Where did it all go wrong for Tottenham’s forgotten men?

The next David Beckham, that’s how a once in-form David Bentley was described, and on more than one occasion.

But since his dream move to the club he supported as a boy, the Spurs star has found himself staring into the abyss like so many nearly men before him.

The winger regularly finds himself in Harry’s church choir rather than on the turf, a position which is not unfamiliar to fellow bench warmer Roman Pavlyuchenko.

The lanky Russian, whose goal record rivals any striker in Europe, must be thinking he has already returned home as he continues to be left out in the cold.

The pair both arrived last season with £14million price tags hanging like a millstone around their necks, heavy burdens considering the abysmal start the club made to the campaign.

Within weeks of the big money arrivals, the three men responsible for their acquisitions, Messers Ramos, Poyet and Commoli, were ushered out in a cloak and dagger style sweep not dissimilar to their predecessor.

A wonder goal in a 4-4 draw at the Emirates was not enough to save David’s place as his form dipped, while Pav scored goal after goal in the cups but his league proficiency looked fatigued and lazy.

The Jekyll and Hyde team from North London seems to have one of two affects on players.  You can either arrive as a no-one and leave as a someone or arrive as a someone and be heckled by all and sundry with the infamous words “what a waste of money”.

As we saw with the arrival of £11million Sergei Rebrov almost ten years ago and more recently Darren Bent at £16million, money can also bring with it, pressure and expectation.

However, I am not convinced that this is the reason Mr Bentley has so far failed to set off the Spurs sirens. David was shipped off to Blackburn in 2005, away from the big city and Arsenal, a move which galvanised the winger and forced him to prove his doubters wrong.

Is it now the case that the 24-year-old thinks he has made it back to the big-time in the capital and no longer needs to try? A number of high profile incidents in his personal life have left me pointing the finger and suggesting that he believes his own media hype.

A dead cert for the world cup squad 18-months ago, the only thing for Billy-big-boots to do now is to listen and do exactly what Harry says, keep your head down and work.

Things are far less simple for Pav, who also harbours dreams of a seat on Russia’s World Cup plane.

Roman arrived in London after a successful European Championships for which he was named in the team of the tournament. Unfortunately for him, our summer break coincides with the hard Russian season and the former Spartak Moscow striker turned out for the Lilywhites without a break in nearly two years.

There is no doubt about his technical ability but perhaps his lack of application. I firmly believe that it was tiredness and a struggle to adapt to British living that pushed Pav down the pecking order.

The arrival of Defoe, Keane and Crouch have also just served to knock the confidence of the gifted Russian.

Now there lies the dilemma, to get self-confidence you have to play, but to play you have to have self-confidence. Perhaps Mr Bentley can lend him some of his.

Joseph Bill