"Tuck that in there, Charlotte".
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.
"Tuck that in there, Charlotte".
I was somewhat skeptical of Lloris when I first saw him but he's proven to be an outstanding keeper. Excellent work by AVB to push aside Friedl for Lloris and fair play to both for handling the situation as top professionals (at least from what I've read).
Spurs have a really good thing going, but will Bale want to stay at WHL? We shall see.
This will make more people hate Bale. Even though he's done nothing. It's not his fault if the media is full of brainless simpletons spouting this sort of shite.
Happen's anytime a British player is even remotely good. For what its worth, his cheating is all thats needed for me to dislike him.
when he can do that
or that
or that nsfw
then he might hold a candle to Ronaldo
or that
or that nsfw
then he might hold a candle to Ronaldo
That Roma header is my favourite Ronaldo goal of them all.
The vision to not only see Ronaldo, but the skill to weight that ball perfectly and have it sit up so nicely by Scholes is out of this world. That assist he got against Milan the year before for the Rooney goal was superb, but that for me absolutely trumps it.
You are digressing from the actual point. Lloris might turn to be the best thing since sliced bread but is he a massive improvement on Friedel currently? Holtby "will" blah blah blah...
Spurs had a great chance to improve and get a strangle hold on a top 4 spot while the other teams are transitioning. Instead because of Levy's obsession to establish himself as a transfer king, they missed out on the main targets, that would have improved the team now, he went and bought cheap players in the position that weren't an immediate necessity.
Dembele has done alright but the Modric money could have been invested in a better player.
Let's see where they finish at the end of the season. I have my doubts regarding a top 4 spot for you guys.
I love the british media. A slight bit of talent, and it's like they get a premature orgasm.110% agree
Personally prefer that Porto shot...
I assume you're no big fan of Ashley Young, Nani and Ronaldo then.
All good players. Persistent divers at various points in their careers.
Love the header but there's two Ronaldo goals that are timeless, for me. The free kick v Portsmouth and the 40 yarder v Porto. Both were just completely unique strikes.
Aye.
The Portsmouth freekick seemed to defy the laws of gravity, it was like my brain tripped out momentarily as I watched the flight of the ball.
It is absurd for Stelling to claim that Bales physicality sets him apart from Ronaldo, we all know that Ronaldo at least matches Bale in that department.
I do think that Bale is one of the best talents on world football. I would bet that every 'superclub' in Europe would take him in a heartbeat. The fact is that he will never get the respect as a player to match his talent until he plays for one of those superclub, he needs an elite platform.
For me, Santi Cazorla is an elite talent but whilst he plays for clubs like Arsenal and Malaga he will never get the recognition to match his ability.
I don't know. Does Bale stand apart from the rest on a technical level? For me, he's a quality wide player who has an eye for goal but I think someone like Hazard or Mata have much more potential than him. Or from what I hear, the likes of Gotze.
I see him more in the bracket of players like Gerrard eventually rather than an Henry, Xavi, Pirlo etc Gerrard has been a fine and effective player but he can't influence games like the others can/could.
You're talking nonsense. Seriously one of the worst posts I've read for ages.
Lloris IS quite a big improvement on Friedel. Dembele is the best replacement for Modric they could have got for that price. Who else is there? Willian for 30 million +? Yeah right...
Spurs are 100% nailed on for a top 4 finish, just like last year.
I think that he will be immense at a top club, especially at United. I also think that he does have great technique with his left foot. I don't think that he is too dissimilar to Ronaldo in the that department. I am not saying that he will be top 3 in the world but I do feel that top 10 is possible for him.
Spurs finished 4th last year, they are on target to better that achievement this year. They sold a key player in Modric, replaced him adequately, made a healthy profit and are in arguably a better position. Both points you've made are complete rubbish.
Nonsense posts and rubbish points.
How is Lloris a big improvement? Was Friedel doing badly? I didn't question his purchase. I merely mentioned that it doesn't make a difference to them in the league this season.
Willian is not a CM. They were interested in Moutinho, who is a good CM, and Levy left it too late in order to squeeze the last penny out of the deal. Dembele is a decent replacement at best.
100% nailed on for a top four finish? Preposterous! As ridiculous a statement as any.
Good job making a profit. Congratulations to Levy and Spurs.
They have 4 tough games coming up and their main striker is missing due to an injury. The other one hasn't returned from Afcon and is not even interested in performing this season. His only major contribution this term has been a stupid red card against Spurs fiercest rivals.
Even the most delusional Spurs fan will admit that it is tough road ahead to the 4th spot.
But don't let logic and facts come in the way of a good "nonsense, rubbish" rant.
Gotta back up forevergiggs here. How on Earth is Lloris a BIG improvement on Friedel? He's a good signing because of his age compared to the American but he's not a better keeper at this point.
