Giggs did not have 20 ‘superb’ seasons either. And it is still a warped argument, for me anyway. Nobody would dispute that Giggs had better close control. ‘Tracking back’ is also a reach in this comparison, come on. Next thing I’ll be saying ‘Bale is taller’ or something. Nobody cares who tracks back more.
For me, and I don’t even think it’s only ‘for me’ either, so long as the conversation is not based upon comparing a United great - close control is nothing compared to impact on a game/result for a forward player. You speak about ‘all-round game’ now, because seemingly that is a metric where Giggs is better in, not because it is of greatest relevance. I see numerous conversations and comparisons on this very forum about two players, and I often see the case made that it matters little that player ‘x’ has ‘fancy touches and technique’ (this is what it is reduced to when the argument suits). I’m from Nigeria, and one of my heroes was Okocha. As recently as yesterday I was arguing that Okocha was nowhere near as good as certain players who he obviously had far more natural ability than. I can’t say something like her was one of the best #10s of his generation’ just because he was amongst the most naturally talented. He obviously wasn’t. Which is why he was never, at any time, considered the ‘best player‘. I don’t think that is too dissimilar to Giggs. Just because he had great pace, balance, dribbling etc as headline abilities doesn’t make a player a ‘great player’. Great talent, for sure.
Many people on this forum are extremely quick to bring out pie charts and graphs to tell me that, despite the fact Pogba can dribble, pass with both feet, take long shots, score and create - he is little more than a ‘talented’ player. He is far less popular than Ryan Giggs was around these particular streets, so different rationale will always be applied. Giggs too was an inconsistent player for much of his career. His career was not 20 years of him just destroying full backs and then putting it on a forwards head. You have said the conversation should be moved away from goals and assists (Giggs has a great assist record for what it’s worth), but it’s a biased argument to compare judge two players by who was the most talented. If that were the case, I could find Championship midfielders better than Lampard probably. Or Hazard vs Cristiano Ronaldo could possibly be a valid debate. Bale was devastating. Winning games for his team regularly. Not by scoring two-ins either. He was blowing past players and putting it in the top corner. He’s done that for years. In the PL, he was head and shoulders above his peers. At that time, nobody would give a shit if you ‘valued dribbling, close control, tracking back’ or whatever else you listed if you tried to make an argument that another wide player was better than him in the PL. So why does that matter now? Ronaldo and Messi are compared, despite Messi being far more naturally talented (and tracking back more), because they both impact the game to similar levels. It’s not a slam dunk because Messi is a better dribbler. Taking away stylistic preference, Giggs is nowhere near Bale as an attacking player. And for what it’s worth, Bale is a fantastic crosser if the ball as well, which should not be ignored, especially when discussing ‘passing’.
You also say Bale has looked ‘cooked’ for two seasons too, which is a bit selective too in my opinion. He has had his injury problems, but has also still managed to look class on a fair few occasions when fit. It also implies that on the other hand, Giggs had 20 uninterrupted seasons where he was consistent and brilliant, never doubted etc - which is far from true.
I love our legends as much as the next. My observation from being around here for many years is that it’s very difficult to involve them in any conversation though. Their careers are ultimately airbrushed and summarised into a half an hour highlight reel, whereas the other player‘s game is forensically picked apart in a different way. Also, due to the success we enjoyed during their time, a players weaknesses and faults were never particularly focused on for long by the media or whatever. I certainly remember that for Giggs it wasn’t 20 years of pure brilliance. It was certainly a 20 year period where he was always capable of brilliance, because he’s just wonderfully gifted, for sure. But it always turns out the same. Those he can outdribble etc - he’ll win these arguments on talent, and anyone who has comparable natural ability will simply lose on longevity. That’s my observation anyway. Longevity is overplayed because he can’t be competed with there. That said, in the grand scheme of football player comparison, nobody ever cares if a player was playing til’ 40. It’s not a requirement for a player to secure his greatness in any other conversation except when compared to Giggs. And if we are comparing two left wingers, I don’t see why it matters what Giggs was doing as a central midfielder at 35. That doesn’t make him a better or worse forward over the course of his career.