Gareth Bale is...The most expensive player ever?!

BaldwinLegend

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He's a good player, but not as good as the talk suggests. Seen an article by James Lawton in The Independent where it's suggested he is "arguably the most exciting football player bred in these islands since George Best". It isn't arguable at all, he most definitely isn't the most exciting player bred in these islands since George Best.

And the fact that he is even sharing column inches with Best is a complete and fecking utter travesty.
I reckon you'd be one of the first with your dick out if we signed him.
 

The Neviller

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I suspect some of you here would say exactly the opposite if Bale's English. The hype he is getting (and deservedly so) is the same as England's Jack Wilshere, Tom Cleverley and Phil Jones have been getting at their young age in the media as well. It's abit strange that these same lot continue to deny his talent when it's all there for us to see and he's not even yet the finished article
I've yet to say he isn't good, but George Best good? Behave.
 

Edmeiste

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He's a good player, but not as good as the talk suggests. Seen an article by James Lawton in The Independent where it's suggested he is "arguably the most exciting football player bred in these islands since George Best". It isn't arguable at all, he most definitely isn't the most exciting player bred in these islands since George Best.

And the fact that he is even sharing column inches with Best is a complete and fecking utter travesty.
Question for me is, what makes him an exciting player? He has blistering pace and all but still, what's so exciting about it? Maybe it's just preferences because I could watch a player like Nani all day long. His unpredictability is an absolute joy to behold.
 

The Neviller

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I reckon you'd be one of the first with your dick out if we signed him.
I've never wanked over a signing, although i know you lot in here like that kind of thing. Gareth Bale wouldn't change that.

And irrespective of anything else, i'm not a transfer muppet.

Bale is good, but not as good as the hype. I wouldn't swap him for Nani, though he'd probably be an upgrade on Valencia and Young.
 

rcoobc

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Bale; is left footed, has blistering pace, can hit fantastic shots.

He is far less technically and creatively gifted than many players, but he is so good with those 3 attributes it really doesn't matter. And he is getting better with those other things.

So different to Nani its unreal, but equally exciting
 

The Neviller

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Bale; is left footed, has blistering pace, can hit fantastic shots.

He is far less technically and creatively gifted than many players, but he is so good with those 3 attributes it really doesn't matter. And he is getting better with those other things.

So different to Nani its unreal, but equally exciting
I'd rather have Nani, and if given a choice to watch either play football, i'd choose Nani too. Gareth Bale is like the fast kid in school who kicked the ball past people and ran.
 

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I'd rather have Nani, and if given a choice to watch either play football, i'd choose Nani too. Gareth Bale is like the fast kid in school who kicked the ball past people and ran.
Bale reminds me of what people said when the created the offside rule, that it would create a bunch of sprinters that kicked the ball at the end of their run, instead of footballers. That never happened, it just required footballers to get fitter and the game to speed up.

But if those cynics saw Bale they would think it did.
 

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I've yet to say he isn't good, but George Best good? Behave.
I wasn't the one who say he's George Best good, and you would certainly change your mind about him if he ends up a United player. And i suspect you don't like watching Antonio Valencia play, considering he's kick and run as well.
 

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Should I now provide a link to Merriam Webster on the word 'maybe'?

Uncertainty is the key difference, obviously. I'm willing to acknowledge the(quite likely) possibility of him never becoming as good as some of the players mentioned, in which event there would still be nothing for him to be ashamed of.

You on the other hand leave no room for possibilities. You already know, that he will never...

Well that's quite an admirable insight you have there, that I can only envy you on.
Thanks man, I've been working on it for years. I don't doubt I could very easily be wrong, but I feel I can say that I've seen enough of Gareth Bale to know he will not reach the ability of George Best, I'm confident in that statement. How confident I am, or assured, is a bit irrelevant isn't it?
 

jojojo

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I've only just read that Lawton article with its "Best since Best" headline and its more cautiously phrased, "arguably the most exciting football player bred in these islands since George Best."