As for "nailed on" to finish top 4... wtf? Or "on target to BETTER their 4th place finish from last season"... Wow!!
Crazy posts.
As for "nailed on" to finish top 4... wtf? Or "on target to BETTER their 4th place finish from last season"... Wow!!
Crazy posts.
Right then. Lets look at this Ronaldo/Bale subject a bit deeper shall we.
Bales in his best season to date for Spurs having score 11 goals so far. So lets break that down and look at the stats to see where that puts Bale in comparison to Ronnie.
So if we look at the above, you can see that Bale is pretty much matching Ronnies stats. Naturally he isn't anywhere near Ronnie in the 07/08 Season when Ronnie was on a different plane of awesomeness. But he's matching Ronnies 3rd best season with us, now these stats are slightly misleading as Ronnies is through the entire season, while Bale's is of course only half way through the season. For all we know the goals might dry up, alternatively we might be seeing the turning point for Bale and he's simply gone up a gear in his footballing ability.
So far he's matching Ronnies goals count in his breakthrough season (06/07). Except he's a huge distance behind on assists, but we must also remember that as good as Bale is, he is only as good as the players around him. There's no doubting his stats would be far better at a team like United, with actual strikers! Question is, how much better could they be?
I watch a lot of Spurs and I think the one argument you could put against Bale is he has a tendency to drift out of games. This season however he's remained a threat throughout the game, especially in the last month or two. Would he improve United? Of course he would! Between Nani/Valencia and Young they've got a combined 1 goal in the Premiership this season! They do have 12 assists of course, but then you wonder just how many assists Bale would get with Rooney/RvP to aim at. Rather than an average Defoe and a past it Adebayor.
Bales in his best season to date for Spurs having score 11 goals so far. So lets break that down and look at the stats to see where that puts Bale in comparison to Ronnie.
Code:
[B]Season Age Player Goals Assists MPG Mins[/B]
07/08 22/23 Ronaldo 31 8 89 2746
08/09 23/24 Ronaldo 18 6 153 2747
06/07 21/22 Ronaldo 17 17 163 2779
12/13 23 Bale 11 4 167 1841
05/06 20/21 Ronaldo 9 7 254 2285
11/12 22 Bale 10 14 322 3216
10/11 21 Bale 7 2 350 2447
03/04 18/19 Ronaldo 4 4 390 1559
04/05 19/20 Ronaldo 5 5 485 2424
09/10 20 Bale 3 5 571 1713
[I]*MPG = Minute per goal[/I]So if we look at the above, you can see that Bale is pretty much matching Ronnies stats. Naturally he isn't anywhere near Ronnie in the 07/08 Season when Ronnie was on a different plane of awesomeness. But he's matching Ronnies 3rd best season with us, now these stats are slightly misleading as Ronnies is through the entire season, while Bale's is of course only half way through the season. For all we know the goals might dry up, alternatively we might be seeing the turning point for Bale and he's simply gone up a gear in his footballing ability.
So far he's matching Ronnies goals count in his breakthrough season (06/07). Except he's a huge distance behind on assists, but we must also remember that as good as Bale is, he is only as good as the players around him. There's no doubting his stats would be far better at a team like United, with actual strikers! Question is, how much better could they be?
I watch a lot of Spurs and I think the one argument you could put against Bale is he has a tendency to drift out of games. This season however he's remained a threat throughout the game, especially in the last month or two. Would he improve United? Of course he would! Between Nani/Valencia and Young they've got a combined 1 goal in the Premiership this season! They do have 12 assists of course, but then you wonder just how many assists Bale would get with Rooney/RvP to aim at. Rather than an average Defoe and a past it Adebayor.
Where Mata and Hazard are potentially more skillful in tight ball control areas, Bale beats them both in sheer acceleration and top end pace - that is something you cannot learn.
At times tight introcate passing be very difficult to stop, but that can be shut out with clever marking. Somebody who can literally blaze passed you then smash the ball into the net is invaluable really; exactly the reason why Ronaldo/Messi are so important.
Sure they have other skills aswell though which seperates them from general pace whores, but i think bale has more in his locker than people give him credit.
He is definitely not on that standard yet, but he has shown improvement this year for sure.
If he can reach a consistent level of being able to beat players and finish it off with a great strike like against west brom, then we can talk.
He probably needs to be transformed into a striker type player though to reach maximum goal efficiency, you cannot score 30+ goals and be purely a winger.
What sets the like of Messi and Iniesta apart is their technical ability. It's harder to defend against that than pace and top end speed if you're comparing the two sides of the game. I'd say that crazy pace can be marked out of the game whereas technical class is much harder to.
If Hazard reaches his potential there's no doubt in my mind, he'll be a much better player than Bale.
