Gareth Bale’s return to Tottenham hasn’t survived its honeymoon stage as he continues to look out of shape.
In the absence of Harry Kane in Tottenham’s last match against Brighton, the Real Madrid loanee was given the chance to earn a regular first-team spot.
He was in poor form as Spurs were beaten 1-0 by the Seagulls who hadn’t won a home league game in more than six months.
He spent much of his time in his final months at Madrid on the bench and playing golf.
His performances for them were inconsistent, and he probably thought he would turn things around for himself when he moved to Spurs.
But the attacker hasn’t impressed at the club, and journalist Martin Samuel thinks he has wasted the time he should have kept himself in shape by playing golf and idling away on the bench at Real.
He says a talent like that of the Welshman has to be nurtured and not turned on and off.
He writes in the Mail: “Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order. As jokes go it’s aged about as well as the Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman who walked into a bar.
“Gareth Bale, struggling to make an impact as Tottenham lose to Brighton, is not having the last laugh. Talent of the type he possesses cannot be turned on and off. Ask Eden Hazard, ask Alexis Sanchez. Talent must be nurtured, it must be fed, it must be well looked after.
“The days Bale spent playing golf and not football, or sitting on the bench winding up the local media in Spain, have dulled him, blunted his instincts. Everyone is desperate for Bale to perform now, everyone longs for a glimpse of the player who left these shores in 2013. Where is he?”