“I get up in the evening, and I ain't got nothing to say. I come home in the morning, I go to bed feeling the same way. I ain't nothing but tired, man I'm just tired and bored with myself. Hey there baby, I could use just a little help.”
(Bruce Springsteen – Dancing in the Dark)
Has this become the ballad of the modern footballer ? Tired and bored with themselves and always in need of a little help, a little love or a better offer ?
“You can't start a fire. You can't start a fire without a spark. This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark.”
It could have been written for Darren Bent. This fire didn’t start without a spark. This blaze which threatens to burn down the Black Cats season wasn’t just a case of spontaneous combustion. Darren Bent never harboured secret childhood dreams of playing in front of the Holt End. Darren Bent wasn’t even particularly unhappy at Sunderland. Darren Bent is a gun for hire and it really doesn’t matter if he’s swapping 6th place for 17th, because if the deal’s right, he’s happy to go to Aston Villa and dance in the dark.
“Message keeps getting clearer, radio's on and I'm moving round the place. I check myself out in the mirror I wanna change my clothes my hair my face. Man I ain't getting nowhere just sitting in a dump like this. There's something happening somewhere baby I just know that there is.”
This is where it gets sad. For Sunderland fans at least, because this is how the premier league works in 2010. Look in the mirror, listen to the agents, then change your club, change your shirt and get paid. We now know there was a moment last summer when Darren Bent might have left Sunderland. He was talked down then but a seed was planted. “There’s something happening somewhere, baby I just know that there is.” He’s never looked on top of his game this season and he’s looked completely off the pace and a bit sulky for the last couple of months. It begins to look like he decided to change his clothes a while back. You can picture him sat at home thinking “Man I ain’t getting nowhere”, although to be fair I don’t believe he told himself he was “just sitting in a dump like this.” He made an effort to assimilate himself into North East culture during his time here. That earned him respect. I imagine he'll now go and do exactly same in the West Midlands. Black Cats fans will feel rejected, but this gun’s for hire, geography doesn’t matter and Villa fans will already be getting "BENT 39" printed on their shirts.
“You sit around getting older there's a joke here somewhere and it's on me.
I'll shake this world off my shoulders come baby this laughs on me.”
The joke might be on you Darren. Sunderland are 6th in the premier league and, shoddy Derby performances aside, appear to be upwardly mobile. Aston Villa finished 6th last season, but they're suffering a major downturn now. Martin O'Neill and dreams of the Champions League have gone. They've been replaced by Gerard Houllier, a relegation battle and suggestions of unrest in the dressing room. They have a talented squad, but how many of Villa’s young guns will be looking in the mirror right now and considering changing their clothes ? What goes around comes around Darren, and if you play the game this way, don’t be surprised if the game ends up playing you.
“Stay on the streets of this town and they'll be carving you up alright. They say you got to stay hungry hey baby I'm just about starving tonight. I'm dying for some action I'm sick of sitting 'round here trying to write this book. I need a love reaction come on now baby give me just one look.”
Darren Bent is hungry. He’s a good professional and he’ll do the best he can for whatever team he plays for. But he always needs that love reaction and all Aston Villa needed to do was give him just one look. Sunderland fans hoped he felt their passion for the club. They wanted to believe he was ready for a long term relationship. But he wasn’t and he probably never will be. As he said at his press conference at Villa Park, “I had some good times at Sunderland, but that’s all behind me now.” Look in the mirror, listen to the agent, change your clothes, count your pay rise and don’t look back. He’s created a huge problem for Steve Bruce and Sunderland, who must race against time to replenish their resources before the final premier league push. But it’s not Darren Bent’s problem. Sunderland fans also face a dilemma. How are they supposed to react to this ? Maybe more could have been done to try and persuade him to stay, but supporters can’t accuse the club of lacking ambition. It’s Darren Bent’s ambitions that are the issue here. It’s just sad for fans to realise that he wasn’t who they thought he was. They hoped he was another Niall Quinn or Kevin Phillips, but he's a different beast entirely. It was fun while it lasted and he leaves some great memories behind, but this is modern football and Darren Bent is a modern footballer. Remember……
“This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark.”
I present the sport on ITV Tyne Tees and Border. Once, I was question number 3 on the picture round of the quiz at the Blue Bell in Fulwell. My mother was so proud.
