12 December 2004
Bentley can be top man - Worthy
CHRIS WISE
Football is a simple game – and if David Bentley can keep that oft-repeated truism at the forefront of his mind he has the ability to go right to the very top.
So says Norwich City manager Nigel Worthington, who was full of praise for the on-loan Arsenal youngster after his man-of-the-match display in Saturday's 3-2 victory over Bolton.
Bentley set up two goals for Mathias Svensson with glorious crosses, won a penalty that Darren Huckerby converted and generally looked like the player fans were expecting when Worthington managed to acquire his services for the season.
The 20-year-old frontman has struggled for consistency since his arrival from Highbury during the summer. But his five-star performance at the weekend showed everyone just what he is capable of, and the City boss believes he will now go on from strength to strength - providing he gets his priorities right out on the pitch.
“David has got the ability and the one thing he has added to his game is the work-rate,” said Worthington. “The one word I keep stressing to him is 'simple'. If he can add that to his game he is going to become a very good player.
“I think he is a typical young lad – he wants to do everything yesterday. It's about growing, maturing and trying to get the picture in his head. He's got plenty of confidence and, as I said, he's got ability in abundance but he needs to add patience to his play.
“David has put in two great balls for the goals – but they were also two good headers from Mathias Svensson. He got what he deserved as well. Last week he didn't get hold of it but for the four or five games before that he was outstanding. Today he has worked his socks off, got hold of it and scored two good goals.”
Worthington may have picked out Bentley and Svensson for special mentions but he made it clear that he was delighted with the contribution of all of his players as they bounced back from last weekend's home defeat against Fulham to move out of the bottom three.
“It was a good performance all round – and an excellent result,” he said. “We worked hard for all three points and I thought we were well worth the win. It's a great scalp for us.
“One or two people stated before the game that Bolton would be too strong for us. The players showed both mental and physical strength in abundance out there today. The belief has always been there, as has the commitment – it's only the quality that can be questioned at times. Nine times out of 10 we get the maximum out of the players. I was also pleased with the way we passed the ball. I was unhappy with that side of our game last week but today it was first class. I thought we played some very good football.
“It's a great three points and now we've got Chelsea next week. It's a big game and we're really looking forward to it. Let's hope we go there and pass the ball as well as we did this afternoon.”
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13 December 2004
Bentley enjoys his moment
CHRIS WISE
David Bentley was delighted to be in the spotlight for all the right reasons at the weekend after inspiring the Canaries to a thrilling comeback against Bolton at Carrow Road.
The on-loan Arsenal youngster was involved in all three City goals as the hosts recovered from an early 2-1 deficit to record their second Premiership win of the season – and move all the way up to 15th place in the table as a result.
Bentley delivered two superb crosses to set up headed goals for Mathias Svensson and also won a penalty with some direct running into the box, and was a straightforward choice for the sponsors' man-of-the-match award.
It was all a far cry from the unwelcome attention he was getting a little more than a month ago when an ill-advised training ground prank led to him being axed from Nigel Worthington's first-team squad for a couple of matches.
But having followed the example of television comedian Peter Kay and shouting 'have it' as he booted the ball away during a passing session he decided it was time to let the opposition have it on the pitch – and the result was his best performance yet in a Norwich City shirt.
"It was my most enjoyable game for Norwich and from a creative point of view my best, I would say," said Bentley. "But everyone did well today – it's not about individuals it's about a team. There were people around me who were playing really well and it all came together. If we play like we did today I'm sure we will be fine.
"We played against a team with a lot of proven players and we totally played them off the pitch. Despite what people were saying in the press we weren't out-muscled by them – and we also proved we could play football and work harder than anyone else. Our quality has come out in the end."
As for those rather less welcomed headlines in early November, Bentley said it is all water under the bridge now – and insisted he is thoroughly enjoying his spell at Carrow Road as his season-long stay in Norfolk approached its halfway point.
"Things like that happen in football all the time – and most of the time no-one picks up on it," he said. "I don't know how this one got out. If it's right or wrong it doesn't matter – we've put that behind us now.
"You've got to be a big man and get on with it. Those sort of things don't matter. I'm just concentrating on trying to do my bit to keep this club in the Premiership. No matter what anyone writes about me or what anyone says about me I'm learning so much here. It's about learning to win football matches, how to play well week in week out.
"A lot of time I get accused of being a pretty player and not being able to dig in and work hard for the team. That could stick with me forever. But I'm learning here that that's what you have got to do."
Bentley played as part of a central midfield three at the weekend and popped up all over the pitch to make things happen for the Canaries. He clearly feels a solid job for the side has gone unnoticed for much of the season while operating on the flanks – but he was happy to take the plaudits for a
eye-catching performing in the City engine room.
"It's a position where you get can hold of the ball and make things happen," he said. "If you are always running back and defending you are not going to be able to affect the game in the way that you'd want to.
"You can do a lot of running and covering but that tends to go unnoticed in the newspapers and on television. Today I was more than happy to put the ball in there – and Mat finished it off really well.
"Hopefully the press will write some nice things about us now – but in some ways our problems have been of our own making. We keep going behind early doors and a lot of the time we are chasing games and we can't use our heads and our football ability.
"Now we must build on this, and that's exactly what we intend to do. One thing you can guarantee from us is hard work. If we can use our brains as well it's going to take us places, it's going to be an enjoyable season."
Bentley is now looking forward to Saturday's daunting trip to Chelsea and is hoping for a good result for the Canaries – as well as for his full-time employers, Arsenal.
"It will be tough but you never know what can happen in football," he said. "If we give 100pc, express ourselves and aren't frightened about what they've got we could go there and get something. Every season there are shock results and hopefully it will be our turn to get one off next week. Hopefully I can do Arsenal a favour – but it's Norwich I'm concentrating on right now."
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