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

He's a good player, who on his day is capable of producing something special. Unfortunately for him, people tend to put him on a level that he is nowhere near and as a result people flat out hate him, seriously underate him or are generally unimpressed by him on a weekly basis because they think he is better than he is because of all the hype.

Perhaps it would be better for Bale if commentators and pundits took the Andy Carroll approach to praising players such as "fastest player in the Premier League with the initials of G.B." or "best winger Wales has produced since Ryan Giggs"
 
alastair said:
It wasn't some kind of magnificent display, but he took on their full backs on his own, won free kicks very high up the pitch, had a shot just wide from distance, etc. It was really as much as anyone could do with zero support without taking on the entire team and scoring a wonder goal.
Click to expand...

He's become one of those players who is almost so overrated that it's making him underrated to an extent.
 
The Ronaldo and Messi stuff is ridiculous and doesn't help him at all. The reality is that he's one of the PL's biggest talents and should go on to play for a top club for a long time. That's really the long and short of it. The sooner he leaves Spurs, the better for me.
 
alastair said:
Did anyone actually see Bale tonight? He caused quite a lot of trouble given he's playing in an absolutely hopeless team.
Click to expand...

This was my exact point. The team around him was hopeless. Therefore it was all down to him to deliver, and he did. One man show. The fact it was against Scotland doesn't change much. Because it was against Scotland you can take any praise with a pinch of salt, and that's fine, but people seemed to be suggesting it's impossible to play that well against poor sides.
 
MrMarcello said:
What. The. Living. feck.

Bale is not even on Rooney's level ...
Click to expand...

What is Rooney's level?

It's pretty easy to make the case that Bale is higher up the hierarchy of global LWs than Rooney is in the heirarchy of global strikers.
 
Bale in the same class as Ronaldo and Messi?

Ha. They wish.
 
Rooney is world class. Bale is not. Only a moron would argue otherwise.
 
GlastonSpur said:
What is Rooney's level?

It's pretty easy to make the case that Bale is higher up the hierarchy of global LWs than Rooney is in the heirarchy of global strikers.
Click to expand...

GlastonSpur said:
So, in other words, he's closer to world class as a LW than Rooney is as a striker.
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:

More pearls of wisdom brought to us by...........Glaston.

You should trademark them, buddy.
 
This all started with a poster making player comparisons. All that needed to be said was Bale had a great performance against Scotland and scored a "wonder" goal in the process. The caf doesn't seem to do well when it comes to player comparisons. The compartmentalization of a player's skill set and talent becomes a convoluted discussion of what he offers and who he's similar to which inevitably leads to player comparisons and hyperbolic extrapolation of facts. Here's an example:

Maybe memory deceives, but I dont put Bale anywhere close to Giggs. To me, Bale is more of a power runner while Ryan combined pace with agility as he glided past opponents with the slightest swivel of his hips. Maybe Bale will add more to his skill set to take him beyond Giggs but Giggsy will always have a special place for me. He's been an exceptional player over the years and has been at a level Bale can only dream of achieving. I'm not factoring in trophies won either.
 
Bales a very good player with the potential to be a world class player. Whether he can do that at Spurs is the big question. As for comparisons with Messi/Ronaldo it is worth pointing out that both of them were pretty dross for their International sides until recently.
 
I thought last night, that considering Bale was playing for a pub side, he did very well with any kind of possession he received....he's undoubtedly in fine form
 
Plato said:
Maybe memory deceives, but I dont put Bale anywhere close to Giggs. To me, Bale is more of a power runner while Ryan combined pace with agility as he glided past opponents with the slightest swivel of his hips. Maybe Bale will add more to his skill set to take him beyond Giggs but Giggsy will always have a special place for me. He's been an exceptional player over the years and has been at a level Bale can only dream of achieving. I'm not factoring in trophies won either.
Click to expand...

I think he is as close to a 23 year old Giggs as you can be in terms of effectiveness on the field. Bale is a lot more than just a powerful runner, he is actually very agile and his close control is underrated. He often uses his feet to get out of a situation before applying the after burners. Giggs has a superior dribbling technique (we all love this unique style) but Bale is just as effective at doing the same thing...beating a marker/s. He also has a better delivery from wide positions left or right side.

Of course we all love Ryan Giggs and he is and always has been a special player. I do feel Bale has the potential to be the superior player over time IF.....he carries on improving at the rate he is. The skill-set you mention is improving all the time...theres more cuteness to his interplay which you really need if you are operating centrally, while retaining the directness that can make him so devastating.
 
misterredmist said:
I thought last night, that considering Bale was playing for a pub side, he did very well with any kind of possession he received....he's undoubtedly in fine form
Click to expand...

A pub side which has Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen? Let's continue to overhype him.
 
Lynk said:
A pub side which has Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen? Let's continue to overhype him.
Click to expand...

Take them out and they are an incredibly average side. In fact, Ramsey and Allen may be decent footballers but they're far from world class and a superior midfield can easily make them look like passengers.