I'm not saying technical ability is everything. For example, Ronaldo has been better than Iniesta over the years because while he's not as good technically in tight spaces, he compensates by his ridiculous efforts in the final third.
That completely depends on the scenario though doesnt it?
If bale is counter attacking from his own half into space, you would bet your money on him beating the defender and scoring. Iniesta or Xavi could not do that.
But sit deep and have a bank of 5 midfielders closing space, and bale will more than likely struggle, where as Iniesta / Xavi may be able to find that bit of space or a passs to open the defenders up.
To say that pace is easy to defend against is not right, its only possible if you have the correct tactics and are quick too.
Spurs have conceded just 8 goals in their last 13 league games (and just 4 goals in our last 9 league games), with Lloris in goal.
Of course that's not all down to Lloris, but neither do I think it's all just coincidence. In part at least it's due to his GK abilities and the confidence that transmits itself right across the back four.
I doubt if you'll find a single Spurs fan who doesn't see him as a significant upgrade on Friedel. I see him as possibly the most important signing we made since the end of last season.
He's the French No. 1 GK for a reason, and I said earlier he's at least as good as any other GK in the Prem.
Lloris has been better than I expected. He goes through these spells every now and again though, that's why he was linked with United and Milan at the beginning of his Lyon spell when he was unbeatable but ended up at Spurs after one or two slightly worse years. He's a very good keeper though.
Iniesta and Xavi are midfielder, of course you can't expect them to run with the ball for 50 odd yards and then finish.
For teams who sit back and against the likes of United and Barcelona most teams do that for 80% of the game, it's much easier to defend against someone like Bale.
Kudos to Bale for averaging over 50000 goals per game at the tender age of 20.
I have only justr realised that Bale is only 23. Thought he was closer to 26.
He has a lot of potential to be even better and he is currently one of the best wingers in the world. (not saying he is the best but he is up there in top 5 or 10 definitely)
If he does move I hope it isn't fuelled by money and that it is for footballing reasons. Real or United would be a good move for him. But I could see PSG going for him for the prices quoted. City are probably lookign at him as well
He has a lot of potential to be even better and he is currently one of the best wingers in the world. (not saying he is the best but he is up there in top 5 or 10 definitely)
If he does move I hope it isn't fuelled by money and that it is for footballing reasons. Real or United would be a good move for him. But I could see PSG going for him for the prices quoted. City are probably lookign at him as well
I agree the battle for 4th will be close.
But lets not forget Spurs also signed Vertonghen and as good as King was, he was finished as a player from Jan last season when he got injured, but had to continue playing.
Lloris is much more suited to playing a high line the Friedel. When they get Kaboul back (who is in my top 3 CBs in the Prem), then their defence will be very good. In fact it is already excellent but it's gone a bit under the radar.
The likes of Cheslea and Arsenal have better technical players, but Spurs have gone from being one of the most exciting attacking teams, to being a team that is very solid defensively and thus hard to beat. Since they had a man sent off and conceded 5 at Arsenal, they've played 13 games and conceded just 8 goals. A team that concedes so few will be hard to keep out of the top 4.
If you look at what will be the core of the center of their defensive set up for the run in, it will be Lloris, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Parker and Dembele. Bale and BAE are solid down the left. The only obvious weak spot is the right, but all in all, they have now got a very physical and aggressive team. I'd say they are like Stoke but with class. They have so many big, strong, physical players, but unlike Stoke, the Spurs players can play football as well.
Class talent.
City next season I think. Ridiculous money would be involved no doubt.
Would love him here but can't see it happening with Fergie's recent outrage at Levy
City next season I think. Ridiculous money would be involved no doubt.
Would love him here but can't see it happening with Fergie's recent outrage at Levy
Wouldn't be that surprising to see "Bale to City, $45m" in the off season. Certainly possible, depends on the coach next season I guess. Rafa would definitely go for it.
You think every good player is heading to City. So no surprises on that one.
Quality free kick.
Also, the cross almost immediately before it is the reason assist stats aren't the be all and end all. Delicious cross that deserved a goal.
Also, the cross almost immediately before it is the reason assist stats aren't the be all and end all. Delicious cross that deserved a goal.
Need Spurs to miss out CL football two years in a row to have any chance of him leaving rofl.
But hes quality. A left sided left footed winger who can drift in and be a game changer. Absolutely would love him in our red shirt.
But hes quality. A left sided left footed winger who can drift in and be a game changer. Absolutely would love him in our red shirt.
Yep him and Wilshire would be dream players here but we have next to no chance cause their respective price tags! Expect Bale to go to City or Chelsea depending where Jose Mourinho next perches up imo.
Real will bid for him when they sell Di Maria in the summer.
He's basically playing as a striker today. Starting much more advanced and centrally.
He's not bad for a one time left back.