Bent deserves an England run
IT may not have been in the same league as Barcelona's first-half rampage against Arsenal, but good God I could get used to watching displays like the one against Spurs at the weekend.
In front after 34 seconds – Darren Bent grabbing the fastest goal in the Premier League this season – two before the half-hour mark, and sealing a great win with a superb volley.
Incidentally, had Bolo Zenden's volley been scored by Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kaka etc, it wouldn't have been off our TV screens all weekend.
Like I said in Friday's column, all the talk after the Spurs clash would be about Bent. Well, the striker certainly made sure of that with his performance against his former club.
According to some reports the jury is still out on Bent because he failed to score from two of his three penalties.
Now, I realise that I could be accused of being biased because of my red and white allegiances, but I don't think I am being so when I say that I can't really see any merit in such a viewpoint.
Bent didn't miss those two penalties, they were saved by Heurelho Gomes, and should that really exclude him from the World Cup this summer when he probably wouldn't be taking the spot-kicks should Rooney be on the field?
If they were to argue that Bent isn't proven at international level, then I can't disagree with that, other than to say until he gets a run at that level he probably never will be.
But without seeing him regularly pull on an England shirt, we are just guessing whether or not he has what it takes to star for his country.
What isn't open to debate are the cold hard facts of The Black Cats striker's season – Bent has scored 23 goals this term, 22 of them in the Premier League, and seven of those goals have come against five top six sides – Chelsea, Manchester United, Spurs, Liverpool and Arsenal.
And don't forget that Bent is the second highest English scorer in the top flight – Rooney holding No1 spot.
Personally, the only reason I can see for Bent not boarding the plane to South Africa is if Harry Redknapp was telling the truth and his missus is more prolific than our very own deadly Darren.
Getting back to the win over Spurs, it was great to see us bounce back in style after being outclassed the previous weekend against Liverpool.
Now, we have to hope that they can push on from here, and finish the current campaign with a flourish.
So far the fabled 'next step' that has been promised for the last couple of seasons has seemed little more than a`giant leap of faith taken by fans.
Don't shout it from the rooftops just yet, but if we can turn more displays like the one against Spurs, that faith could be repaid with interest.
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Weather for South Shields
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
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Temperature: 8 C to 19 C
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