The fact is that Bale's largely on his own in that Wales team and he's got to try and produce a lot himself. The underhyping is as bad as the overhyping.
 
Comsmit said:
I think he is as close to a 23 year old Giggs as you can be in terms of effectiveness on the field. Bale is a lot more than just a powerful runner, he is actually very agile and his close control is underrated. He often uses his feet to get out of a situation before applying the after burners. Giggs has a superior dribbling technique (we all love this unique style) but Bale is just as effective at doing the same thing...beating a marker/s. He also has a better delivery from wide positions left or right side.

Of course we all love Ryan Giggs and he is and always has been a special player. I do feel Bale has the potential to be the superior player over time IF.....he carries on improving at the rate he is. The skill-set you mention is improving all the time...theres more cuteness to his interplay which you really need if you are operating centrally, while retaining the directness that can make him so devastating.
Click to expand...


I'll be watching Bale with even more scrutiny thanks to you. We'll see if he's as "devastating" as you summarize him to be.
 
RedRover said:
The point is that the better he gets the less and less this will happen.

Very few players burst onto the scene at a young age and light up the league week in week out. At times he's unplayable and his performances seem to be getting more consistent.

Physical attributes are key in modern football and on that basis alone he could go a long way. He'll never be a Lionel Messi but put him in a good side and give him plenty of ball and he's got the potential to rip teams to bits.

In general on this thread its clear he's underrated. I maintain, if he was a 23 year old United player people would be beside themselves with excitement a la Cleverly and Welbeck.
Click to expand...

You get a bit carried away with your post mate. So much so when I reach the last paragraph, I'm not sure what to think. It's quite possible he would be highly regarded within our ranks but it's hard to know because he's not our player. It's pure conjecture and that's not doing much for your argument. He's certainly an exciting player but if I was to take a punt, knowing our fans and how we are on the caf, as highly regarded as you think he would be, he would be castigated even more for not showing his consistency. Could probably go both ways.
 
Plato said:
You get a bit carried away with your post mate. So much so when I reach the last paragraph, I'm not sure what to think. It's quite possible he would be highly regarded within our ranks but it's hard to know because he's not our player. It's pure conjecture and that's not doing much for your argument. He's certainly an exciting player but if I was to take a punt, knowing our fans and how we are on the caf, as highly regarded as you think he would be, he would be castigated even more for not showing his consistency. Could probably go both ways.
Click to expand...

I don't agree. I recall reading on here not that long ago that someone suggested that Danny Welbeck reminded him of Thierry Henry. Not helpful to the player and clearly someone getting "carried" away.

I'm not suggesting that Bale is, or ever will be a world beater - simply that in my opinion, he has a vast amount of potential which could take him a very long way.

Too many "armchair" fans try to analyse a players performace to death in order to find things to criticise him on, as has happened repeatedly in this thread. Strangely a lot of the same fans will stick up for their own club's players vehemently, even when criticism is fair.

The fact is that a lot of people rate Gareth Bale, and I can see why. He's young, a great athlete, puts in a good ball and is starting to show signs that he can perform more consistently.
 
GlastonSpur said:
What is Rooney's level?

It's pretty easy to make the case that Bale is higher up the hierarchy of global LWs than Rooney is in the heirarchy of global strikers.
Click to expand...

Rooney's level - world class
Bale isn't world class, he's a damn good player with lots of potential, but that's about it for now.

While I can name Nani and Ribery as better LWs currently (not by much, but I'd pick those 2 over Bale atm), I can only think of Falcao and RvP who could be considered as better strikers, not better players.
Messi and Ronaldo obviously not included in either category.

So much for easily making a case who's higher up the heirarchy in their positions.

It could change, I mean for all we know Rooney might not even be playing as a striker for much longer, but as things stand right now Bale is overrated (by you atleast). I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't want a player of his quality in my team, but he definitely wouldn't be my 1st pick.
 
GlastonSpur said:
What is Rooney's level?

It's pretty easy to make the case that Bale is higher up the hierarchy of global LWs than Rooney is in the heirarchy of global strikers.
Click to expand...

Slightly fatuous point. Wingers are hardly in vogue at the moment, there arent that many great ones around and a lot of teams dont even use them. And you are even more specific - not just wingers but left wingers. So your point is Bale is a big fish in a small pond.

Rooney on the other hand plays as a striker. There are a lot of very good strikers around, it is a much bigger pond. So even if Rooney wasnt the biggest fish in that pond, he is still a big fish.

To summarise: our fish is bigger than your fish.
 
RedRover said:
Too many "armchair" fans try to analyse a players performace to death in order to find things to criticise him on, as has happened repeatedly in this thread. Strangely a lot of the same fans will stick up for their own club's players vehemently, even when criticism is fair.

The fact is that a lot of people rate Gareth Bale, and I can see why. He's young, a great athlete, puts in a good ball and is starting to show signs that he can perform more consistently.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure you crticized loads of armchair fans on not rating Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll when they were signed, saying that they were not rated by us due to the fact Liverpool have signed then, how's that turning out?
 
