The thing I like about Bale the most is his stamina. Any winger with ability and seemingly endless stamina is a handful.
Gareth Bale is...The most expensive player ever?!
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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.
Apparently Bales got the cock the size of a whale too, something else I suppose many will use as evidence he is superior to Nani.
Check 2:05 and read the youtube comments
That last run was awesome, hadn't seen it before.
Is this guy skillful or just knock and run? I have not watched him a lot, but I think when he faces defenders who can accelerate as he can he goes missing. Rafael is not speedy, but he can accelerate as fast as Bale over short distance and that takes him out of the game.
He sucks the defender in, and then knocks it past him and is off like a flash.
Well, he's pretty good at doing it.
Just watched the replay. Orgasmic. feck all that defensive bollocks, it feels good to see some thunder and fire football in the Champions League.
Just watched the replay. Orgasmic. feck all that defensive bollocks, it feels good to see some thunder and fire football in the Champions League.
It's a bit a lame about his consistency. I think we were specifically set up to stop Gareth Bale and mid way through, we even filled up our midfield. We did give Tottenham the respect they deserved actually. It opened up spaces for others, and that's a credit to him.
Fat Spanish Waiter though, thought in all his good self to play Biabinny to support Maicon.
Fat Spanish Waiter though, thought in all his good self to play Biabinny to support Maicon.
We need some Bale and Valencia feeding Chicharito. And Nani.
Holy shit, let's win the UCL.
Holy shit, let's win the UCL.
To be honest, watching him play excites me
Bale can take on and beat people. He has more ball skills than he is given credit for on here.
I find people criticizing the use of pace to get past a defender as something that isn't a skill a little odd.
It is a skill. Watch Valencia. There's a reason why it doesn't work for him ALL the time. Because it's all about the timing of it. If the defender knows you're about to do it he can shield the ball and rob you of possession. Rafael did this a number of times against Bale, he knew exactly what Bale was about to do.
So did Maicon. But Bale picked his moments to accelerate brilliantly. The first one he set up is the perfect example. Besides he DOES have the necessary skills on the ball and he has other aspects too such as the ability to pick a pass and deliver a brilliant cross. And he scores goals too. He is definitely not one dimensional.
It is a skill. Watch Valencia. There's a reason why it doesn't work for him ALL the time. Because it's all about the timing of it. If the defender knows you're about to do it he can shield the ball and rob you of possession. Rafael did this a number of times against Bale, he knew exactly what Bale was about to do.
So did Maicon. But Bale picked his moments to accelerate brilliantly. The first one he set up is the perfect example. Besides he DOES have the necessary skills on the ball and he has other aspects too such as the ability to pick a pass and deliver a brilliant cross. And he scores goals too. He is definitely not one dimensional.
Some interesting numbers about Bale in the Mail...
'Against Inter, Gareth covered more than 1,114 metres at what is deemed 'high intensity' (faster than 13mph). The Barclays Premier League average is 691 metres per game.
Of that 1,114 metres he ran 719 metres at a 'sprint' (defined at above 15mph). The Premier League average is 324 metres. Tottenham's analyst said after the game he had never seen stats like it in his eight years at the club.
In the Premier League, Bale's average-per-game is 1,000 metres at 'high intensity' speed. It puts him at No 1, with Manchester United winger Nani (below) second on 880 metres'.
Read more: Jamie Redknapp's guide to Tottenham's Gareth Bale | Mail Online
'Against Inter, Gareth covered more than 1,114 metres at what is deemed 'high intensity' (faster than 13mph). The Barclays Premier League average is 691 metres per game.
Of that 1,114 metres he ran 719 metres at a 'sprint' (defined at above 15mph). The Premier League average is 324 metres. Tottenham's analyst said after the game he had never seen stats like it in his eight years at the club.
In the Premier League, Bale's average-per-game is 1,000 metres at 'high intensity' speed. It puts him at No 1, with Manchester United winger Nani (below) second on 880 metres'.
Read more: Jamie Redknapp's guide to Tottenham's Gareth Bale | Mail Online
He's clearly got an absolutely HUGE tank.
He started at fullback. It's no surprise he has such stamina.
This "kick and run" you all guys are talking about is pretty much the make of a classic winger right?
What's the fecking problem with that?
What's the fecking problem with that?
... apparently on £30k/week and is going to given a new £50k/week deal by Spurs.
Don't want to be seen to be making out that this is an unsubstatial pay-packet but... if Spurs want to keep hold of him, they might have to try a bit harder than that.
Don't want to be seen to be making out that this is an unsubstatial pay-packet but... if Spurs want to keep hold of him, they might have to try a bit harder than that.
Quite interesting.
He could go the way of Lee Sharpe and fade away significantly in his late twenties if he loses a bit of pace.
O rly?
So, Is Evra still the best Left back in the league?
Or he could go on to have a lengthy top flight career like Giggs.
yup
BPITW 
Two things:
a) Sharpe's lifestyle was piss poor.
b) As we've seen with players like Giggs, if you look after yourself then you can adapt your game, especially if your technique is good, which Bale's is.
That
And he's bloody perfectly built for this league too. He's got pace and power, huge asset in the premier league.
That.
Agreed.
I concur sir!
He's a much more similar player to Sharpe.
I'm not suggesting he has a similar personality, and I hope he doesn't get struck by injury in the same way. I was simply pointing out that a player that is so reliant on pace over trickery may fade later in his career, as I've seen it quite a few times.
Anyone remember Tony Daley? He had this sort of pace but couldn't finish and disappeared after a couple of good seasons.
I think Harry may be right that his future lies as a left back, I know he has too improve defensively but overlapping into space will allow him to utilize his best asset, his delivery, more regularly.
In the last two Prem games he has been handled by the right back playing deep and not giving him any grass to run into behind which neutralizes him to a degree as he's a hit and run attacker. If he was playing as a left back the left midfielder would draw the RB and leave the space for Bale to overlap into with his blistering pace and get crosses in.
In the last two Prem games he has been handled by the right back playing deep and not giving him any grass to run into behind which neutralizes him to a degree as he's a hit and run attacker. If he was playing as a left back the left midfielder would draw the RB and leave the space for Bale to overlap into with his blistering pace and get crosses in.
He is a fullback, really. Biggest assets are his stamina, his ability to inject pace into the game, the ability to dribble and the ability to cross. All of these are best suited to playing at 'full back' now, really. Even crossing - the fullbacks will cross the ball the most out of anyone nowadays.
It all depends on whether he can learn how to defend because then he'll be influencing both ends much more effectively. If he can't then he'll just be a wing-back which doesn't really get played in this league (sometimes does for Wales), so he's just out of position on the left wing and won't reach his full potential. I think.
It all depends on whether he can learn how to defend because then he'll be influencing both ends much more effectively. If he can't then he'll just be a wing-back which doesn't really get played in this league (sometimes does for Wales), so he's just out of position on the left wing and won't reach his full potential. I think.
The abilities of blistering pace, dribbling and putting in great crosses aren't the attributes of a winger? Just because he has stamina it doesn't mean he should be a left back. Sure he could end up playing there, but he's a brilliant left winger at the moment. No reason to change that.
For me he's too good going forwards to be a fullback. Fullbacks generally make late darting runs across the byline. Bale has a great knack of being ahead of the play. He gets in the space behind the opposition. A license a fullback does not have.
He clearly isn't a full back
Any manager who pigeon holes him into being a full back should be shot. It would be a complete waste.