Bent medical with us today

[Rudolph]

That 2m figure is there to appease their fans, no way we'd be paying that.

[fulham traveller]

I like bent, but why is no other decent club coming in for him, has he lost it, does he have a bad attitude etc, I hope he scores 10 goals this season, we need goals

[Me-ate-Live, innit??]

I like bent, but why is no other decent club coming in for him, has he lost it, does he have a bad attitude etc, I hope he scores 10 goals this season, we need goals

The Traveller picking at scabs ..innit  064.gif  .....  he hasn't been snapped in the shirt as yet ......................and who knows there may be bigger fish on one of Jol's hooks  and Daza will be back on the market !!!
Do they sign the contracts BEFORE the medical or after ???
Bent must know this is the last chance saloon and  the good news is he can score goals, the assist for those goals  is the £6M question  :022: 

[Nero]

I like bent, but why is no other decent club coming in for him, has he lost it, does he have a bad attitude etc, I hope he scores 10 goals this season, we need goals

because hes a good striker not world class Liverpool would have been interested put were put off by the 6m transfer fee they wanted it to be a minimum of 18m. Newcastle where but bent isnt stupid to go and join that circus. Everton are still skint and Swansea sign bony

[jmh]

He's a proven goalscorer in the Premier League so why just a loan deal?  Should've been a permanent transfer.

Because we can. So long as there's an option to buy him. We can spend the money elsewhere this summer.

I haven't seen anything that says there's an option.

[bill taylors apprentice]

Don't expect any news from the club any time soon, even if it goes through, as I believe the FFC medicals are taken over 2 days.
So unless someone at the club decides to think of the fans and ensure maximum communication it will probably drag on to next week.

[grandad]

If he does come no more 4-4-1-1 thank God. Bring back the good old 4-4-2

[Jamie88]

If he does come no more 4-4-1-1 thank God. Bring back the good old 4-4-2

Wouldn't bet on it with Jol

[farfouille]

If he does come no more 4-4-1-1 thank God. Bring back the good old 4-4-2

Wouldn't bet on it with Jol

Wouldn't bet on it with Berbatov. :)

With Bent on board, he will gladly take the second forward role...
But then again, they might just score 25+ goals (at least 15 from Bent and 10 from Berbatov).

[mccscratch]

I like bent, but why is no other decent club coming in for him, has he lost it, does he have a bad attitude etc, I hope he scores 10 goals this season, we need goals

transcript of Lambert last November... the relationship has not been repaired...

