Former Aston Villa ace Gabby Agbonlahor is frustrated that Gareth Bale isn’t seeing more of the ball in his second stint as a player of Tottenham.
Spurs landed Bale on loan from Real Madrid in the last transfer window in one of the most impressive pieces of business this season.
The Welshman has been working his way back into playing regular football, having been on the sidelines for much of his last year at Real Madrid.
He scored his first Premier League goal for Spurs on his return last weekend against Brighton, but he didn’t start the game.
He has mostly been used as a substitute by Jose Mourinho this season, getting starts in the Europa League instead.
Agbonlahor, like most football fans, is not satisfied by what he is seeing of Bale and he claims that the Welshman is capable of more than he is giving out.
He claimed that Bale needs to see more of the ball and that fans are waiting for him to get the ball and run at defenders.
“It’s a bit frustrating for me because I just want to see Bale play,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider. “I’m watching the games and Bale’s not starting, he’s not the first sub on and I’m like ‘come on, get him on’, he finally comes on [against Brighton] and he scores a goal.
“We’ve not yet seen him get the ball and run with it. No one’s passing the ball to him and he’s not getting the chance to run at people. That’s what everyone wants to see.
“What is Gareth Bale like when he gets the ball and runs at people? That’s where people make their judgments of him.
“Yes, it’s a great header but people want to see can Gareth Bale get the ball, take a player on and smash it into the top corner. That’s what people want to see. We don’t know how fit he is, Jose is taking his time to bring him in.
“If they can get a Bale who is three-quarters of the Bale we’re used to seeing then he’s going to be a major player.”
The day I care what Agbonlahor has to say about my club is the day I jack it all in.
At the moment Bale hasn’t got the pace to get past defenders, he tried getting past the Ludogrets full back and was found wanting. The days of Maicon trembling in his boots are long gone I’m afraid. I’d try playing him as an attacking central midfielder with a deeper Hojbjerg plus one of Tanguy or Lo Celso alongside the Danish cyborg. He’d get more of the ball as he would be a pivot to play off.
Yet another nobody offering his meaningless drivel, but I for one have underestimated the level of fitness Gareth was at when he arrived, I thought he was more forward than he was. With proper assessment, I applaud the way he is being handled by Mourinho and his staff, bringing him back to health gradually , both mentally and physically after an horrific spell at RM. He will not be the player from seven years ago, but he still has the class to cause teams a lot of damage.