Arguably indeed. Provided I forget how exciting a young Ryan Giggs was or even the once heralded Paul Gascoigne. But it is a frightening thought that the British Isles hasn't really got many challengers for "most exciting."

I've been trying to name names but most of the ones I come up with are either foreign or they were more nearlys than got theres. Which still remains the fate that Bale might suffer, and the reason I hate seeing these premature comparisons.

40 years of relying on imports for fun? Why? What do we do to them? I remember when Rooney was supposed to get the "most exciting" job, but it's hard to put him ahead of Bale now (at least on the sparkle stakes).
 

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I wasn't the one who say he's George Best good, and you would certainly change your mind about him if he ends up a United player. And i suspect you don't like watching Antonio Valencia play, considering he's kick and run as well.
Not when he's on form. He actually changes his game up a bit but it's still highly predictable.
 

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This. When Rafael played against him, he played him tight and Bale was invisible that whole game except for one moment when he got a break. It's partly why it's hard for me to say who is better. They have very similar attributes. They're old-fashioned wingers and defenders hate that.
Rafael played him very well that match but he didn't do anything particularly exceptional, Bale was going through a patch where teams had woken up to him after the Inter match and defenders as shit as P. Neville and Ferreira were marshaling Bale with ease.

He's added a lot more to his game now and doesn't merely stick to the left wing and try the same kick and rush tactic (unless he knows it will work, then he has no problems doing it).

And Lennon is an old fashioned winger, Bale is not.

I'm not going to attempt to put a ceiling on what Bale can achieve because frankly, its stupid. Despite his obvious talent, if I'd come on here 3-4 years ago and told you that the young Welsh leftback Bale, who couldn't buy a league win for anything at that point would, within the next 4 years, become one of Spurs' best players in a season they qualified for the CL, then star in that competition and enter 2012 as one of the best left wingers in the league, who would have said fair prediction and who would have posted a dozen of this smiley :lol: in response?
 

GlastonSpur

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.... Gareth Bale is like the fast kid in school who kicked the ball past people and ran.
There's none so blind as those who refuse to see.

Bale is a fantastic player. To dismiss him as merely a speed merchant is ridiculous.

Have you not seen some of the brilliant goals he's scored? Have you not seen his tremendous drive, work rate and non-stop energy? Have you not seen his wand of a left foot or the pin-point crosses he makes? Have you not seen his dribbling skills at pace (not just kick and run)?

He's also a model professional, doesn't drink, never causes problems off the pitch and doesn't have a malicious bone in his body.

IMO Bale, even now, would be welcomed into the first XI of almost any team in the world.
 

BaldwinLegend

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There's none so blind as those who refuse to see.

Bale is a fantastic player. To dismiss him as merely a speed merchant is ridiculous.

Have you not seen some of the brilliant goals he's scored? Have you not seen his tremendous drive, work rate and non-stop energy? Have you not seen his wand of a left foot or the pin-point crosses he makes? Have you not seen his dribbling skills at pace (not just kick and run)?

He's also a model professional, doesn't drink, never causes problems off the pitch and doesn't have a malicious bone in his body.

IMO Bale, even now, would be welcomed into the first XI of almost any team in the world.
Get back to us when he's proven he's as good as Best, Ronnie or Messi. Till then, we're really not interested. Apparently.
 

The Neviller

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Where exactly have I said Bale isn't good? I've said "he's good" in my first two words in my first post about him, and then said he reminds me of the fast kid in school who kicks the ball and runs fast after it. He does. What's the problem?

And as for Valencia, I thought he was good at Wigan, I think he's good now, so again, what's the problem?
 

GlastonSpur

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Where exactly have I said Bale isn't good? I've said "he's good" in my first two words in my first post about him, and then said he reminds me of the fast kid in school who kicks the ball and runs fast after it. He does. What's the problem?...
It's called "damning with faint praise".
 

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There's none so blind as those who refuse to see.

Bale is a fantastic player. To dismiss him as merely a speed merchant is ridiculous.

