Marcus Bent - Southampton v Everton
St Mary's, February 6, 2005
Since David Moyes’ arrival as manager, it could be argued that only two centre forwards have really settled successfully for any period of time as the lone spearhead in his 4-5-1 formation, an issue that still blights the team to this day. The first is Yakubu, who for a period was as single-mindedly prolific a front man as the club has had since Gary Lineker. Sadly the evidence of the last year and a half suggests that, occasional flashes of brilliance aside, the physical and mental toil taken by his injury have reduced him to at best a shadow of his former self. The second is the nomadic Marcus Bent. Arriving late and unnoticed for £450,000 in the traumatic summer of 2004 that saw Wayne Rooney’s defection along the M62, Bent, who continues to collect clubs at an impressive rate, appeared to find a home at Goodison. Technically underrated, his selfless running was vital in creating space for the likes of Tim Cahill and Leon Osman, and although his goal return was modest, his contribution to the fourth placed finish the club achieved that year was significant. Sadly that was as good as it got for Bent. With James Beattie having arrived for good money that January and the club enjoying an indifferent, to put it kindly, start to the following campaign, Bent found himself increasingly underemployed and unable to contain his frustration. It was no massive surprise therefore that he left for Charlton in January 2006 for over £2million. Although his stay at Everton was relatively brief – although by his standards possibly worthy of a testimonial – he clearly appreciated his time on Merseyside, recently commenting…
“I can’t find the words to describe how special that club is.....I’d kiss the Everton badge now if I had the shirt – that’s how passionate I am about them. I’ve become a fan having played there.”
This effort was from the 2004-5 season away trip to St Mary’s with the aforementioned Beattie struggling to settle in and the Blues wobbling slightly after the departure of Thomas Gravesen to Real Madrid. The late late goal, in a game that featured Mikel Arteta’s first ever appearance in a blue shirt as a sub, rescued a point in a 2-2 draw and is noteworthy for Harry Redknapp’s priceless reaction, as legs go everywhere in the away end, en route to eventual relegation.
