Sleeper – Darren Bent
Filed under: Pre-Season, Sleeper - Posted by: Paul
In seasons gone by it almost seemed irrelevant as to where Darren Bent plied his trade, such was his consistency in finding the net. Given enough game time, the goals flew in with incredible regularity – Bent had notched double figures in eight of the nine campaigns prior to 2011/12 but the arrival of Alex McLeish to Villa Park put paid to his prospects as a Fantasy force last time out:
Bent has grabbed 41 goals in his previous couple of campaigns with Sunderland and Villa and, having looked set for another strong season, was slapped with a 10.0 price tag by Fantasy Premier League (FPL). In front of his own fans, Bent’s form caught the eye to begin with last term – his first six home games harvested five goals and an assist but on the road he was literally pointless; it took the Villa forward until December 31 to pick up his first attacking returns away from home, as the midlands outfit struggled badly on their travels.
That New Year’s Eve goal at Chelsea sparked a run of four strikes in five Gameweeks and suggested the new boss had finally worked out a way to utilise his star forward but Bent lasted just three more matches before disaster struck. With 78 minutes on the clock in the Gameweek 26 trip to Wigan, he sustained ruptured ankle ligaments and was to play no further part in his side’s campaign; Villa resultantly limped over the finishing line, scoring eight more goals in the remaining 12 matches to escape relegation by just two points. Bent, meanwhile, ended the FPL campaign with nine goals and 91 points to his name – 104 and 67 less than the hauls accrued over his previous two seasons respectively.
The Prospects
Now fully recovered and ready in time for pre-season training, Bent’s prospects have been afforded a timely boost with the installation of Paul Lambert to the Villa Park hotseat. McLeish’s negative style of play saw Villa end the 2011/12 campaign with just seven victories and a mere 37 goals – the second worst tally in the entire league – and there was no surprise when the former Birmingham boss bit the bullet.
Lambert is a different prospect. Guiding Norwich to 12th last term, his attacking style of play helped the Canaries rack up 52 goals; a tally only the top six managed to eclipse and one that Randy Lerner is hoping can continue in the upcoming campaign. For Fantasy managers, the new boss was a source of frustration last season as he chopped and changed his formation and personnel but bearing in mind his rebuilding of the Villa squad is in its infancy, there’s every chance Lambert will look for stability in order to steady the ship.
At present, Villa are bereft of up front options – with only Andreas Weimann and Nathan Delfouneso as first-team alternatives, Bent will arguably be the midlanders’ most crucial player in the season ahead, though investment looks inevitable before the end of August. Norwich’s dire defensive record under Lambert of 66 goals conceded suggests Villa’s attacking assets may well be the ones to watch and with spot-kick duties also in the bag, a return to the form of old is more than a possibility for Bent – given last term’s woes a drop in price is perhaps likely, down to 9.0 – 9.5.
A look at the opening schedule indicates he will be afforded every chance to hit the ground running. Bent welcomes Everton, Swansea and West Brom to Villa Park in the first six Gameweeks and, with trips to West Ham and Southampton also on the cards, only a visit to Newcastle seems a real stumbling block. The omens looks good, then, and free of injury and McLeish, Bent could once again prove a solid source of goals in the season ahead.
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paul
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July 9 at 9:24 am
lateriser12 says:
Last years successes that will probably fail this year?
Swans def first thing that springs to my mind.
July 9 at 9:26 am
In Tommy We Trust says:
RVP
July 9 at 9:27 am
Doosra - A NOBLE HAMMER!!! says:
Totally disagree.
Dempsey? Half-a-dozen forwards?
July 9 at 9:49 am
lateriser12 says:
Demps will continue to do well me-thinks.
Sessegnon to continue his streak?
July 9 at 9:28 am
Churchill says:
John Terry’s defence. Which happens to be kicking off shortly, as soon as he can find a disabled bay to park in.
July 9 at 9:29 am
Doosra - A NOBLE HAMMER!!! says:
July 9 at 9:29 am
Goose says:
Brilliant.
July 9 at 9:32 am
Churchill says:
Suarez in the public gallery lending support to his friend & misunderstood colleague.
July 9 at 9:28 am
big oak says:
+1 and anything related to norwich
July 9 at 9:30 am
Doosra - A NOBLE HAMMER!!! says:
I wouldn’t rely on that. Hughton has proved himself a sharp operator …
July 9 at 9:32 am
big oak says:
yeah i admire hughton for what he did in newcastle and birmingham but here he has a struggling team that doesnt have a single player who has PL standard (maybe holt) and second year syndrom and salary cap and limited funds
…
but he has england 3rd choice keeper to rely on……
July 9 at 9:38 am
Doosra - A NOBLE HAMMER!!! says:
Struggling? Hmmm … we’ll see. If they stay up, it will annoy AP no end!