Press: While Benteke had a big game tonight people will wonder why Darren Bent wasn't in the squad tonight.
Paul Lambert: He was in the squad.
Press: But not on the bench, even.
Paul Lambert: It was the same on Saturday. I just picked the same group that deserves the chance to keep going. I always do what I think is right for the football club.
Press: You do realise that with ten minutes to go with the game goalless, you have a £24m signing sitting in the stands. With respect to Jordan Bowery, are you more likely to get a goal from him or Darren Bent?
Paul Lambert: But you can't talk about ifs, buts or maybes. The reality is that we won. That's the game. I'll always make that decision. I'll make an honest judgement who plays.
Press: That's accepted, it's your head on the chopping block if you don't win. But just for the record, what's the problem with Bent?
Paul Lambert: There's no point me saying it again, is there? (Laughs)
Press: It was a big game tonight and we wondered why you wouldn't at least have the safety net of a proven Premier League goalscorer on the bench. What is the problem?
Paul Lambert: Absolutely none.
Press: So you just don't fancy him as a player?
Paul Lambert: I do. But I've told you before that I'll pick a game to win. I have 25 guys to look after and the most important thing is this club. I'll make decisions and I'll live or die by them. That's the nature of the beast.
Press: How did he take it when you announced who was playing?
Paul Lambert: I just read the team out. The lads who were going to take the field of play and those on the bench, you have to get them focused on the game. All I try to do is pick a team to win a game.
Press: There were reports he stomped off? Are they right?
Paul Lambert: No, honestly, I would tell you. (Laughter from the floor) (And then from Lambert)
Press: How is his attitude? Is that a problem?
Paul Lambert: Fine. I'll do what's best for Aston Villa.
Press: So what does he have to do to get back in, Paul?
Paul Lambert: Any player that I have, you work hard, you stay in the side. You play on merit.
Press: So, he's just not working hard enough, then?
Paul Lambert: I never said that, you did. I never said that. If people aren't working hard enough, I need to pick people who will affect the game.
Press: Will he be sold in January? He clearly doesn't fit the bill for you...
Paul Lambert: Honestly, my main concern is winning games for this football club. Crowd are brilliant, right behind you.
Press: Can we clarify that you have no problem with his application?
Paul Lambert: No, none.
Press: Will he get a chance before January?
Paul Lambert: Everyone will get the same chance. I see them train every day, at work every day. Then you try and pick a team that will win.
Press: You've been proved right, haven't you? Benteke scored and Villa won...
Paul Lambert: That's the game, you live and die by your decisions to do your best for the club.
Press: Is he down at all, Paul?
Paul Lambert: Who?
Press: Your club record signing.
Press: You said he knows what he needs to do to get back in, has there been any kind of conversation between the pair of you?
Paul Lambert: I've said I don't have any problem.
Press: There were reports he left the stadium after the team was announced...
Paul Lambert: I don't know anything about that. I haven't heard that, no.
Press: Can you see him playing again here?
Paul Lambert: You never know. I'll keep saying it: I'll play a team and squad to win. The game's about winning. I've got 26 guys, some are injured. It's a team game. You need everyone to pull the same way and that's what we will create here.
Press: If a player was to take the hump and leave the stadium following the announcement of the team, would it be club policy to discipline him? (Interjection from Press officer, "It didn't happen.")
Press: Can you understand why we ask these questions, he's a man you made club captain...
Paul Lambert: Yes, I understand the questions. I get them every Friday. It's the same answers. It's boring for you. I don't know what else you can write about it.
Press: To put it into perspective, this was a big game tonight. I know you've said you don't look at the table but 28,000 people here tonight were looking at it. We were looking at it, our offices in London are looking at it. We are wondering why, a man the club signed two years ago, to provide goals doesn't get a run under you, given the fact that when you came in, you showered him with praise, then you made him captain. Now, not only can he not get into the side, he can't get on the bench? I know you have 20-odd professionals to look after, but the question remains when you are struggling for goals, what's going on?
Paul Lambert: I know you have your jobs to do, I'll give you the same answer.
Press: But the fans want to know and we are conduits to them.
Paul Lambert: I'm trying to give you an honest answer. If I was going to lie to you, honestly, I would. It's my decision. Is that all right?
Press: Can we put it another way? Villa haven't scored a lot of goals. We are wondering why someone who throughout his career has scored a lot of goals we are trying to understand the thought process you are going through to make that. What is it, so we can understand it?
Paul Lambert: I think the decision is one I will make. You can't please people all the time. Stephen Ireland and Charles N'Zogbia might not be happy. Shay Given, for instance. It's not easy. I'll say it again. I've got other lads to look after. I've never had one problem with any of them. So there you have it.

[Jamie88]

Great read there mcscratch, ta :)
I was, initially, not sure about the Bent signing. However for some reason I'm now pretty glad we might have this as a done deal. Reason being is that he really is a proven Premier League goalscorer who has for reasons unknown been pushed out of Villa by Lambert. There is absolutely no reason why he can't grab us 20 goals.

..well there is one, the complete lack of creativity we have showed in the last year. But nevertheless, onwards and upwards...

[Arthur]

That 2m figure is there to appease their fans, no way we'd be paying that.

Maybe we've been forced to do so.

As I see it, Bent has never been Jol's preferred choice or else we would have come to an arrangement before today's last-minute hijacking of Palace's deal. Though not Jol's main target, he knows that bringing in Bent is eminently better than signing nobody. However, unless Bent surpasses Jol's expectations, we can expect him to return to Villa at the end of the season - and we conduct a new search for strikers that our manager really wants.

