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| Profile |
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| Full name |
David Michael Bentley |
(*Actual for and against are the goals scored while the player was on the field.) |
| Born |
27 August 1984 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire [registered in Peterborough, October 1984]. Some sources suggest Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. |
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| Partner |
to Kimberley Mills, with one daughter, Devon Bow. |
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| Height/Weight |
5' 10", 11st 0lb. [2005] |
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| Source |
Barry Hugman's PFA Yearbook [2005] & FindMyPast.com |
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| Club Career |
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| Club(s) |
Began as an Arsenal FC trainee at thirteen years of age, after being spotted playing for Wormsley Juniors FC. He signed professionally on 8 September 2001. He made one solitary Premier League appearance in May 2004, before being loaned to Norwich City FC on 28 June 2004 for the 2004-05 season, scoring twice in 26 Premier League appearances. He returned to Arsenal and was subsequently loaned to Blackburn Rovers FC for the 2005-06 season, before signing permanently after fourteen Premier League appearances on 30 January 2006. After another 88 Premier League appearances, in which he scored thirteen goals, he returned to north London when he joined Tottenham Hotspur FC on 30 July 2008, for a £15 million fee. After falling out of favour, and making 42 Premier League appearances over three seasons, scoring just three goals, Bentley signed for Birmingham City FC on loan for the remainder of the season on 12 January 2011, making just thirteen Premier League appearances without return. He returned to Spurs and once more, he was sent out on loan the following season, joining West Ham United FC on 31 August 2011 for the season, making just five Championship appearances. After his injury in October, he returned to Spurs for treatment. Despite the 2012-13 starting brightly for Bentley, he became the first Englishman to play in the Russian Premier League when he was loaned to FC Rostov on 7 September 2012. He made seven league appearances before injury again brought him back to Spurs. On 15 February 2013, Bentley rejoined Blackburn Rovers FC on loan for the remainder of the season, making five Championship appearances. He was released by Tottenham on 7 June 2013. He retired on 13 June 2014 after 'falling out of love with the game'. |
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| Club honours |
Football League Cup runners up 2008-09; |
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| Individual honours |
Blackburn Rovers FC Player of the Year 2006-07; Premier League Goal of the Month 29 October 2008 vs. Arsenal FC; |
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| Distinctions |
None |
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| Source |
Barry Hugman's PFA Yearbook [2005] |
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| England Career |
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| Player number |
1150th player to appear for England. |
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| Position(s) |
Midfielder |
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| First match |
No. 855, 8 September 2007, England 3 Israel 0, a European Championship qualification match at The National Stadium, Wembley, London, substitute (83), aged 23 years 12 days; |
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| Last match |
No. 865, 20 August 2008, England 2 Czech Republic 2, a friendly match, at The National Stadium, Wembley, London, substitute (79), aged 23 years 359 days; |
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| Major tournaments |
None |
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| Team honours |
None |
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| Individual honours |
England B (one appearance), England U21 (eight appearances, four goals), England U18 (as captain), England U16, England U15. |
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| Distinctions |
Was the first Englishman to score at The National Stadium, Wembley, when England U21's drew with Italy U21's.The fifth Cambridgeshirian to represent England - the first since Mike Bailey |
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| England Disgrace |
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| In 2005 Bentley was banned for 56 days for speeding at 102mph. He had just finished a 48-day ban for speeding at 120mph. In 2007 he was slammed for telling MTV: "I live my life on the edge. I like driving too fast in my Ferrari." In July, Bentley was punched in a restaurant while with pregnant girlfriend Kimberly Mills. Three months earlier, he was snapped parking in a disabled bay. Bentley was then charged with drink-driving on 13 August 2009, following an incident in Hertfordshire. The local police said officers were called to a crash in Judges Hill, Northaw, in Potters Bar, early in the morning. A vehicle had crashed into a street lamp. Bentley was charged and received a twelve month driving ban. |
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