Gareth Bale has been hoist by his own petard, or at least he would have been, he had even the teensiest speck of self-awareness about him. After strolling away from the carnage of his Real Madrid career, the 31-year-old waltzed into Hotspur Way and in just a few months managed to make José Mourinho almost as furious with him as Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti had been.
If the Real Madrid president thinks there could be volatility from the Los Blancos’ fans on the cards back in Spain, then I’d be fascinated how Bale would rate the atmosphere in England would be if there were fans in stadiums right now.
To my mind, there is a colossal difference between a handful of YouTubers turning up outside Hotspur Way to tape themselves cheering, and fans that go to the games expecting players to turn it on against everyone, not just third rate outfits such as Wolfsberger and Marine.
It’s a pity the Mourinho has been forced to manage this situation on his own, a few harsh Tottenham crowds would’ve fixed this boy much quicker.
Who cares what fans back? Have a look at the tape I posted the other day of the ones outside Hotspur Way for Bale’s arrival.
Poch had showed what he could produce from a team, he got zero backing in the end which was clearly the reason for the decline. Jose has inherited many of these issues I admit, but he won’t get the fan’s backing if we play poorly, it’s pretty much all we’ve seen since he came in. A few big wins yes, but nothing sustained or pretty to watch.
True, but we had also seen much excitement and progress in the seasons beforehand. Poch had probably earned a degree of leeway in that regard.
I suspect Bale would have shown more if 60.000 fans were in the stadium and the rest of the players who have underperformed will have found it difficult to hide on a matchday with all those eyes on them. I did react emotionally at first to Bale’s comments thinking they were disrespectful but in hindsight, I don’t think they amount to much more than a statement to keep him in the best bargaining position with RM and us. Unless Zidane goes I cannot see RM taking him back and we may be the only option for him for a run at the World Cup in 2022 if Wales qualifies which may not be known until November 2021. So Bale will need to have sorted out his club situation before then. If Levy can squeeze some more money out of RM and few clubs are going to take Bale on after his statements it may be that with some crowds back in stadiums next season that he may be worth keeping in the squad and his level may rise. I suspect that may also depend on whether we keep Son and Kane and add some real quality to the squad. Levy will not want to appear to have made a mistake with Bale or indeed Mourinho.
It was relegation form when he was binned.
Still the same thing discussed – some can’t see we were horrible to watch (and had worse results) at the end of Poch’s reign too.
Had we still played very good football and got results, he wouldn’t get fired, would he?
This is the new world. The super rich, unaccountable, untouchable, far away from any of the rabble who are confined to their cells with open doors. They can get away with whatever they please.
Agreed – as it was under Poch for the last 12 months
Nobody would chant that unless it were like watching paint dry and zero points gained. Which lets face it, it has been…
In which case, let the many say so, opposed to invent support for your now very tired argument.
Ignore Ancelotti, ignore Zidane. It’s clearly all JM’s fault.
Yes, a stadium full of cavemen chanting Mourinho Out would be just the thing to get Bale going.
God forbid we think above the white noise levels of finking.
A sentiment echoed by many.
Style of play.
Exactly.
We can go on about the sale of play being irrelevant but the reality is, if you aren’t winning but also letting the opposition have the ball, especially at home. The fans are thinking “five hour round trip, £350 all told to come and watch this dross with my chid in tow, what a rip off”.
Even if you lose, it helps if you at least do an impression of a side that tried to win…
A few harsh Tottenham crowds will have had something to say about the way the whole team has been playing, let alone Bale!
I wonder if Jose would even still be in charge had the fans sat through some of those home performances this season…
I’m not really sure what Bale could have said differently. If he said he didn’t want to go back to Madrid then they have leverage over him on the last year of his £600k a week contract. If he said he’d love to stay at Spurs, that gives us leverage to drive his future wages down. he will have been advised by his agent to act as if he’s going back regardless of what he really feels or wants. He has a year left with Madrid so he has to play it that he wants to go back there. Anything else just undermines his bargaining position. I very much doubt he will ever be seen in a Madrid kit again.
Same could be said abut Jose – how do you think the fans in the stands would be putting up with the performances + the results at the moment. Would not be a great atmosphere for sure.
The last paragraph is spot on. My overriding feeling, though, is that Bale just doesn’t enjoy playing the game as much nowadays. He’s lost the hunger. There’s no room for that at Spurs.
True, though I imagine those same crowds might have some harsh words for Mourinho, too.