Pictures c/o Sky Sports
Graeme Souness is right about Gareth Bale’s sheepish return to Tottenham Hotspur. Six months into this £320,000 a week loan deal from Real Madrid, and he’s still feeling his way? It’s been 9 games in all competitions since the Welshman was able to give us more than 72-minutes. It was within that space of time that Spurs were busy dropping points. Yes, we’ve seen some great goals and assists, but at this level, the expectations are that high.
I would suggest that had a truly sound football scout spent a few hours with Gareth before we signed him, it would have been seen that the uncontrollable flame that was once burning brightly within him was now heavily subdued. The self-doubt, the near-obsession with his own frailty have left him a shadow of his former self. The ‘I’m not 21 any more’ business is a sentiment we’ve all felt over the years, but getting old doesn’t mean you hang up your self-respect along with your roller-skates.
Like Souness, I’d like Bale to re-establish his work ethic, this protracted nursemaid routine must be exhausting for those involved at Hotspur Way. Bale is 31, not 41.
…at £320,000k a week?!
I think there is validity in keeping Bale for next season to get the season we thought we’d get this season.
Hungriest I’ve seen him for the ball so far
He arrived a broken man and has had to be nursed and nurtured for half a season – only now is he starting to look his best again, and long may it continue.
Souness is a nasty piece of work. At least when Roy Keane lays into you he does it in an amusing way and there’s a bit of a glint in the eye, Souness is just plain out vindictive.
As for his obsession that he should be knocking down the managers door demanding to be played – well we all saw how that worked out for Danny Rose right?
Save yourself £70 and just dig out that retro classic from 10 years ago!
To be fair, I seem to recall Harry Redscnapps saying that the boy was a bit frail in his own mind when we had him the first time around.
Maybe he’s one of life’s sicknotes?
Most of the time I agree with Souness, but this time he’s talking guano.
Bale has never been the type of person they want to see in being out spoken on himself (excepting the banner comment, but that was in response to some crap from Real Madrid), but his form on the pitch is now getting to the levels we expect to see of him. Just needs to be consistent in the closing stretch and we will see the benefits of that in results.
That was Bale’s best performance for us so far.He looked to get involved had a good understanding with the other front players and showed a good range of passing particularly over distance.
If he can now maintain this level or even improve then we could do something this season.I am sure Mourinho will have noted how OGS blunted City’s play. he could yet spring a surprise in the final,much against my expectations.
A Levy masterclass,think of the shirt sales if we had crowds.
The interviewer I thought was actually very aggressive and rude with Bale. He then tells Bale that his old Wales boss has awarded the MOM to Kane, and then asked Bale (who just scored two goals in two games running) “when are we going to see the old Bale?” Some players would have told the interviewer where to shove their microphone.
Bale though is not assertive. He is a quiet and shy guy so he was just being self-effacing. Also, even at 21 he was made of paper, at 31 he must be held together with elastic bands and bits of bluetac.
Time is what it is. Bale needed time. Jose knows.
The Bale we have now isnt the same guy from October last year nevermind a decade ago.
Souness was like a ranting old fool on sky sports yesterday. I was waiting for a piss puddle to appear underneath him
Keane was being a parody of himself too.
Hancocks half hour it aint.
I said it in a previous blog – the only way we get value for money is if he hits form, top three performers in the squad sort of level, and we extend his stay into next season – because realistically we don’t get potential world class performers jetting in to the club every window.
I can’t see us getting ‘value for money’ any other way, but I’m not entirely sure the move was entirely about value, more a scenario that seemed to perfect to refuse in a romantic sense, it was a great story and great PR
I think we may have seen a quicker return from Bale if the crowds had been there. He needs to feel that connection again with the fans.Lets not forget that he has scored more goals and created more assists than many of the other players who have played instead of him.Our season rests on getting the Kane, Bale, Sonny combo playing and gelling together. Players of that class have an instinctive awareness that seperates them from the rest. We are very fortunate to have three world class strikers now who share that quality. They must start together in every match as every match now is critical. We start with intensity and we get control of the game and then and only then bring in subs like Lamela and hopefully Lo Celso to add energy and bite to see the game out. Moura had a great game playing behind the front three and with Ndombele added we have the quality to press for a fourth place spot and have ago at winning the WAFA cup. Keep Toby and Sanchez together at the back. Keep Requilion and Aurier as wing backs.
They had to manage Bale’s injuries when he was last at Spurs. This is nothing new. He still has some sort of instinct which puts him 2 yards closer to the ball in the six yard box than anyone else. That’s different to before and extremely valuable. He has made his money and should now focus on enjoying his football.
I don’t believe he is broken, not when he can produce a performance like yesterday even if it was for 70 minutes. A few more in the last months of the season will do us.
This has always been a part of his mentality. Redknapp said he used to always look for the physio whenever he took a little knock in training, he had to tell them to leave him alone.
I think it has taken him so long to get up to speed because he didn’t play any football for a year. You can’t just step into the best league in the world after a year out.
Souness is a dinosaur, who should have been retired along with the rest of them. Bitter old man.
it Is taking bale along time to evolve his game, some of this is attitude of his parent club and toxicity but ultimately this comes down to the player himself. Fitness wise Paul Scholes retired from international football before he was 31, lampard had a period of time when he struggled to adapt his game and expectations in his thirties. Bale might be a 70minute man bit like Sonny was for Poch. But it was never going to be an instant day and night transition after his last few years at Real. But if he ends up with another 10 league goals this season he might have been worth it.
Bale always came across as a bit of shy guy who needs to feel the love. He was never really appreciated in Madrid, despite what he did for them in the CL, and in the last few years (even before the banner shenanigans), the fans were outright abusive towards him. Include the injury record and you get a broken man (on 600k a week).
Maybe someone thought we could help him get fit and feel right – and then we would have, maybe not the old Bale, but an experienced winner who loves Spurs. Confidence takes long to regain, though, and it’s frustrating to watch this process unfold at a million pounds a month.