Have you not seen some of the brilliant goals he's scored? Have you not seen his tremendous drive, work rate and non-stop energy? Have you not seen his wand of a left foot or the pin-point crosses he makes? Have you not seen his dribbling skills at pace (not just kick and run)?

He's also a model professional, doesn't drink, never causes problems off the pitch and doesn't have a malicious bone in his body.

IMO Bale, even now, would be welcomed into the first XI of almost any team in the world.
He has scored some brilliant goals, but he needs to do that sort of thing more often. Admittedly, he has taken steps to doing so this season, however he's still got a long way to go. Also, I'm sure I could dig up a collection of good goals from nearly all top players in football if I wanted to.

His crosses are good, however they're not exactly out of this world, and they're far from perfect. To be honest, they're no better than the standard good winger. His dribbling skills are the same, really. Once again, he's a good dribbler, but no better than the standard good dribbler out there. His dribbling skills aren't so good that a top defender can't cope with them. We've seen plenty of defenders deal with him in a relatively easy fashion.

All you've really done is say everything that he's good at. Nothing there really makes him stand out at all. Not a lot there would get him into every side in world football, anyway.
 

The Neviller

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It's called "damning with faint praise".
No it's not, it's called thinking a player is pretty good, without thinking he's as good as the hype suggests. He isn't. Read the hype back when you lot played inter. Bale was Best, Cryuff, Maradonna, Garrincha, Messi and Ronaldo rolled into one planet of the apes looking body. He isn't that good.

Do you even bother to read the points you respond to, or do you just revert into twat mode when someone doesn't fancy fellating one of your little Spurs Demi-gods?
 

The Neviller

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He has scored some brilliant goals, but he needs to do that sort of thing more often. Admittedly, he has taken steps to doing so this season, however he's still got a long way to go. Also, I'm sure I could dig up a collection of good goals from nearly all top players in football if I wanted to.

His crosses are good, however they're not exactly out of this world, and they're far from perfect. To be honest, they're no better than the standard good winger. His dribbling skills are the same, really. Once again, he's a good dribbler, but no better than the standard good dribbler out there. His dribbling skills aren't so good that a top defender can't cope with them. We've seen plenty of defenders deal with him in a relatively easy fashion.

All you've really done is say everything that he's good at. Nothing there really makes him stand out at all. Not a lot there would get him into every side in world football, anyway.

Apart from his pace, which is his one standout feature.
 

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He has scored some brilliant goals, but he needs to do that sort of thing more often. Admittedly, he has taken steps to doing so this season, however he's still got a long way to go. Also, I'm sure I could dig up a collection of good goals from nearly all top players in football if I wanted to.

His crosses are good, however they're not exactly out of this world, and they're far from perfect. To be honest, they're no better than the standard good winger. His dribbling skills are the same, really. Once again, he's a good dribbler, but no better than the standard good dribbler out there. His dribbling skills aren't so good that a top defender can't cope with them. We've seen plenty of defenders deal with him in a relatively easy fashion.

All you've really done is say everything that he's good at. Nothing there really makes him stand out at all. Not a lot there would get him into every side in world football, anyway.
His crosses are "no better than the standard good winger"? His dribbling is "no better than the standard good dribbler"? And we've seen "plenty of defenders deal with him in a relatively easy fashion"?

And in summary he has "nothing there really makes him stand out at all"?

Oh well, excuse me but we must be watching two entirely different players.
 

GlastonSpur

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No it's not, it's called thinking a player is pretty good, without thinking he's as good as the hype suggests. He isn't. Read the hype back when you lot played inter. ...
It's funny how the "hype" continues then. Are all the pundits so deluded?

For my part, I'm simply saying that Bale is lot better than you credit. And I stand by my statement that Bale would be welcomed into almost any first XI in the world .... but that'll be just more "hype" I guess.
 

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Except that he is now developing and extending his game to be able to play pretty much anywhere across the attacking midfield, left, right and centre.

This was shown most recently in the Norwich game, and I expect we'll see more of it ... especially in matches where playing with the defensive security of both Sandro and Parker in CM (not to mention Modric) gives Bale much more licence to roam free as he pleases.
I agree against Norwich he was superb, but again it was Norwich and not an established Premier League side.

