David Bentley

For other people named David Bentley, see David Bentley (disambiguation).
David Bentley

Bentley training with FC Rostov in 2012
Personal information
Full name David Michael Bentley[1]
Date of birth (1984-08-27) 27 August 1984[1]
Place of birth Peterborough, England
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Playing position Winger
Youth career
0000–1997 Wormley
1997–2001 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2006 Arsenal 1 (0)
2004–2005 → Norwich City (loan) 26 (2)
2005–2006 → Blackburn Rovers (loan) 14 (0)
2006–2008 Blackburn Rovers 88 (13)
2008–2013 Tottenham Hotspur 42 (2)
2011 → Birmingham City (loan) 13 (0)
2011 → West Ham United (loan) 5 (0)
2012–2013 → FC Rostov (loan) 7 (0)
2013 → Blackburn Rovers (loan) 5 (0)
Total 201 (17)
National team
2005–2007 England U21 8 (4)
2007 England B 1 (0)
2007–2008 England 7 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


David Michael Bentley (born 27 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger, but also played as a central midfielder or as a second striker.

Bentley started his career with Arsenal in the Premier League, and despite being earmarked as one for the future, saw his playing opportunities limited by a strong senior squad. He spent two seasons on loan with Norwich City and Blackburn Rovers, and sealed a permanent transfer to Rovers in January 2006. Bentley produced strong performances for his new club, and soon featured regularly for the England under-21 team. He made his senior international debut against Israel in September 2007. In July 2008, Bentley joined Tottenham Hotspur. He spent time on loan with Birmingham City, West Ham United, FC Rostov and a brief return to Blackburn before being released by Tottenham in 2013. After not playing for more than a year, Bentley retired from football in 2014, citing his loss of passion for the sport.

Club career

Arsenal

Born in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire,[1] Bentley started his youth career at Wormley Youth Football Club in Wormley, Hertfordshire, before moving to Arsenal aged 13 as a striker, occasionally playing in the hole.[3] He was used primarily in midfield, usually as a wide midfielder.[3] As a 16-year-old he trained with the Arsenal senior squad,[4] before signing his first professional contract in September 2001.[1] By January 2003, he was handed his first-team debut, coming on as a substitute for Kolo Touré in the 77th minute of a 2–0 FA Cup third round win over Oxford United.[5] Bentley's first goal for Arsenal was a chip shot from the edge of the penalty area over goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, in a 4–1 FA Cup win over Middlesbrough on 24 January 2004.[5][6] He played once in the league for Arsenal, starting a 1–1 draw against Portsmouth on 4 May 2004, in which he was substituted after 61 minutes for Nwankwo Kanu.[7]

Bentley spent the whole of the next league season on loan to Norwich City, playing 26 league games and scoring two goals, against Newcastle and Southampton.[8] His season at Carrow Road was interrupted by an injury sustained in January. He returned to the side in April 2005, coming off the bench against Manchester United and playing a key role in Norwich's 2–0 win.[9] Despite a late run of form, the Canaries were relegated from the Premier League on the last day of the season. Bentley returned to Arsenal in the summer of 2005, but submitted a transfer request, citing his desire for first team football.[5] In subsequent interviews, he also revealed that he was having "personal problems" at that point in his career and had lost his enjoyment for football—problems which he overcame later in his Blackburn Rovers career.[10] He admitted to gambling addiction in the early stages of his career, reaching a peak of placing 100 bets a day. He got over his problems in 2005.[11]

Desiring a permanent move, Bentley was linked with a number of clubs including Wolverhampton Wanderers, before returning on a further season's loan, to Blackburn Rovers on 31 August 2005.[12]

Blackburn Rovers

In January 2006, Blackburn signed Bentley on a permanent basis from Arsenal.[13] In his first match after permanently signing for Blackburn, he scored his first senior hat-trick in a 4–3 victory against Manchester United.[13] Bentley went on to feature regularly for Blackburn in the 2005–06 season, and helped the club finish sixth in league standings and qualify for the 2006–07 UEFA Cup.[8][14]