July 9 at 9:29 am
Kings of Lyon says:
I think without Caulker at the back and Rodgers at the helm they’ll struggle.
July 9 at 9:27 am
big oak says:
players involved in the olympics will miss the first game of the season?
July 9 at 9:28 am
GreenWindmill says:
Not necessarily, they’ll be available for selection so will just depend on fitness levels. Can’t see it being a problem personally – it will effectively be better pre-season preparation than meaningless friendlies.
July 9 at 9:29 am
In Tommy We Trust says:
I’m staying away. Were going to get the whole Cesc scenario we had a couple of years ago and I got burnt majorly from it
July 9 at 9:28 am
Joey Barton and Friends says:
damn it, home sick from work. releasing FPL today would have cured me.
July 9 at 9:29 am
GreenWindmill says:
But then you’d have had to go to work, surely?
July 9 at 9:28 am
Jafooli says:
Quick question on those players involved in the Olympics – will their involvement not mean they are better prepared for the start of the season because of recent game time and therefore match fitness? I don’t see the Olympics being a tiring tournament (but rather a bit of solid pre-season training). Are they not more likely to be rested later in the season (having started earlier), then when they are potentially sharper than the rest?
I’m mainly think of Mata here (who is obviously worth considering) and wasn’t much used in the Euro’s. Anyone else involved in the Olympics that might be worth looking at?
July 9 at 9:30 am
big oak says:
suarez
richards
July 9 at 9:44 am
Jafooli says:
Will Zabaleta frustratingly be rotated with Richards again this season (where I manage to choose the wrong one each week) or is Pablo likely to be more nailed on due to his strong end of season performances?
Guess for starting price for Zabaleta anyone?
July 9 at 9:30 am
GreenWindmill says:
Ha! See my reply to Big Oak above – I basically agree.
July 9 at 9:37 am
Jafooli says:
Indeed GWM……must have been writing my nonsense as you where penning your reply…..glad to think others thinking along the same lines….
July 9 at 9:46 am
GreenWindmill says:
Only downside I can see is if there are new faces/new managers in place it reduces the ability to integrate into the squad, adapt to tactics, etc.
July 9 at 9:57 am
Jafooli says:
I agree, I just think Mata is a key player who will be integral to RM’s plans and tatics, rather than being a rotation risk…..we will see and no doubt I’ll get it wrong…
July 9 at 9:30 am
Joey Barton and Friends says:
I reckon Mata could be player of the season. Like SIlva and his second year with City. Didnt really answer your question though….
July 9 at 9:39 am
Jafooli says:
Agreed. I was really looking forward to finding room in my team for Mata this year……until Hazard came along to possibly steal his thunder…..not sure now…
July 9 at 9:30 am
thetinkerman says:
Let’s not get our hopes up for the FPL release today guys. Based on the small amount of information we have, It’s due any time over the next week!
July 9 at 9:32 am
ChristIna says:
It usually updates for hours anyway. It won’t just suddenly be there…
July 9 at 9:33 am
GreenWindmill says:
Any reason people are expecting it to be today?
July 9 at 9:52 am
thetinkerman says:
I don’t know, just based on the posts I’ve seen over the last couple of days, a few people are hoping for today.
July 9 at 9:55 am
Bubbles - Second Place in the JPT Final 2012 says:
People are always expecting (or more correctly, wanting) FPL to open ‘today’. There was a post from another fantasy football site that said it will be this week. But as Christina says, it’ll be down for hours anyway.
July 9 at 9:59 am
Jafooli says:
Did somebody not post an official link on here saying 14th?
July 9 at 10:01 am
Bubbles - Second Place in the JPT Final 2012 says:
No idea, not seen that. Last I saw was a post on Friday saying it’ll be ‘next week’, so this week sometime.
July 9 at 10:03 am
Adz - The Verminator says:
No one knows the exact date. All we know is it is going to be released between now and sunday.
July 9 at 10:09 am
In Like Flynn says: Keep FFS and FPL H2H Leagues says:
Mass Hysteria.
July 9 at 9:31 am
Churchill says:
FAO Utd fans & those generally interested in football finance (or lack of).
This will take some time to get through, but Christ it’s a fantastic blog.
http://swissramble.blogspot.ch.....pital.html
July 9 at 9:34 am
big oak says:
yeah been reading this blog for ages now
very accurate and very neutral who analyses football finances in general
great blog
July 9 at 9:35 am
G-G-Granville says:
That’s a lot to take it on a Monday morning, must get myself another coffee.
A few months back I read the Swiss ramble on City’s compliance with the FFP, or lack of.
http://swissramble.blogspot.ch.....rplan.html
July 9 at 9:39 am
Doosra - A NOBLE HAMMER!!! says:
Tea, G-G-Granville, tea!