KM said:
Pretty sure you crticized loads of armchair fans on not rating Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll when they were signed, saying that they were not rated by us due to the fact Liverpool have signed then, how's that turning out?
Click to expand...

Not sure what that has to do with anything. I could trawl back through your archive posts and cast judgment but I don't have the time or the inclination.

Its hardly a leap of faith to suggest Gareth Bale is a talented young player. It seems a lot of people in football, vastly more knowledgable than I am seem to agree. I simply think some of the criticism of him so far is a bit harsh - given his age and the decent performances he's put in over the last couple of years.
Put simply he's improving, and seems to be developing into a very good player.

And I don't "criticise" anyone for having an opinions, simply disagree, which seems like the whole point of a message board in the first place.
 
RedRover said:
I don't agree. I recall reading on here not that long ago that someone suggested that Danny Welbeck reminded him of Thierry Henry. Not helpful to the player and clearly someone getting "carried" away.

I'm not suggesting that Bale is, or ever will be a world beater - simply that in my opinion, he has a vast amount of potential which could take him a very long way.

Too many "armchair" fans try to analyse a players performace to death in order to find things to criticise him on, as has happened repeatedly in this thread. Strangely a lot of the same fans will stick up for their own club's players vehemently, even when criticism is fair.

The fact is that a lot of people rate Gareth Bale, and I can see why. He's young, a great athlete, puts in a good ball and is starting to show signs that he can perform more consistently.
Click to expand...

Not really. Did you ever find out what exactly about Welbeck reminds the poster of Henry? If not, maybe you should reconsider your statement. It's quite possible he could have meant they are similar in style.

I dont think anyone doesn't rate Gareth Bale. The arguments have mostly been about to the extent he's rated. Hence why some think he's world class and others dont.

Not sure what you mean by the armchair fans bit. It's well-documented there are posters on the caf who heavily analyse a player's performance but from what I've seen, it's mostly our own. I have said it before but when it comes to poor performances, it's when you see some posters come from nowhere and heavily criticize said player. It's quite clear the type of standards some posters have of OUR players. If you "vehemently" defend a player on here when the criticism is fair, they're bound to be criticized themselves. Would you like to elaborate on what posters have overanalysed about Bale? It seems you know something we dont.

If you're extending the conversation beyond this forum, then I'm sure you can find some fans who exhibit such behavior. In their eyes, it's part of being a fan of their club. It's part of the "religion" so to speak. Big reason why a certain group of supporters are called "thick". If this is what you're speaking to, then I'm inclined to think you're taking this discussion in a different direction. If you could illustrate an example of where a poster did as you described above (overanalysing a player and "vehemently" defending one of their own), then I think I'll understand your argument better. As of now, it comes across as a bit vague.
 
GlastonSpur said:
What is Rooney's level?

It's pretty easy to make the case that Bale is higher up the hierarchy of global LWs than Rooney is in the heirarchy of global strikers.
Click to expand...

That is down to lack of top quality players in that position rather than anything else.

GlastonSpur said:
So, in other words, he's closer to world class as a LW than Rooney is as a striker.
Click to expand...

Rooney in his past 3 seasons has scored 25+ league goals two times, what has Bale done to achieve his "closer to world class" status in comparison?
 
JazzG said:
That is down to lack of top quality players in that position rather than anything else.



Rooney in his past 3 seasons has scored 25+ league goals two times, what has Bale done to achieve his "closer to world class" status in comparison?
Click to expand...

Played for Tottenham Hotspurs. For Glaston, that's a key factor to determine as to a player is world class or not.
 
Tbh you don't even need to think of it as flat out positions, more teams would change their approach to accommodate Rooney in some way than they would Bale imo.
 
Adebesi said:
This never materialised, but I think it would be a useful experiment, a control sample, so we know what adjustments are needed to any analysis of posts.

Michael Dawson. Go.
Click to expand...

Dawson always gives 100% and never shirks from putting himself in harm's way. Very good in the air, decent tackler and positions himself well.

However, he lacks pace, is not a ball-playing CB and should cut out his repeated attempts at playing long diagonal balls upfield in the general direction of Bale, since they usually don't come off.

In short, a reliable, decent, blood 'n guts CB and a model professional. For a mid-table Prem team he'd likely be a regular starter, but at Spurs has slipped down the pecking order behind Vertonghen, Kaboul, Caulker and Gallas.

He was nearly sold this summer and I suspect he will be sold in the January window.
 
JazzG said:
... Rooney in his past 3 seasons has scored 25+ league goals two times, what has Bale done to achieve his "closer to world class" status in comparison?
Click to expand...

Er .... Bale is not a striker, so why would you expect him to score 25+ goals?

However, last season he did score 12 goals and get 14 assists in all competitions (tho' stats fail to reveal his wider impact on games) ... which is not too shabby for a winger.
 
Not sure about him being world class (well I am sure, he isn't.) But I reckon every manager in the league would take Bale in their side.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.