Bentley playing for Blackburn Rovers in 2008

The 2006–07 season saw Bentley become more of a regular goalscorer for Rovers, including some stunning strikes in the Premier League.[15][16] In Europe, a 25-yard volley against Salzburg in the UEFA Cup helped secure Rovers' passage into the group stage,[17] where he also scored a last minute winner against Wisła Kraków.[18] Bentley's club performances attracted much transfer speculation. However, on 27 February 2007, despite being linked to a move to Manchester United, he agreed to a new contract that would keep him with Blackburn until 2011.[19][20] Commenting on the new deal, Rovers manager Mark Hughes described Bentley as "a great talent with a big future" while Chairman John Williams added that he "is widely regarded as one of the best young footballers in the country."[20] Bentley ended the season with seven goals and 13 assists for Blackburn, the latter statistic also highlighting his creative importance to the team.[8] The young midfielder was later voted by Rovers fans as the club's Player of the Year.[21]

Bentley recorded similar statistics in the following season, scoring eight goals and providing 13 assists.[8] Blackburn finished seventh in the Premier League, but did not qualify for European competition. Bentley's consistent performances for his club, however, ensured that he played in a series of post-season friendlies for England. But that was to be the Englishman's final season with the Lancashire club. Not long after the departure of manager Mark Hughes to Manchester City, Bentley reiterated his desire to join a bigger club, and Blackburn placed a valuation of the player at around £18 million.

Tottenham Hotspur

Bentley playing for Tottenham Hotspur in 2009

On 31 July 2008, Tottenham Hotspur announced their signing of Bentley, on a six-year contract, for a £15 million fee, with an additional £2 million conditional on future performance.[22] Reports suggested that £7 million of this fee was payable to Bentley's former employers, Arsenal.[22][23] Bentley made his competitive debut on 16 August 2008 away at Middlesbrough where Spurs lost 2–1.[24] He scored his first competitive goal for Spurs in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup first round tie against Wisła Kraków on 18 September 2008. He then scored his first league goal for Tottenham against his old club Arsenal with a 43-yard dipping volley in a 4–4 draw on 29 October 2008.[25] This led the British mathematician Tony Mann to ask Marcus du Sautoy to name a symmetry group in honour of David Bentley; the group is labelled Set [C[1], C[2], C[3], C[4]]=[40, 13, 4, 4], with the final two digits corresponding to the result of the match.[26] Bentley's form would suffer at Tottenham, however, and after falling down the pecking order for both club and country, it was reported on 17 June 2009 that he was in talks to move to Aston Villa.[27] Subsequently, it was revealed by Bentley and Aston Villa that this was untrue.[28]

The form of Aaron Lennon meant that Bentley was mostly used as a substitute for the start 2009–10 season, although he did score a free kick in Tottenham's 9–1 victory over Wigan Athletic, with the ball then going in off the back of Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.[29]

Loan spells

On 12 January 2011, Bentley joined Birmingham City on loan for the remainder of the season.[30] He went straight into the starting eleven for the Second City derby against Aston Villa and was named man of the match.[31] Bentley scored his first goal for Birmingham in a 3–2 win against Coventry City in the fourth round of the 2010–11 FA Cup. Described in the Birmingham Mail's season review as having "flattered to deceive", he failed to establish himself in the first team, and returned to Tottenham at the end of the season.[32]

On 31 August 2011, Bentley signed a season-long loan deal with Championship side West Ham United.[33] He made his debut on 10 September 2011 in a 4–3 home win against Portsmouth coming on in the 63rd minute for Julien Faubert.[34] In October 2011, he was ruled out for six months following a knee operation and returned to Tottenham for treatment, after playing five matches for West Ham.[35] In February 2012, Bentley was named in Tottenham's 25-man squad for the second half of the 2011–12 season despite his injury.[36]

