Actually, I think it's admirable that they're clearly still backing Houllier. I mean, he's a rubbish manager, but a lot of clubs would have sacked him by now, you'd have thought.

Ireland was a crap signing.

Also Bent was poor at Spurs.

It's unbelievable but it will be worth it if Bent's goals keep them in the league and his record suggests that he could do exactly that.

It's still not worth it seeing they could have gotten a much better player at a lower price.

I mean, 24m is almost top european striker price. More than Barca's valuation of Eto'o.

...and they couldn't have signed Eto'o.

Aston Villa in 17th place mid-january would be hard pushed to sign a better player than Bent. In saying that, I don't believe that they will pay £18m upfront; sounds like mischief.

There are two sides to a transfer. The player's ability and the team's needs.

The player: 36 goals in his last 63 games. Apparently, since 2005 has been outscored by only Drogba and Roooney in the Premier League, whose last transfers were worth about 25m pounds each.

The team: Villa are outside relegation zone on goal difference. Relegation can cost a team about 25 to 30 million pounds per season. Only 4 teams have scored fewer goals than Villa, and no Villa strikers appear in top 20. (their top scorer has 5 goals). Given their lack of success and rotten location, they are unlikely to attract Eto'o and Pato.

Given the player's return, and the team's predicament, I find 18 million a high but justifiable price.

The strangest thing for me is, why did Bent hand in a transfer request?

Unless it is a backroom problem, I can't see the sense in it.

Captain wrote:

It's unbelievable but it will be worth it if Bent's goals keep them in the league and his record suggests that he could do exactly that.

you've got him in your fantasy team haven't you?

Powell is the new Charlton manager i think.

Captain wrote:

The strangest thing for me is, why did Bent hand in a transfer request?

Unless it is a backroom problem, I can't see the sense in it.

He's trying to do a Rooney isn't he?

Apparently he put a transfer request in last summer too. Bruce talked him round though.

ridiculous price for bent. just shows how overpriced english players are, as he's a very average player. scores goals cos he's the focal point of bad teams.

anyone else hear about diouf taunting a player who'd just broken his leg on the pitch? what an utterly disgusting human being. i can only hope he hasn't reproduced. imagine what his kids would be like? one diouf's enough, thanks.

Well Carlton Cole is the focal point for WHU and what does he produce?

Scoring goals shouldn't be looked down upon.

81 goals in the last five years, bettered only by Drogba and Rooney with 82 apiece.

Goals win games which stop relegation (as he's played for lower table clubs mainly). Alright he was poor at Spurs. I think he scored 25 goals in 2 years though.

If he was Spanish playing for equivalent clubs in Spain in terms of club size then he'd get more slack/respect.

Tony Montana wrote:

If he was Spanish playing for equivalent clubs in Spain in terms of club size then he'd get more slack/respect.

That's probably a fair point, T-bag.

Still, £20m+. That's what Liverpool paid for Torres

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

Tony Montana wrote:

If he was Spanish playing for equivalent clubs in Spain in terms of club size then he'd get more slack/respect.

That's probably a fair point, T-bag.

Still, £20m+. That's what Liverpool paid for Torres

That's a bargain though.

And I believe it was actually just 20m quid.

If he went to Barca instead do you reckon it would have been just 20m quid? I don't know.

Torres was 20 million plus Garcia and other elements if I remember correctly.

The Bent deal is fine. He's a proven scorer. Dzeko just went for 50% more than that and nobody's making a fuss about it. Will he perform better in the Premier League than Bent? I think we are too dismissive of Bent just because he's played for lesser clubs, and we've probably also been affected by the fact that our own club never bets big.

Zico wrote:

Torres was 20 million plus Garcia and other elements if I remember correctly.

The Bent deal is fine. He's a proven scorer. Dzeko just went for 50% more than that and nobody's making a fuss about it. Will he perform better in the Premier League than Bent? I think we are too dismissive of Bent just because he's played for lesser clubs, and we've probably also been affected by the fact that our own club never bets big.

Dzeko is a class above Bent and he's 2 years younger. There's also the Man City factor.

Would you back Dzeko to score more goals than Bent in the Premier League in the next 3 years?

Dzeko wouldn't have signed for Villa anyway. And he's not that good.

Bent is a goalscorer. He's not a particularly skilled or technical player but he knows how to finish and take up good positions. He's not an ideal player in a more dynamic side which I think is what Bruce is trying to build at Sunderland. For a direct team he's a very good player, though. He's 26 so they'd get at least six good seasons out of him, he won't fuck off to Spain and he won't be headhunted by the big English clubs. He's theirs for the better part of the decade now. Should be worth around £15 million on that basis alone. The rest of it is just Sunderland squeezing Villa on money because they can.