I agree Bale has improved over the last couple of seasons. Is he still improving, yes he most likely is. He may well be the best crosser in the premiership, his finishing has improved and his movement has got alot better. His close control when dribbling at speed is quite amazing for a lad of his size and once he is at full speed you are gonna have to foul him to stop.

But the one area he still hasn't improved in is when he is required to work his way out of tight situations. Hence why he struggles when defenders get tight and don't give him space to get at them. I don't think he has the variety to get out of those tight situations.

Doesn't detract from the fact he is a quality player, just that I think he is still a little predictable.
 

The Neviller

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It's funny how the "hype" continues then. Are all the pundits so deluded?

For my part, I'm simply saying that Bale is lot better than you credit. And I stand by my statement that Bale would be welcomed into almost any first XI in the world .... but that'll be just more "hype" I guess.
Well if they are suggesting he's "arguably the most exciting player to come from the British isles since George Best" then I'd suggest yes, they fecking are deluded. Have none of them heard of Ryan Giggs?
 

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Apart from his pace, which is his one standout feature.
It's not just about pace, it's about the change of pace. He goes from quick to quicker still, while in full control of the ball, which destroys defenders. It's the very same quality with which Giggs "cut Arsenal into ribbons" in one of our all time favorite goals.
 

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His crosses are "no better than the standard good winger"? His dribbling is "no better than the standard good dribbler"? And we've seen "plenty of defenders deal with him in a relatively easy fashion"?

And in summary he has "nothing there really makes him stand out at all"?

Oh well, excuse me but we must be watching two entirely different players.
No, those features you speak of don't really make him special at all. You seem to think of him as one of the best wingers in the world, but his crossing or his dribbling wouldn't make him that, would it?

I'm not saying that Bale can't cross, because he can, but his crossing isn't as good as you seem to think it is. If it was as good as you say it is, then I doubt he would have finished on a number of league assists that I would be able to count with one hand.

Bale is a good dribbler, but I've seen plenty of players deal with him, relatively easily. On those occasions, he wasn't able to use his trickery or his dribbling skills to exploit the defenders. Tightly mark Bale, and he will struggle to deliver, if you perform your role well. If his dribbling was so good, would it be that simple for a defender to stop him?

Now, I'll admit that Bale is a very good winger and he has recently started to live up to some of his hype, however he's nowhere near as good as you seem to make out, and you do also seem to overrate some features of his game.
 

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I know some of you will froth at the mouth at the mere mention of Bale and Ronaldo in the same sentence but the point of those isn't to compare how good the two players are but about how good a season Bale is currently having.

Funnily enough, this winger, with normal crossing, dribbling and shooting for an averagely good winger (someone such as Etherington for example I'm guessing?) has only strikers with more goals than him currently and a good number of assists and chances created this season.

Let's be honest, if he was a Man utd player, you lot would be delirious with your praise of Bale. But he's not and plays for Spurs, so he can't be that good can he? He's comfortably ahead of Valencia and that's not a slight on Valencia, who I consider a quality player.
 

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Bale on the Left and Nani on the right would be the best wing combination in Europe.

I'd love to see him in a United shirt, Don't think we'd ever have the money to do it though.
 

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Nani doesn't get half the hype of Bale despite being twice the player.
That's rubbish though. Nani's certainly the better player (for now, future who knows?), but definitely not twice the player of Bale. I would have thought that's Obertan being compared
 

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Bale on the Left and Nani on the right would be the best wing combination in Europe.

I'd love to see him in a United shirt, Don't think we'd ever have the money to do it though.
I'd be worried that you would have to reign one or the other in, or possibly play a 3 man midfield. It must be said Nani is much better at sticking to his task than Ronaldo ever was, he often sticks to his game only coming inside to score a wonder goal. I think that makes sense
 

africanspur

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Nani doesn't get half the hype of Bale despite being twice the player.
Was maybe true last season but no longer so. Nani has been regularly achieving the appropriate amount of recognition beginning from late last season and continuing into this, where almost everyone I have spoken to repeats the same view of that presented by the media; Nani is one of the best wingers/players in the league and along with Rooney, probably Man utd's most important attacking player. Rightly so.

