Proclaimed as the 'next David Beckham' in 2007, the 39 year old footballing icon was still getting a game at PSG while the remains of Bentley's career lay stuffed in a dustbin. With a decade separating the two, there was great hype and furore surrounding the former Arsenal trainee when Spurs splurged out £15 million to acquire his services in the summer of 2008. After all, there is no higher acclaim than being compared to Beckham by the current England manager - even if it was Steve McClaren. David Bentley officially retired this year at the age of 29, but it was when he signed that lucrative contract at White Hart Lane that his career began to spiral out of control. Falling afoul of manager Harry Redknapp, he quickly dropped down the pecking order at the club, as he failed to replicate the sort of form that earned him such nationwide praise. Soaking his manager during a post-match interview didn't help his cause, with Redknapp labelling the jovial celebrations as 'disrespectful'. Nor did his drink-driving arrest in the early hours of a summer's morning in 2009.
''He needs to lose that tag of 'he's another Beckham'. I'll be honest, the lads call him Becks and I don't think that helps him. He doesn't need to be involved in nightclubs in Spain or whatever. The advice he needs from a good agent is 'Concentrate on your football, David. Talk is cheap, so let's hope the penny drops with him.''' - Harry Redknapp, August 2009.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
