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Opinion

You have to doubt the right to freedom of speech for all after this from Darren Bent on Newcastle United

4 years ago
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Darren Bent has never come across as being one of the brightest.

The former Sunderland and Tottenham player was a half-decent striker but as a pundit he is laughable.

Once again he has turned his attention to Newcastle United and came up with what is almost certainly his most stupid comments so far.

Which is saying something against the tough competition that he has previously uttered.

Darren Bent is now blaming Jamaal Lascelles for the fact he has never been picked by England and saying the Newcastle captain ‘needs to have a look at himself’ because of that.

I don’t think Lascelles is a brilliant player BUT he has been a very good player and captain for Newcastle United.

Rafa Benitez made him NUFC captain aged 22 and Jamaal Lascelles led Newcastle to promotion as champions with no other club conceding less than the Magpies.

Then in two seasons under Rafa in the Premier League, the solid and disciplined defence marshalled by the NUFC captain was the key reason for finishing 10th and 13th.

In both of those two seasons, only two PL clubs outside the top four conceded less than Newcastle United.

This season it has been a lot more difficult thanks to Mike Ashley and Steve Bruce combining to make things so much more difficult, the Newcastle defence coming under even more pressure as Bruce hands control to the opposition every game. Despite that, Jamaal Lascelles has still done well this season, as have the rest of NUFC’s centre-backs.

I actually think Lascelles is a great club player/captain but not an England international, that though doesn’t make him a failing player/captain.

If Wes Morgan was English he would never have been considered for the national team but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been class for Leicester.

Also, what about our very own NUFC Head Coach? Steve Bruce was captain of Man Utd and leading them to trophy wins, yet never got a cap for England, does that mean he was an underachieving player? No, he might be a hopeless manager/head coach but he was an excellent defender/captain.

I suppose Jack Colback must be a better player than Jamaal Lascelles if you accept what Darren Bent is saying, as Colback was called up for one England squad after joining Newcastle, though got injured and couldn’t make it, then never heard from them again.

The reality is that England under Southgate and indeed the top PL teams, all want defenders who are good on the ball, due to the fact that most of the time these teams have possession. That isn’t Lascelles’ biggest strength and so little surprise that neither England nor a ‘big’ team have come calling.

That doesn’t make him a failing player though.

Darren Bent speaking to Football Insider:

“He’s a funny one [Jamaal] Lascelles.

“For someone who’s been captain of Newcastle for a long time now, you think to yourself he’s captain at a big club like Newcastle, he needs to have a look at what’s going on.

“With that physical frame, he should have been at least capped once for England or been spoken about.

“The fact that he’s not, he needs to have a look at himself, this is too frequent with him.

“For someone of that physical prowess and that big, powerful presence, to be captain of Newcastle United Football Club, for him to not even be in that conversation, he maybe needs to go something’s not quite right here.”

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