As good as Nani is (and I consider him better than Bale), he clearly isn't twice the player of Bale. IMO, a lot of this under-rating of Bale by Man utd fans comes about due to Bale winning the POTY over Nani last season. Maybe I'm wrong though. :confused:
 

jojojo

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Let's be honest, if he was a Man utd player, you lot would be delirious with your praise of Bale. But he's not and plays for Spurs, so he can't be that good can he? He's comfortably ahead of Valencia and that's not a slight on Valencia, who I consider a quality player.
Actually I think part of the reason for the hype is that it is exciting to see a big talent who isn't playing for United or whoever is our current top rival.

At United he'd still be doomed to the same kind of fate as Nani - the "yes, but he's not Ronaldo" from he press (or Rooney or Vidic or whoever we're currently declaring as the real main man, from the fans) and he'd have a long way to go before he was compared to Best. Throw in that "free role" but without much goalscoring responsibility and there would be a much tougher crowd to win over.

Of course, we would be happy to take him off your hands.
 

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Nani doesn't get half the hype of Bale despite being twice the player.
I wouldn't agree with that. Nani has received plenty of hype over the past year or so, and I wouldn't say that Bale has received a lot more hype than him to be honest.
 

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Was maybe true last season but no longer so. Nani has been regularly achieving the appropriate amount of recognition beginning from late last season and continuing into this, where almost everyone I have spoken to repeats the same view of that presented by the media; Nani is one of the best wingers/players in the league and along with Rooney, probably Man utd's most important attacking player. Rightly so.

As good as Nani is (and I consider him better than Bale), he clearly isn't twice the player of Bale. IMO, a lot of this under-rating of Bale by Man utd fans comes about due to Bale winning the POTY over Nani last season. Maybe I'm wrong though. :confused:
I agree with pretty much all that, I still do feel Nani is underrated in comparison to the other top players in the league though. You only ever hear Rooney and Vidic mentioned when our best players are being discussed by anyone who is non-United. Nani is up there with both of them.

Bale is a superb player and has actually backed up the ridiculous hype of last season with performances from this season. I still think the media go overboard with the comparisons though, but I'm guessing that's because he's British.
 

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I wouldn't agree with that. Nani has received plenty of hype over the past year or so, and I wouldn't say that Bale has received a lot more hype than him to be honest.
:lol:

Of course he has. Forget everything else at the minute, the one thing Bale hasnt been without is attention. Are you forgetting all of last season?
 

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Dont agree with the "you'd rate bale if he was a united player" bit at all. Only the really partial posters would refuse to see his obvious quality. That said, he's nowhere near the likes of messi giggs best etc which the media has branded him. The most exciting player since best from the region? hell no. that's giggsy. Its this sort of ridiculous hype that tends to distort some opinion about him and people tend to rate him lower than he is as a result.

As things stand, he is a very good player with loads of potential. if he keeps working at his game, he can become even better still. very young still with loads of time to improve himself.
 

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I wouldn't agree with that. Nani has received plenty of hype over the past year or so, and I wouldn't say that Bale has received a lot more hype than him to be honest.
It's probably not the amount of hype that annoys people, it's how far away the hype is from actual reality.

The 'hype', if anything, still under-rates Nani. People are recognising him as probably our second best attacker, but they still talk about him being inconsistent and only showing flashes of brilliance, etc. When in reality he's been easily the most consistent attacker in the league over the last 24 months (probably only behind Messi and Ronaldo in the world). The only comparisons he gets with the best players in the world are negative comparisons with Ronaldo.

Whereas Bale's hype is ridiculous, getting compared to the likes of Messi, Ronaldo and Best. He's a good player bordering on being a very good player, with the potential to be an extremely good player. But he doesn't deserve those comparisons.