July 9 at 9:47 am
GreenWindmill says:
Noone likes tea :p
July 9 at 9:47 am
GreenWindmill says:
Arse and double arse!
July 9 at 9:53 am
Doosra - A NOBLE HAMMER!!! says:
I thought you were a Magpie?
July 9 at 9:51 am
G-G-Granville says:
Tea is for relaxing.
July 9 at 9:53 am
thetinkerman says:
Green tea is amazing, you should try that!
I’m sure I’ve seen this debate on here before though…
July 9 at 9:53 am
Doosra - A NOBLE HAMMER!!! says:
Precisely!
July 9 at 9:54 am
Willis_Hide says:
Wine is for relaxing.
July 9 at 9:58 am
AP says:
Valium is for relaxing.
July 9 at 10:12 am
Doosra - A NOBLE HAMMER!!! says:
I thought you creative types resorted to the Leaf?
July 9 at 9:48 am
In Tommy We Trust says:
Any inside info on when we can spend hours reading RMTs??
July 9 at 9:52 am
lateriser12 says:
Bookmarked. Thanks!
July 9 at 9:58 am
Churchill says:
This chap reckons Utd closing in on Baines. If memory serves me, he was one of the first to say Park was off to QPR.
https://twitter.com/steviebateman
July 9 at 10:05 am
Adz - The Verminator says:
Maybe he happened to be on the BBC website as soon as the article was put on?
July 9 at 10:07 am
Nitin Nagaraja: Has it started yet?? says:
Me likey.
July 9 at 9:59 am
Kings of Lyon says:
Ok, I was having a think of players that I want for the first few GWs, so far ive got –
Ade
Torres
Vertoghen
Terry
Cech
Siggi
Sinclair
and looking at this i’m thinking that its going to be a very tough season, unless a McLean/Siggi/Albrighton shows up
July 9 at 10:01 am
Joey Barton and Friends says:
that looks v expensive. Almost 60 million in there I reckon
July 9 at 10:03 am
Kings of Lyon says:
I know, that was my thinking. Bugger.
July 9 at 10:04 am
Jafooli says:
Verm or Vidic ahead of Terry (as hopefully he’ll be in jail – which I know is not possible/likley – but wishful thinking). And here’s hoping the judge is on FFS and I prejudice the trial etc
July 9 at 10:06 am
Kings of Lyon says:
If terrys in jail then I’ll look at Kompany Vidic Baines (if at utd).
Although, didnt Stevie G get in a barroom brawl and got away with a slap on the wrists? If that was you or I think the verdict would have been different. One rule for one and one rule for the other.
July 9 at 10:11 am
lateriser12 says:
Look at Lescott.
July 9 at 10:12 am
Kings of Lyon says:
i’d rather not
July 9 at 10:04 am
lateriser12 says:
If you are looking at some budget friendly options who could do well,
Nzog
Pienaar
Dyer
Maxi Rodriguez
Park
Taraabt
LLama
Nolan
Noble
are on my watchlist
July 9 at 10:07 am
Kings of Lyon says:
Yeah, most of these are on mine too. I also have Lambert Howson and Moses on my list.
Excuse the ignorance but who’s Llama?
July 9 at 10:07 am
Adz - The Verminator says:
LLama??
I THINK its Lallana. 
July 9 at 10:12 am
lateriser12 says:
Lallana, yes apologies. SOT winger
July 9 at 10:13 am
Kings of Lyon says:
That makes sense
July 9 at 10:19 am
In Like Flynn says: Keep FFS and FPL H2H Leagues says:
I prefer LLama.
July 9 at 10:20 am
Kings of Lyon says:
I think we can make thi sstick as his appreviated name for here
July 9 at 10:57 am
Fulgencio Obelmejias says:
Thai stick?
July 9 at 10:08 am
In Tommy We Trust says:
Maxi gone to Fenerbache I think.
Add
Boyce/Beasjour
Pilkington
Fabio
Cisse
Pearce
July 9 at 10:08 am
In Like Flynn says: Keep FFS and FPL H2H Leagues says:
Oi!! Maxi is mine. I have sole rights.
Couple of other good possibles too Lateriser.
July 9 at 10:12 am
lateriser12 says:
Couple other being?
July 9 at 10:21 am
In Like Flynn says: Keep FFS and FPL H2H Leagues says:
Pienaar, LLama (after Sot’s bad start)
July 9 at 10:24 am
Pasqualinho says:
I’m steering clear of llamas and gerbils
July 9 at 10:27 am
In Like Flynn says: Keep FFS and FPL H2H Leagues says:
Both tasty when cooked well.
