from that gif, it looks like the keeper should have done better
Gareth Bale is...The most expensive player ever?!
- Thread starter Mickey
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
Very well hit but the keeper has to either complete his effort or not move at all.
Brilliant freekick.Ronaldo would have been proud.
I thought that at first too but after a couple of replays it's clear that it goes too high above him to make a successful save, 9 times out of 10 it's a goal, the other time goalkeeper just gets lucky. It was a brilliant strike and fair does to Bale.
Then his positioning was dodgy to begin with. I'm not taking anything away from Bale, that was a great hit and I honestly believe he's a better FK taker than Ronaldo.
Nah that should be saved.
Apart from both of the boys being spanners Pete's hair is lookign quite nice!!!!
I'm sorry, but if that was Dave or Hart in goal, the pitchforks would have been out for them. He was caught in 2 minds and didn't bother reaching. Good striker either way, but kind of gifted.
Great striker but I'm sorry that should have been saved. Douglas Costa's was goal of the night.
Not only should he save it, it should be a comfortable save.
But last season people tried blaming the GK's for Bale's FK's. Surely it's happening too often for it to be GK error. To me it looks like the GK just gets completely wrong footed by the changing direction of the ball.
He's done it many few times where people think the keeper 'should' save it. Unless you've been a keeper facing one of them I don't know how anyone can say it should have been saved. Nobody knows what it looks like from the keeper's view.
The ball is changing direction ? Looks like a fairly "normal" trajectory.
It's nothing like you're describing it IMHO, if he was fooled by the trajectory as you described, wouldn't he have first made steps towards his left only to realize the ball is going towards the other direction ?
Keeper fecks up - looks like he doesn't anticipate the dip.
Looks an error to me. The movement on the ball is like Beckham against Greece but it's not as well placed.
No the GK is already slightly to the right and when Bale strikes it it's going left (the GK's right), but the the ball suddenly swerves right and the GK is left standing there looking silly. This isn't the first time it's happened either. It's because when he makes the initial contact with the ball it looks like he's going to bang it in the top left corner with power, but it suddenly swerves and ends up just right of center. It's not like a Beckham curving FK.
I think what surprised the keeper is how high the ball was initially and how quickly it flew down towards the goal. This is a typical "Juninho" free kick, it would create a weird reaction from the keeper. They would think the ball is too high and won't be pb only to see it accelerate and hit the target.
Agree that would be a difficult save to make. The ball trajectory changed, and the ball curved downward at high pace. Just a bit like Ronaldo's one against David James many moons ago.
Not really. That was basically the perfect free-kick.
why is there a ? in the thread title still? Isn't he the most expensive player ever?
Because it isn't actually clear. Some people confirm it was more than Ronaldo, others are denying...
One of my mates can strike freekicks like Bale and Ronaldo. Sad bastard practised them for ages. I'm actually a pretty decent goalie and they are absolutely horrible to try and save. Until you've had one coming at you, it's very hard to understand how hard they are to stop. There is no guarentee of the ball continuing to the left corner or jerking massively to the right. If you assume it's not going to change direction and even begin to make a step, theres no chance of saving it, if it does change direction.
Agreed. I actually took free kicks and peno's this way when i was younger. I had almost no control over them, but the keeper had no fecking clue either. If they were on target I scored. However, I was shit at everything else related to football... so it doesn't really matter!
According to the most plausible(?) Spanish sources it depends on how you look at it.
In terms of the amount of money Spurs got, it's supposed to be about £76m/€90m, less than United for Ronaldo.
However the financing of the deal - Spurs wanted it over 1 year, Madrid wanted to pay over 5 - is believed to have pushed it over the £80m.
So did Madrid borrow the money?
Apparently, technically no, Spurs English/German bankers bought the debt (£76m) and Madrid pay them (76m + interest/arranger fees)
Or something like that
Using the classic definition of a transfer fee, what did the seller get, Bale's not the most expensive ever and his wages are below Casillas/Ramos - not in the heady heights of Ronaldo/Messi/Zlatan etc
NID. He's going to score feckloads there. Over the past few games he seems to have a great understanding with a few players, Benzema, Modric and Marcelo. Whereas the likes of Isco & Di Maria seem to hate him.
Yeah I noticed that, Isco & Di Maria don't like to pass him the ball.. but yet he scored 3 and made the forth..
Valladolid defence is shite..
Valladolid defence is shite..
He'll score loads of goals. La Liga teams crumble when they concede.
Nice to see him proving numerous muppets wrong.
Where's that Scot that used to slag him off and belittle anything he did at any opportunity? This must hurt for him...
Where's that Scot that used to slag him off and belittle anything he did at any opportunity? This must hurt for him...
change your mind i see...
He's an absolute twat, but he's settled well.
Im surprised that he is playing that well. Hes poor in closed spaces yet everytime i watch Madrid be has acres of spaces to receive the ball and start his run.
told ya he'd knock them in for fun 
The perfect hat-trick too.
This was actually noticed when Ronaldo played against us, in that he had a very poor 2nd leg up until Nani got sent off and then the game changed. Is it very possible that in the Premier league defenders or indeed players stick close to the main player? Is it because the games in Spain are more open therefore loads of space. If what you say is correct, then that could possibly be the reason as to why Ronaldo, Messi and even Costa now, are scoring for fun simply because players give them unbelievable amount of space?
He's to big, strong and quick for the Spanish League. He's such an explosive player with an absolutely lethal boot, he will be great in Spain.
that would be very simplistic ....but that's the British way- "win the first ball"- that's any defender's 101 in England. you do see defenders (especially fullback) harassing their players before they even receive the ball. In Spain it is quite different - defenders seem to make one step back for some odd reason. Bale's first touch isn't particularly good yet he manges to receive the ball and run. fecks knows why nobody cracked that down yet.