Despite featuring prominently in Tottenham's pre-season under new manager André Villas-Boas, on 7 September 2012, Bentley went out on loan to Russian side FC Rostov.[37] Bentley became the first Englishman to play in the Russian Premier League when he made his debut for the club on 15 September, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 victory over Dynamo Moscow.[38][39] He went on to start all four subsequent league games for Rostov before picking up an ankle injury in the 0–0 draw with Lokomotiv Moscow on 21 October. Bentley made seven appearances for Rostov without scoring.[40]

Loan return to Blackburn Rovers

In January 2013 Bentley's former manager at Tottenham, Harry Redknapp, attempted to sign him on loan for Queens Park Rangers as a potential supplier of crosses for Peter Crouch. However, the move did not take place because Crouch did not sign for QPR and Bentley's weekly wage of £50,000 was deemed too high.[41] On 15 February, Bentley returned to former club Blackburn Rovers on a 93-day loan.[42] He made his second Blackburn début the next day, coming on as substitute in a fifth round FA Cup away win at Arsenal.[43]

On 7 June 2013, the Premier League confirmed that he had been released by Tottenham Hotspur.[44] On 3 August 2013, Levski Sofia manager Slaviša Jokanović expressed interest in signing Bentley and his former Tottenham teammate Cristian Ceballos.[45]

Retirement

On 13 June 2014, Bentley announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 29, having been without a club for over a year. He stated in an interview that he had fallen out of love with football, calling the modern game "robotic" due to the influence of social media and money, as well as "predictable and a bit too calculated". He said that he wished to spend time with his three children.[46][47] By October 2014, Bentley was a co-owner of a restaurant in Marbella, Spain, where he and his family had moved to.[48] Bentley has also invested in beach clubs and in a restaurant in Woodford Green, London with Raheem Sterling and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.[49][50]

In 2015, as part of a job-swap documentary for Irish television,[51] Bentley trained for and played in a Gaelic football match for Crossmaglen Rangers; in return, Aaron Kernan was to train with Sunderland.[52]

International career

Bentley played for the England under-15 and under-16 teams, captained the England under-18 team and played for the England under-21 team.[5][13] He recorded eight caps and four goals with the under-21 team,[53] He was the first Englishman to score at the new Wembley Stadium in a game against the Italy under-21 team on 24 March 2007.[54]

In May 2007, following an impressive 2006–07 season for Blackburn, Bentley was called up for the England B international at Turf Moor for a match against Albania. After naming him as a starter, England manager Steve McClaren said Bentley had the potential to become England's "new David Beckham".[55] In that match, Bentley provided the cross for Stewart Downing's first goal and was involved in the buildup to Downing's second in the 3–1 victory for England.[56] He received the man of the match award for his performance.[56] The next day, he was named in McClaren's 26-man full England squad for the friendly match against Brazil and the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia.[10]

In June 2007, Bentley was called up to the England under-21 squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Netherlands. However, he pulled out of the squad citing fatigue, and England under-21 manager Stuart Pearce questioned the midfielder's commitment to the national squad.[57] This withdrawal led to Bentley being excluded from the senior England squad for the friendly against Germany,[58] but he was selected for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia. He made his senior debut when he came on as a substitute for Shaun Wright-Phillips against Israel, but was jeered by some of the fans due to his previous refusal to play for the under-21 team.[59]

Bentley started for England for the first time in the friendly against Switzerland on 6 February 2008,[60] but had fallen down the pecking order since his debut.

Style of play

Most commonly Bentley played as a right winger, but he could also play as a central midfielder or a second striker. When he was at Arsenal, Bentley was slated to play in the second striker role, but[5] after joining Blackburn he found himself deployed more frequently on the right side of midfield due to his ability to cross the ball. He was a set-piece specialist and regularly took charge of corner and free-kick duties for his team. He was known for his technique, composure and creativity on the ball and was often talked about as a should-be central midfielder, but his ability to deliver from wide positions meant he was often used as a winger, despite lacking the pace of some of his Premier League contemporaries.