[zander]

That 2m figure is there to appease their fans, no way we'd be paying that.

Maybe we've been forced to do so.

As I see it, Bent has never been Jol's preferred choice or else we would have come to an arrangement before today's last-minute hijacking of Palace's deal. Though not Jol's main target, he knows that bringing in Bent is eminently better than signing nobody. However, unless Bent surpasses Jol's expectations, we can expect him to return to Villa at the end of the season - and we conduct a new search for strikers that our manager really wants.

If it does turn out to be a loan deal I can't see how there wont be a fee in the 1-2m region. For whatever reason the club clearly does not want to commit money long term, particularly for older players which is a good thing.

The entire deal will cost around 5.2m for the season though so there must be a lack of other plausible targets. Otherwise as others have said we should and would be addressing positions long term.

[Ordar]

Lambert confirmed that its a one year loan with an option to buy

[Nero]

If we're getting him on loan I think it's very likely we'll have an option included. I also doubt we'll pay £2 million plus all his wages. We're very good at being tight and that wouldn't be like us.

Holloway said we knicked there deal which was just 50% of his wages. And in a years time hes only a year left on his contract price should plummet to about 2 mill

[DJinNJ]

Palace were reportedly offering £2m plus £40k of his wages. If we're hijacking their deal we have to offer something better, so I can see us offering the £2m plus more than £40k wages (all £65-75k though? not sure about that). Palace also offered a bonus if they stayed up, which we probably wouldn't go for as we expect to stay up anyway, so we'd have to do something else to sweeten the deal. So maybe more than £40k, or maybe foregoing the option to buy, or both. Bent might draw a pretty high fee if he does well here, so not having to sell him to us for a set amount could be very appealing to them. We certainly wouldn't agree to anything near £6m, otherwise we'd just pay that now, but he could be worth more than that next year if he's back to being a 15 goal scorer rather than a castoff from a 15th place team. Who knows, a year from now they might even decide they can use him themselves (though probably not unless Lambert goes).

Good deal for Villa as no one was going to pay £6m plus his full wages, so they get a decent loan fee, plus a chance to sell him again next summer (and he doesn't play against them). The fact that he would be one year older with one less year left on his contract might be offset by the fact that he was playing (and hopefully scoring) regularly. Not so great for us, as we knew the club and the player both desperately wanted a move, so we were probably waiting until deadline day and hoping they'd blink, and once the fee came down we'd probably be the preferred destination over Newcastle for Bent (and it seems like we were always willing to offer more than they were anyway). So Palace sort of ruined our plans, but I think the fact that we are taking a worse deal than we were expecting shows that Jol really wanted Bent. So I'm glad he's coming, but it's probably not a great deal for us.

[Humbled]

Also glad he is coming but if we are paying 2million + full wages for a loan I think that's a bit silly when we are rumoured to be penny pinching elsewhere.

[Nero]

Probably same deal and down to the player Fulham or palace.

[Jem]

From Bent's point of view he has got to work his socks of to secure his future. If he flops his done, if he excells someone will offer him a good contract. It has to be good for Fulham even if only for one season. I wish him the very best of luck!

[Holders]

I think the reason we may feel underwhelmed by this is that it's well-known, England has-been Darren Bent who fell out of favour at Villa and we have misgivings that he might not perform for us. In other words, he isn't an exotic foreign "-inho" whom we've hardly seen play even on TV and just think might be better. 

Holloway suggests that we were playing a waiting game and stepped in when Palace were close to signing him. Quite possibly, and good management on Fulham's part if that were the case. If we can be incisive in that way I like it, taking it as read that it's a balanced, assessed decision. Bent prefers to come to us rather than Palace - quite plausible; Osvaldo prefers to stay in Italy and if possible Inter - quite likely. Southampton, I doubt it.

I have to get myself excited about this (alleged) signing and I sincerely hope that in a month or so's time I can look back wonder why I was ever underwhelmed by the prospect we are looking at today.