Been a while...Bent & Defoe

First up...Darren Bent. There's been a lot of discussion about how good Bent really is, whether he was worth 16.5M quid and if we really needed to strengthen there.

Any player who has a record of 37 goals in two Premier league seasons for a club that was fighting to avoid relegation deserves respect. When one of those seasons was curtailed through injury, add more respect.

A typical comment, attached to the stat that our pre-Bent forward line scored 60 goals between them last season, is "why buy Bent for 16.5M when the forwards Spurs have are so strong?" The simple answer is - progression. I cannot believe that there are Spurs "fans" out there criticising the club for not standing still. Two successful seasons in a row, both blighted by an inability to finish off teams and costing us valuable points. How many of them are aware that Bent outscored Defoe, Keane and Berbatov in the league last season, despite missing a vast chunk of it?

Spurs are in four competitions next season, with a realistic chance of winning two of them (the domestic cups). The League (as Jol commented) is out of our reach this season, but the top 4 isn't. The UEFA Cup must go to Bayern Munich this season after their unprecedented investment - they can now field 2 "A" teams. In order to compete on four fronts, you need a strong squad. Bent is a great addition, no question.

There is definitely money left, people always forget how rich Spurs actually are. There will still be additions. A centre back will arrive, more than likely in the form of Kaboul. There is no doubt that the midfield needs a bit more attention, certainly on the left and a creator in the middle...but I am sure that is coming.

I had to laugh the other day when I was reading the Football365.com Mailbox and saw some Gooners commenting on how we over spent on Bent. Twats, honestly, if they really believe that then the will surely believe that Da Silva will be a huge success! Henry is a 30 year old striker who relied on pace (aligned to his skill) to score. Barcelona if anything over paid...he is only going to get slower and more likely to pick up niggling injuries., Bent is 23, already a proven Premiership goalscorer and has his best years in front of him.


At the start of this now long and quite possibly rambling post, I mentioned Defoe. I read a quote on SkySports.com that he wants to say, those exact words are:

"I'm really excited about the new season and prospect of another campaign in Europe.

"We have made some good signings and our squad is now stronger and even better equipped to compete in all competitions.

"We have competition for places in all positions and that can only be good for the team."

At the end of the season I said that I wouldn't mind if he left. He is quite often greedy and doesn't convert his chances as often as Keane or Berbatov. Somehow the media affected my opinion of him and I considered him to be a negative whinger who wasn't happy on the bench. I was wrong. This quote could of course just be one to placate the fans while he looks for a move, but I believe he wants to be a part of something special at Spurs and I think, like us, he expects it to happen now too.