Career statistics

Club

Bentley playing for West Ham United 2011
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2002–03[61] Premier League 0010000010
2003–04[62] Premier League 1021401[lower-alpha 1]081
2005–06[63] Premier League 00——0000
Total 1031401091
Norwich City (loan) 2004–05[64] Premier League 2621010—282
Blackburn Rovers 2005–06[63] Premier League 2931151—355
2006–07[65] Premier League 36460108[lower-alpha 2]3517
2007–08[66] Premier League 37611316[lower-alpha 3]1479
Total 10213829214413321
Tottenham Hotspur 2008–09[67] Premier League 25120305[lower-alpha 2]1352
2009–10[68] Premier League 1515141—243
2010–11[69] Premier League 2000100030
2011–12[70] Premier League 00—000000
2012–13[71] Premier League 0000—0000
Total 422718151625
Birmingham City (loan) 2010–11[69] Premier League 13021——151
West Ham United (loan) 2011–12[70] Championship 50———50
FC Rostov (loan) 2012–13[72] Russian Premier League 7010——80
Blackburn Rovers (loan) 2012–13[71] Championship 5020——70
Career total 2011724522320526730
  1. ↑ Appearance in UEFA Champions League
  2. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Cup
  3. ↑ Two appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup, four appearances and one goal in UEFA Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
England[73] 200720
200850
Total70

