Darren Bent in heated on-air debate with Leicester fan over bizarre Everton claim
Darren Bent has been caught up in an on-air debate with a Leicester City fan following a bizarre Everton relegation claim.
Speaking on the talkSPORT Drive Show on 24 August, Foxes supporter Richard said the Toffees would be better off if they were relegated this season so they can get back to winning ways in the Championship.
Bent strongly disagreed with the statement and the pundit suggested that there are no guarantees the Blues would perform well if they were relegated down to the second tier.
“When you listen to the Everton lot you just think ‘you need to feel winning ways again’ and the only way you’ll do that is by going down,” said Leicester fan Richard.
Bent responded by saying: “That doesn’t always work out because yeah that’s a positive for Leicester, but I remember Norwich going down from the Premier League and they didn’t come straight back up – the fans weren’t getting the winning feeling. There is no guarantee that Everton would be good enough.”
“Well if they’re not good enough, then you’re not good enough,” said Richard. “You have to be good enough to get out and then you’ll be ready to battle again in the Premier League. I think if you’re feeling like that all the way through the season, you need to drop and get back to winning ways.”
But the pundit stood firm on his stance by saying: “No, I would rather stay in the Premier League.”
Different circumstances
The Leicester fan clearly doesn’t completely understand the situation Everton are in and how a relegation down to the Championship could put the club’s future at risk.
He is probably less fussed about the Foxes going down after they have achieved so much success in recent years, having won the Premier League title and the FA Cup.
If they had suffered relegation down to the second tier under Nigel Pearson in the 2014/15 campaign before going on to win anything, then his opinion would likely be very different.
With the new stadium on the way and the Toffees’ finances not looking very healthy, the club simply can’t afford to go down and start again.
Bent also had a very good point in the fact that the Blues might not do well in the Championship because, as other big clubs like Leeds United have shown previously, it’s not always an easy road back to the Premier League once you drop out of it.
In other Everton news, a first-team player is set to exit Goodison Park after a deal has been agreed.