Gareth Bale

robertgoulet said:

This whole argument of "no way he will come here, he's not going to take a pay-cut"...

No one is going to pay him what RM pays him. If RM wants him out then he's taking a pay-cut, whether it with Spurs or someone else.

Click to expand...

Lighty64 said:

Defoe and Sherringham didn't do to bad on their returns either

Click to expand...

Indisguise said:

Hmm... couldn't that equally be applied to Kane.

Click to expand...

the watson said:

I agree he can't be criticised for leaving - I'd just rather we brought in someone else who hadn't left us before. Not in a petty way, I just think we need to move on. Bring on the 'next Bale'.

I'll probably get a lot of stick for the' West Hammy' comment - but ultimately I think that it's extremely uninspiring scouting, and is more about bringing in a big name than addressing key issues in the team.

Click to expand...

CantSmileWithoutYou said:

Yeah! And don't forget Klinsmann and Keane and Crouch and

and...

Chimbonda

Click to expand...

Lighty64 said:

yet when he plays for Wales, he is heavily involved. might be he is following different orders from the different managers, playing different styles.

Click to expand...

bomberH said:

I’ve bolded all the bits I strongly disagree with. If you think he’s been effective for Madrid in the last couple of seasons then I can only come to the conclusion you haven’t watched many of the games live. The fact he’s been fully fit for months but can’t get into the team over some kids who replaced him suggests that Zidane has had enough too. It’s only been the last few weeks he’s returned to some kind of form.

I have watched a few Madrid games yes, fades in and out of games, but clearly quality and his product is still impressive.

Him being replaced by Kids has more to do with the fan mentality, the wish to develop and bring in young and exciting talents such as Assensio and how well they have done during Bale's injury have all contributed to the younger players being given a chance rather than Bale's form. Namely they took Bale's position when Bale was out injured, and have kept those said position.

i’d be amazed if this season was his best statistically like you say. Until the last few weeks he’s been so poor to average. If a player does fuck all for 89 minutes and scores a tap in every other game, then the stats may look decent but he’s not contributing like he should be in his position and he’s not playing like an £85m player.

Ok your right on statistics, Bale's best season at Madrid was 2015-2016, by a long shot, he was very good in that campaign, and absolutely vital to the champions league campaign, creating both the only goal in the final and the only goal in the semi-final in that tournament. Even in that season though he missed 15 games through injury. Last season Bale missed an incredible 28 games, while this season he has missed 14 games through injury, he has played 38 games this season, taking into account the games he has missed through injury he is absolutely normally a starter.

This season he has scored 16 in 26 in La Liga that makes it his second best season in terms of goals, only the 19 in 23 of 2015-2016 being better. He is by far ahead in the scoring charts than any other Madrid player bar Ronaldo. Who cares if they are mostly just tap ins [which is far from the truth] its about getting yourself into the right place at the right time.

Ofcourse he is not playing like a 85m player, but thats really not the question, nor his fault. He has played well for Madrid, in arguably the clubs most successful team of all time. His arrival coinciding exactly when he came.

Its also imposible for Bale to be as good as he was at Spurs for Madrid, just like it was impossible for Robben, VdV, James, Sneijder etc. I've said it once, I'll say it again Madrid is a team that suffocates talent. Its also hard when Madrid decide to play him strictly on the right, a position he rarely played for Spurs, and one he never fully convinced him. Bale's position, as far as I am concerned has always been in hole behind the front man, he is wasted out wide.

I think you’re getting confused between being successful trophy wise, which he has been massively, and being successful playing/form wise, which he hasn’t at all. The last couple of years he’s been like Wes Brown/Jonny Evans at Utd - bang average players playing their part in a massively successful team. They’ll have shitloads of trophies to show off when they’re older but won’t be particularly fondly remembered by their fans.

No I'm not being confused, Bale has been unfairly targeted by Madrid fans, largely because of the transfer fee, Madrid fans are also incredibly fickle minded and quick to turn on players, he will be remembered for sure for some wonderful moments, such as the copa del rey, and him. He should also be remembered for being the spark and dominating over the two legs against Man city to get Madrid to the final, in a game where Madrid looked very flat he was far and away there most impactful player.

The thing is Madrid as a whole, despite being very successful, have never really convinced as a team these last 5 years. Watching them is like watching a bunch of highly talented players on a pitch but with little personality or identity. Real Madrid win because of the insane talent that they have, the ability for such players to create moments of magic, but doing this while never really convincing.

Bale, to the annoyance of many Madrid fans, is actually a perfect example of their team. Mostly pedestrian stumbling and anonymous, with raw patches of footballing magic and most importantly productivity, even when not convincing.

It pains me to say all this because I love him but I agree he can flourish once he leaves. You can see when he plays for Wales he has a smile on his face and plays much better and more freely. It’s Madrid’s fault entirely but it’s true. He needs to show the world again that he’s one of the best players.

Click to expand...

bubble07 said:

Seems neymar wants to go to real so bale will be surplus to requirements

Click to expand...

dtxspurs said:

25 games in the league 15 goals. Is top quality whenever he's available which is about 75% of the season.

Click to expand...

Lighty64 said:

my post you quoted and disagreed with was a kind of follow on from someone posting players didn't too well 2nd time around. I know that is the case sometimes, but I was posting 2 players that came back and preformed just as good

well Klinsmann definitely made an impact on his return. Crouch returned and did well for us, but didn't do much on his 1st journey. Keane definitely wasn't as good 2nd time round, but he wasn't partnered with a Sherringham/Berbatov. and Chimbonda I think we can all agree was definitely better 1st time round

Click to expand...

mark_2017 said:

Neymar proving himself to be one of the biggest tossers in football again.

Click to expand...

$hoguN said:

People keep saying this but the speed of the PL means that transferring his goal scoring stats while struggling in general is highly unlikely to translate. Look at Torres, his injuries meant he just couldn’t compete in the PL but he has looked back to his old self in La Liga. It’s a different proposition. I wish people wouldn’t just throw a goal scoring stat to this dismiss generally well made points about how the last could of years have gone for him.

No one is being negative they are just being rightly cautious. If he signs great and really hope he can rediscover his love for the game with us and get back to his best (which is quite frankly unstoppable).

Click to expand...

shelfmonkey said:

How so?

Click to expand...

jt hotspur said:

Any doubters on bales ability have short memories and should have a look at his goals at madrid. This man is in a completely different class to most current players.

Click to expand...

mark_2017 said:

He now just seems to kick up a stink pretty much each season now and wants to change clubs as and when he says, and it'll probably be just to get a higher wage and a huge fuck off signing on fee. Guys a prick.

Click to expand...