had plenty of opportunities to prove himself yet time and again let the team and fans down with his weak insipid play. Unable to get past opponents, unable to retain possession or to deliver a cross, and more often than not easily brushed off the ball and dispossessed. Then
unable or incapable of winning the ball back. David Bentley was a very talented player who has been given plenty of opportunities. He seems to have lost his way and its no one’s fault other than himself.