July 9 at 10:18 am
Jafooli says:
Just hope Maxi get’s game time…that lad scores goals everytime he’s on…….why did they persist with Downing and Henderchuff last season…..key reason for poor season imo
July 9 at 10:22 am
In Like Flynn says: Keep FFS and FPL H2H Leagues says:
The money that was spent on them I guess Jafooli. They’d have looked silly if they were on the bench.
July 9 at 10:31 am
Jafooli says:
Totally agreed but perhaps not as daft as willing to finish, what was it 8th? or even 9th?
There are so many average players in some of these squads these days……
July 9 at 10:08 am
thetinkerman says:
Yeah, I agree with them all except Park!
As with all budget friendly options, they run the risk of doing feck all! Of those I like Noble/Nolan and Taraabt most.
July 9 at 10:11 am
Kings of Lyon says:
Why not Park?
July 9 at 10:12 am
thetinkerman says:
I may be wrong but I don’t see him as a big goal scorer or assister. Also, I would imagine his price won’t be that good, maybe 6.5-7m
July 9 at 10:06 am
In Like Flynn says: Keep FFS and FPL H2H Leagues says:
Morning KoL. I think you could be right on pricing, particularly at the start before the right cheapies have shown themselves.
Hopefully FPL will give us the odd clutchable straw.
July 9 at 10:10 am
Kings of Lyon says:
Mornin’ ILF how are things? Yeah I think its going to be a tough year. I’ve also just found out that my mate has started to use this site, which could be a nightmare.
July 9 at 10:15 am
Doosra - A NOBLE HAMMER!!! says:
Who is he?
July 9 at 10:19 am
Kings of Lyon says:
Im not sure hes posted yet. Think he’s just lurking and reading the articles.
July 9 at 10:24 am
In Like Flynn says: Keep FFS and FPL H2H Leagues says:
Most of my ML rivals have been lurkists for a year or so.
July 9 at 10:26 am
Kings of Lyon says:
Did it take them long to recognise that it was you? Unsure if I want him to find out my alias
July 9 at 10:30 am
Doosra - A NOBLE HAMMER!!! says:
lurkists …
July 9 at 10:11 am
Doosra - A NOBLE HAMMER!!! says:
Have Liverpool got the largest squad in the History of Football?
July 9 at 10:20 am
Jafooli says:
or City surely?
July 9 at 10:24 am
big oak says:
they released aurelio!
July 9 at 10:13 am
Jafooli says:
Quick poll on a big hitter defender:
Verm
Vidic (is he fit for start of season?)
Vertonghen (going on peoples expectations)
Baines (if he moves to Utd)
Terry
Other……
Choose one or list in order or just pass….
July 9 at 10:14 am
Doosra - A NOBLE HAMMER!!! says:
Vermaelen, imo.
July 9 at 10:14 am
Kings of Lyon says:
Im going to plump for Vertoghen. Although I think Kompany will do well again.
July 9 at 10:14 am
H says:
Verm
July 9 at 10:14 am
Adz - The Verminator says:
1st gmwk Terry
Then Vidic from then on
July 9 at 10:15 am
Jafooli says:
Add Kompany to the list…oops forgot…
July 9 at 10:17 am
crouchy089 says:
Kompany.
July 9 at 10:22 am
Bedknobs and Boomsticks says:
I like the sound of Vertongan provided that he comes in at around the 6.0 mark. After that I think its the usual trick of looing for value in the big teams. Lescott maybe…..
July 9 at 10:23 am
big oak says:
vermaelen and vidic are way ahead is fitness is no issue
baines is right behind regrdless of which team he’s in. everton have a credible defensive record
vertonghen is at totenham under AVB, they wernt that good under harry t begin with
July 9 at 10:24 am
Jafooli says:
I reckon:
1. Verm
2. Vidic/Kompany
3. Baines (if at Utd)
4. Terry
5. Vertonghen
These guys are gonna be mega bucks this season – can’t see one being below 7.0 (apart from Vertigo…….6.0?
July 9 at 10:31 am
In Like Flynn says: Keep FFS and FPL H2H Leagues says:
But then you’re only having 1 or 2. The trick is which 1 or 2?
July 9 at 10:25 am
Adz - The Verminator says:
What team names are we all going for??
Im going to choose one out of these three,
AdeCantHitaBarDoor
A Ruddy Good Save
Sing us a Song, Alex
Thoughts?
July 9 at 10:31 am
Bedknobs and Boomsticks says:
Is it weird to go for Toucanspor on the basis that I like Toucan’s and I think a black kit with white and yellow stripes will look quite natty?
Alternatively Sporting Watermelons in red and green stripes would be a spectacularly obscure pun on an unusual city I’ve been to.
I feeling obtuse this year.
July 9 at 10:28 am
Adz - The Verminator says:
New Post
http://www.fantasyfootballscou.....demwingie/
July 9 at 10:30 am
King Nemanja says:
New post.