David Michael Bentley was born on the 27th of August 1984 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and grew up supporting Manchester United. He started his youth career at Wormley Youth Football Club in Wormley, Hertfordshire before moving to Arsenal's London Colney training ground aged 13, Bentley was a striker, earmarked as one for the future and England's hottest prospect, but saw playing opportunities limited by a strong, senior squad during their most dominant Premier League era. As a 16-year-old he trained with the Arsenal senior squad and signed his first professional contract in September 2001 and in January 2003 was handed his first-team debut, coming on as a substitute for Kolo Toure in the 2–0 FA Cup win over Oxford United. His first and only goal for Arsenal was a chip shot from the edge of the penalty area over goalkeeper Mark Schwartzer in a 4–1 FA Cup win over Middlesbrough on the 24th of January 2004. David recalls this as one of his fondest memories and explains early comparisons to the great Dennis Bergkamp. "I was getting labelled the next Bergkamp so I was just trying to do things like him. Then, when I got given the opportunity to score at the Clock End where we used to train and I chipped the keeper like Dennis was renowned for doing, and then they started singing we've got David Bentley, I went in after the game, and at the time I was like, yeah I’ve scored a goal and got changed quickly so I could get the train back. I’m walking with the crowd because I was walking so quickly, and everyone was talking about me on the train - they didn't know that I’m there listening to the whole train talking about me. That was one of the best experiences - it gave me goosebumps. All of a sudden, everyone started recognising me and it was different." Following a loan spell at Norwich City, playing 26 league matches and scoring two goals, he returned to Arsenal in the summer of 2005, but submitted a transfer request, citing his desire for first team football. In subsequent interviews, he also revealed that he was having "personal problems" at that point in his career and had lost his enjoyment for football, problems which he overcame later in his Blackburn Rovers career who he joined in 2006 and where he had his breakthrough with his performances attracting much transfer speculation. Despite being linked to a move to Manchester United he agreed to a new contract, with manager Mark Hughes describing him as "a great talent with a big future", while chairman John Williams added that he "is widely regarded as one of the best young footballers in the country." Teammate Roque Santa Cruz said, "I have played with so many good players and won the Champions League at Bayern Munich but I can imagine David playing in the best teams in the world." He also broke into the England team under Steve McClaren in 2007, where the then-manager compared him to Three Lions legend David 'Goldenballs' Beckham.
After scoring 13 league goals at Blackburn, on the 31st of July 2008 Tottenham Hotspur announced their signing of Bentley, on a six-year contract for a £15 million fee, with an additional £2 million conditional on future performances. However upon arriving at White Hart Lane, David discovered that not everything he was promised materialised and within two months of being at Tottenham and being a place he really wanted to go and being back where his family was happy, it turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. He was though an integral part of the 2009/10 Spurs side that achieved Champions League football for the first time in their history, playing 24 times in all competitions and scoring three goals. Having beaten Manchester City 1-0 away at the Etihad Stadium, the then manager Harry Redknapp was conducting his post-match interview with Sky Sports but was rudely interrupted by Bentley, accompanied with the likes of Wilson Palacios and Jermaine Jenas, and was soaked live on air to commemorate the significant achievement. Following this incident an argument erupted between him and Redknapp with David saying, "I think it was viewed as a disrespect and I was viewed as the leader of that. After that happened, I didn’t play for Tottenham again." After several loan spells with Birmingham City, West Ham United, Russian club FCRostov and a return to Blackburn Rovers, on the 13th of June 2014, he announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 29, having been without a club for over a year. He stated in an interview that he had fallen out of love with football, calling the modern game "robotic" due to the influence of social media and money, as well as "predictable and a bit too calculated".
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2024/04/footballs-nearly-men-hachim-mastour.html
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