WITH immaculately slicked back hair and smart attire, David Bentley emerged from the dressing room at St Andrew's, said his goodbyes and departed.

It was surely the end for his Rovers career, and sadly it finished with a whimper after his star had once shone so brightly at Ewood Park.

Few Rovers fans will forget his hat-trick against Manchester United in 2006, or his progression into the England squad in the club's colours.

He was described by some as the new David Beckham.

But with his talent largely unfulfilled, now Bentley is just an answer to a quiz question.

Asked to name players who have featured in the Championship this season and were once transferred for £10m or more, Bentley joins the likes of Nuno Gomes, Craig Bellamy, El-Hadji Diouf, Nikola Zigic, Jonathan Woodgate, Wayne Bridge and Wilfried Zaha.

That the list is so long says plenty about both the strength of the Championship these days, and that cash that swishes around English football.

Tottenham paid an initial £15m when they signed Bentley from Rovers in 2008, but it was the start of the slide for the lifelong Spurs fan.

Tottenham were bottom early in Bentley’s first season at White Hart Lane and Juande Ramos was replaced by Harry Redknapp.

Bentley’s appearances dried up and he would have indifferent loan spells at Birmingham, West Ham and Russian side FC Rostov.

Such was his impression in his first spell at Ewood, there was some excitement when he returned to the club on loan in February.

But Bentley did not appear capable of reproducing his old form, for whatever reason.

Niggling injuries saw him drift in and out of the squad, and he was an unused substitute for the final two games of the season.

His last appearance was in the lifeless defeat at Cardiff on Easter Monday, and he now looks set to return to Tottenham for the final year of his contract.

They say never go back and, while David Dunn has enjoyed his second spell as a Rovers player, Bentley’s return was similar to that of Roque Santa Cruz.

Sold to Manchester City for big money, Santa Cruz returned on loan but did not score a goal in an injury-hit second spell.

Still only 28, it is sad to see Bentley’s talent decline in such fashion, and for even an Ewood return to have made no difference.

He has admitted regret over the way he handled his transfer to Spurs five years ago, but one wonders whether he now regrets leaving for London in the first place.

Back then Bentley and Rovers were both flying high.

Neither could have predicted how things would turn out.