THE treatment David Bentley was getting from Burnley fans on Wednesday night was no surprise, but it also demonstrated how badly things have gone for him since leaving Blackburn.

I didn’t watch the game, I had better things to do, but by all accounts Burnley were a bit unlucky not to beat Tottenham and I have heard that Bentley was awful.

When he left in the summer he was talking about wanting to join a better club, who could win things, to help his international career. Not quite worked out as planned has it?

Don’t get me wrong, he did great things here but does producing for one season actually make you a player. Arsene Wenger is not a bad judge of player is he and he let him go from Arsenal.

When he was at Blackburn, he was at least in the England squad and was a star for his club.

Maybe he got carried away by the praise and started to think he was better than he actually is.

Rovers can look back on a great bit of business if you ask me.

They got more money than he was worth, as shown by his performances this season.

That is the way the Premier League is going nowadays. An average player can have a really good season and suddenly vast amounts of money are spent on him.

Players are not asked to build their reputations on consistency any more, and that is a shame and has contributed to the ridiculous fees being asked in the game now.

Roque Santa Cruz could take heed from the Bentley situation. I am not saying Roque would be a flop if he went to Manchester City, but who is to say he would be a success.

At Blackburn he is a fans’ favourite, feels settled and still has a big contract. Surely there is the argument to stay where he is.

Before the Premier League was around, players had to move around to where the money was but that is not the case any more.

The wages they are all on mean they can stay settled at a club for longer – unfortunately that doesn’t happen though.

Rovers travel to Sunderland tomorrow in the FA Cup with an incredible record in the North East.

I know people will say the priority has to be staying in the league but the confidence a good cup run can generate should not be under estimated.

It is the ideal opportunity for players like David Dunn, Vince Grella and Roque to get 90 minutes under their belt.