Bargain Bent’s timely tonic for Houllier

PLENTY of things have gone wrong for Gerard Houllier since he arrived at Aston Villa, not least his latest health scare.

But, in signing Darren Bent, the Frenchman, who was admitted to hospital last week complaining of chest pains, looks to have pulled off one of the great masterstrokes of his managerial career.

By the time the biggest of all the January transfers, £50 million Fernando Torres, had finally got off the mark for Chelsea with his first goal in 14 attempts, Bent had already celebrated his seventh in 12. Not bad going for under half the money.