Honours

Tottenham Hotspur

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ↑ "David Bentley". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Player Profle". Premier League. Retrieved 9 June 2007.
  4. ↑ Bernstein, Joe (1 April 2004) "Bentley ready for road test". The Football Association. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "David Bentley profile". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  6. ↑ "Arsenal 4-1 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 24 January 2004. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "Portsmouth 1–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 4 May 2004. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "David Bentley history". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  9. ↑ Lacey, David "Ferguson struck dumb by Tweety Pies with talons". The Guardian (London). 11 April 2005. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  10. 1 2 "Bentley thanks Rovers for England call-up". ESPN Soccernet. 26 May 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  11. ↑ "Bentley admits he was placing 100 bets a day". The Guardian (London). 10 April 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
  12. ↑ "Blackburn capture Bentley on loan". BBC Sport. 31 August 2005. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 "Player Biography". Globe Sports. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  14. ↑ P"remiership Table – 2005/06". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  15. ↑ "Blackburn 2–1 Wigan". ESPN Soccernet. 1 October 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  16. ↑ "Reading v Blackburn Rovers, 1–2 Sat 16 Dec 2006". Premier League. 16 December 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  17. ↑ Parkes, Ian (29 September 2006) "Rovers in top gear thanks to Bentley's Rolls-Royce performance". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  18. ↑ Gaunt, Ken, "Racism claims mar Blackburn's hard-won victory". The Guardian (London). 20 October 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  19. ↑ "Bentley pledges long-term future to Rovers". Blackburn Rovers F.C. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  20. 1 2 "Bentley signs new Blackburn deal". BBC Sport. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  21. ↑ "Bents takes top billing at awards dinner". Blackburn Rovers F.C. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  22. 1 2 "Tottenham complete Bentley switch". BBC Sport. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  23. ↑ Norrish, Mike, "Arsenal net £7m David Bentley windfall". The Daily Telegraph (London). 31 July 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  24. ↑ Lyon, Sam, "Middlesbrough 2–1 Tottenham". BBC Sport. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  25. ↑ McNulty, Phil (29 October 2008) "Arsenal 4–4 Tottenham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 October 2008
  26. ↑ "Football fans take their rivalries into mathematical hyperspace". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  27. ↑ Bailey, Richard, "Bentley in talks with Villa". Sky Sports. 16 June 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
  28. ↑ "Aston Villa not drawn by David Bentley paper talk". Birmingham Mail. 16 June 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  29. ↑ " Tottenham Hotspur 9 Wigan Athletic 1". Premier League. 22 November 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
  30. ↑ "Blues bag Bentley". Birmingham City F.C. 12 January 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  31. ↑ Ball, Elliot (16 January 2011) "Bentley boosted by Blues bow". Sky Sports. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  32. ↑ Tattum, Colin, "Colin Tattum reviews Birmingham City's season and asks: How did it go so wrong?". Birmingham Mail. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  33. ↑ "Bentley signs". West Ham United F.C. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  34. ↑ West Ham 4–3 Portsmouth. BBC Sport. 11 September 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  35. ↑ "West Ham midfielder David Bentley out for six months". BBC Sport. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  36. ↑ "Bentley, Dawkins and Khumalo named in Tottenham squad for title run-in". Daily Mail. London. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  37. ↑ "David Bentley makes loan move to Russian side FC Rostov". BBC Sport. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  38. ↑ Tongue,Steve (2012-09-16). "David Bentley gambles on spot of Russian roulette". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  39. ↑ "Rostov 1-0 Dinamo Moscow". Goal.com. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  40. ↑ "David Bentley". Goal.com. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  41. ↑ Warburton, Paul (1 February 2013). "Harry: Why QPR failed to sign Spurs winger". Fulham Chronicle. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  42. ↑ "Bentley returns home to Blackburn Rovers". Blackburn Rovers F.C. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  43. ↑ "Arsenal 0–1 Blackburn". BBC Sport. 16 February 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  44. ↑ "Premier League Free Transfer List 2012/13" (PDF). Premier League. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  45. ↑ "Йоканович потвърди: Левски има интерес към двама от Тотнъм" [Jokanovic confirms Levski's interest in two Tottenham players] (in Bulgarian). Sportal.bg. 3 August 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  46. ↑ "David Bentley tearful as he announces his retirement from football". The Guardian. London. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  47. ↑ "David Bentley: Former England midfielder retires at 29". BBC Sport. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  48. ↑ Tom Hopkinson (12 October 2014). "David Bentley reveals he retired because he 'never felt like a footballer'". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  49. ↑ Hopkinson, Tom (13 October 2014). "David Bentley reveals he retired because he 'never felt like a footballer'". The Sunday People. London. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  50. ↑ Rod Kitson (5 November 2014). "Ex-Spurs star David Bentley opens restaurant in east London after". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  51. ↑ Wilson Hartnell, "AIB 'The Toughest Trade'". wilsonhartnell.ie. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  52. ↑ "David Bentley comes out of retirement to play Gaelic football match". The Guardian. London. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  53. ↑ "England U21s Team". The Football Association. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  54. ↑ Mawhinney, Stuart (24 March 2007) "Thriller at Wembley". The Football Association. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  55. ↑ Neild, Andy (25 May 2007) "McClaren: Bentley can be our Beckham". Lancashire Telegraph (Blackburn). Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  56. 1 2 "Bentley stars on England duty". Blackburn Rovers F.C. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  57. ↑ "Bentley responds to U21 criticism". BBC Sport. 9 June 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
  58. ↑ "Bentley defends England pull-out". BBC Sport. 17 August 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2007.
  59. ↑ "England debutant Bentley shrugs off boos". ESPN Soccernet. 10 September 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
  60. ↑ "Bentley excels on England duty". Blackburn Rovers F.C. 6 February 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2008.
  61. ↑ "Games played by David Bentley in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  62. ↑ "Games played by David Bentley in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  63. 1 2 "Games played by David Bentley in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  64. ↑ "Games played by David Bentley in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  65. ↑ "Games played by David Bentley in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  66. ↑ "Games played by David Bentley in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  67. ↑ "Games played by David Bentley in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  68. ↑ "Games played by David Bentley in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  69. 1 2 "Games played by David Bentley in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  70. 1 2 "Games played by David Bentley in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  71. 1 2 "Games played by David Bentley in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  72. 1 2 "D. Bentley". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  73. ↑ "Bentley, David". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 April 2016.

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