Sitting down and having time to reflect on the past few games versus Chelsea and Swansea, it had me thinking about the current conundrum regarding out team selection. Darren Bent had come back all guns blazing to steal a goal vs Chelsea, and I imagine it was this that got him back in the starting eleven vs Swansea, as well as recovering from injury.
However, something got me thinking when looking at the performances of both the team and Bent over those games.
For me, Bent is a predator. With the hallmarks of a player who can quickly turn the last man when hanging on his shoulder, Bent suits one of two systems. The first is a counter attacking, high pressure system, whereby Bent takes advantage of the fact that the centre halves are pulled about by pace. The second is a system based on using energy against defenders that don’t have it. Either way, both systems use pace in abundance.
Let me explain. When it comes to Darren Bent, we’ve all stated, and know, that he is what he is. Some call it lazy, some call it conserving energy. I’m not interested in getting into that argument. The fact remains that he is who has always been, whatever you want to call it.
The problem for Villa is that, without pace, and without correct delivery, Bent will always be isolated. The fact that his game involves playing the way that he does, combined with the lack of interconnecting play, means that defending vs Bent when the ball is slow moving, and phases of play are drawn out due to slow build-up play, is very easy.
Darren Bent – An Analysis
Few will doubt that Bent has scored goals. The history books don’t lie, and Bent’s record is self-explanatory. If it wasn’t, there wouldn’t be this dichotomy involving arguing fans.
However, Bent has to be played to. As much as I don’t believe in setting up a team around a single individual, Bent’s play fits around a tactic. The tactic means that, one way or another, the defence struggle to handle his reaction times. As mentioned before, this means either scaling up the pace of the team via players who can pass and run at speed, or by adapting the paramaters of the game to make Bent faster than he really is.
Of course, Villa can’t press a magic button and expect Bent to suddenly become Usain Bolt. Nobody will expect that at all. What Villa can do, even though it is unlikely that they will do it, is give Bent an advantage against a centre half pairing.
As I’ve said before, Bent often draws criticism for laziness. As I said earlier, whatever you want to call this trait, it often means that Bent’s movement is limited. With it being limited, it had me thinking something different based on Chelsea.
What if Bent came on late during the game? At this point, Bent can still play the same predatory game, and can still have conserved energy. The difference with this tactic though is that we can use a pace player to wear out defenders for 60+ minutes, and then slot Bent in when their back four can’t handle fast reactions. It’s a thought, no? It’s nothing new, and it what Solskjær used to do for United in the past, and what Hernandez often does when United have brought him on later in the game for United’s current team.
Some would say that the fact Bent doesn’t move around much means that he wouldn’t be any more tired than he would be as a sub. On that side of things, I would no doubt agree. What I would say is the difference though is that Bent would be facing defenders who are far more tired at that point in the game than they would be facing a relatively static forward.
To Bench Or Not To Bench
Speaking as someone who has coached teams, often these sorts of moves are the difference between draws and wins, between losses and draws – making a player do something different, or something more energetic, than the existing eleven. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the tactics or formation have to change per se, but a change of speed can make all the difference.
To that end, Bent really could be a hammer blow to opponents. With Bent snatching a goal vs Chelsea, some might argue that it meant he could have scored more had he started. I actually think the opposite. I think that Bent coming on, when fresh, against a defence that was being stretched, meant Bent scored a goal where he may not have if starting. Pace wore Chelsea out, and with Chelsea being an older team, and Swansea both being younger, and having faced a striker with less movement, the results were obvious.
Of course, we can’t play older teams every match, but we can, and should, use pace to upset the opposing defence. People wonder why Gabby has done well this year might point to the fact that he is committed as a fan of the club. This isn’t in doubt. However, the combination of pace, and of this commitment is what has made him work very effectively. He may not have the same record in terms of goals vs games compared to Bent, but this doesn’t matter. In the systems I am discussing, this isn’t an either/or choice. In this system, Bent and Gabby can co-exist in the same squad.
The main problem with this idea that most will suggest is that Darren Bent is “too good” to sit on the bench. Yes, Bent’s price tag is high so, yes, I can see where the logic comes from. However, if Bent scores late winners, surely that means we are still getting the goal return we want, as well as getting the workrate we need. When you get what you want AND what you need, you really can’t argue.
I’d rather have Bent use his ability to play a third of a game, and get a goal, than play a full game and rarely get a hat-trick. I’d wager money that if we played the system I am suggesting, Bent’s goals per minutes ratio would go up very quickly. He may not score more goals, but he’d be more effective, and the fact other players would be making his job easier would be part of that solution.
So, what do you think? Is Bent too good to be benched? Or is the idea that Bent’s abilities could be played to an interesting idea? After all, if you can’t change a player, change how you play them. As I said before, no player is bigger than the club, but there are many ways to make them fit, even if if means an expensive player sitting on the bench.
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