Source: Daily_Mail
Bentley (the one they called 'the new Beckham) is now up for grabs at Spurs
David Bentley flashed a winning smile and said: 'You can be just a number at another club and be in the background, but hopefully I can play a part in something really good at a place that is definitely growing.'
The date: July 31, 2008. The venue: Spurs Lodge, Tottenham's training ground. The occasion: Bentley's unveiling as a £15million signing from Blackburn.
Bold and brash, he had broken into the England squad and had no qualms about marketing himself as the next David Beckham, with a DB7 slogan on his St George's Cross boots.
Twelve months later he is just another number at Spurs, no longer part of the club's plans. Kyle Naughton, a versatile 20-year-old full back signed from Sheffield United, is ahead of him in the pecking order for the rightwing berth.
Manager Harry Redknapp wants to sell Bentley but Aston Villa are the only club to have shown more than a flicker of interest. Martin O'Neill is certainly not about to pay £15m for a player drained of self-belief.
Redknapp says of Bentley: 'He's a good lad and a good player but I've changed how we play and I've had results so nobody can complain. David is going to look and think, "I'm not in the team, even when Aaron Lennon's not fit, and maybe it's time I moved on".'
The early signs were not great, from the moment Tottenham left their new signing to explain why DB7 would be wearing the No 5 when the No 7 had just been vacated by Paul Stalteri.
Bentley chuckled and joked about having what it takes to be a No 5 but Spurs had promised the No 7 shirt to Lennon, who promptly established himself as the first-choice right winger.
The crux of the problem was that Bentley had been identified by former director of football Damien Comolli as someone to plug the gap on the left. To start with, he ran with the idea that he was happy to play anywhere but when his performances drew criticism and Theo Walcott surged past him into the England team he sought out his manager, Juande Ramos, and asked to play on the right.
A spectacular 40-yard goal in a 4-4 draw at Arsenal soon after Redknapp's arrival looked like being the catalyst he needed but it was his only Barclays Premier League goal of the season.
Another disappointing 45 minutes playing on the left wing in the Carling Cup semifinal against Burnley prompted boos from some Spurs fans and he was replaced at half-time. Any idea of converting into a role behind a lone striker was effectively wiped out by Robbie Keane's return from Liverpool in February.
England manager Fabio Capello has overlooked him to the point that, when considering his chances of adding to his six England caps, Bentley sees a queue ahead of him which includes Walcott, Beckham, Lennon, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Ashley Young and James Milner.
Bentley, 24, has played just 60 minutes in Tottenham's pre-season, the first half against Exeter plus 15 minutes against Bournemouth in mid- July when he suffered a 'dead leg'.
He must find an escape to revive his career, just as he did when he turned his back on Arsenal, and he needs help from Spurs because they cannot expect a money-back offer from anywhere.
