Bale's biggest problem is playing without spaces. It makes him look very vulgar/clumsy. Also, his extremely high price tag and wages don't help. Many madrid fans here are calling for him to be benched/sold.
Gareth Bale
- Thread starter sun_tzu
- Start date
- Status
He'd be fecked in our system then.
Spot on.
Falcao was phenomenal - he isn't any more. Physically he's just not the same player. I'm sure the mind is willing but the body just doesn't seem to be able. I also think the physicality of the PL - where defenders are always strong and physical even if they're not much in terms of ability, makes it tougher for him. He's not shoving people all over like he was in Spain.
Nether factor is relevant with Bale. Physically he's as fit and strong as they come and he's already done it over here consistently.
The Madrid fans I know are having enough with him, not only is his output underwhelming but also his general performances seem to be average at best. Wait until the end of the season and bid 45 mill. for him
Absolutely crazy and stupid paying that kind of money on a single player. Good player but not the answer to our problem. I'm not even sure where we'd play him?
"Pathetic" that a player is out of form...
What the hell? I'm guessing you've never really seen Falcao play that much before this season...? I'm not denying that the physicality of the PL might be a factor in his underperforming (in addition, of course, to his own physical decline which you outlined), but at no point in his career was he ever "shoving people all over".Yeah, I exaggerate too much.
How marketable is gareth bale? I'd imagine him being quite marketable given he is british and was one of the premier leagues stars. Because in the long run unless he improves the technical side of his game, I see nothing other than that keeping him from being sold.
The technical standards and madrid and barca are simply higher than anywhere in england and that makes him less relevant.
With regards to us, again it depends on how we want to play. If eere playing possession football then signing bale makes little sense.
This is why I kept saying that rvp and suarez were better than him when he won the pfa. They had the goals but also immense technical quality.
Bale is still up there. He is a top top player but either he has to improve his technical game or he scores like a striker needs to or he simply moves to a more suitable club.
The technical standards and madrid and barca are simply higher than anywhere in england and that makes him less relevant.
With regards to us, again it depends on how we want to play. If eere playing possession football then signing bale makes little sense.
This is why I kept saying that rvp and suarez were better than him when he won the pfa. They had the goals but also immense technical quality.
Bale is still up there. He is a top top player but either he has to improve his technical game or he scores like a striker needs to or he simply moves to a more suitable club.
Also it's not like ronaldo doesn't stink up the place with his overall game but he is the main goalscorer so it matters less. Bale isnt the main guy. He is supplying ronaldo more often than not. His overall game will be scrutinized even more.
To be fair, one major thing we lack in our attack is wide play, as well as players who are willing to have a bit of greed in their game and take shots when they have the ball.
Bale certainly does that, and yes it would be great to have him here. But at the same time, do you honestly think van Gaal will change his approach and "philosophy" to build a team around him? Do you honestly think we will get the most out of him? Maybe under a different manager I reckon we could see the best out of Bale, but in this one he would be suppressed too easily. Not sure how people can say he would bang in 25 goals easily a season when all our strikers have struggled to reach 10, and they're considered some of the best in the league.
Bale certainly does that, and yes it would be great to have him here. But at the same time, do you honestly think van Gaal will change his approach and "philosophy" to build a team around him? Do you honestly think we will get the most out of him? Maybe under a different manager I reckon we could see the best out of Bale, but in this one he would be suppressed too easily. Not sure how people can say he would bang in 25 goals easily a season when all our strikers have struggled to reach 10, and they're considered some of the best in the league.
The minute Bale loses his pace he'll be next to useless. He would also look totally out of place in a possession based set up.
Spending anything like £60 million + on him would be utter madness.
Spending anything like £60 million + on him would be utter madness.
Van Gaals proven he's prepared to carry players up front, with the proviso that they will create a bit of magic. He's also tried to use Di Maria on quick breaks. Bale would be perfect for this.
He might not have the best allround game, but in his last season in the league he was unstoppable.
We'd be fools to pay alot for him tho. - he's not marketable for Real, only performs well when he's the main man and the fans are on his back. Perez would negotiate. The hard part might be Bale himself, it sounds like he wants to prove himself over there / fail one more season.
At united he'd be the main man and are next big marketable Brit.
He might not have the best allround game, but in his last season in the league he was unstoppable.
We'd be fools to pay alot for him tho. - he's not marketable for Real, only performs well when he's the main man and the fans are on his back. Perez would negotiate. The hard part might be Bale himself, it sounds like he wants to prove himself over there / fail one more season.
At united he'd be the main man and are next big marketable Brit.
Last thing we need is another big name player that doesn't fit the system.
He was a physical player who could hold the ball up as well as do everything else. He wasn't outmuscled. Against Chelsea in the Super Cup the other year he gave the centre backs nightmares - like Torres used to with Vidic in his prime.
You can be a "physical" player without being six feet four. He didn't have great pace and used his strength to good effect. As such he could lead the line well.
Last edited:
I'm pretty sure Villas Boas' set up was possession based. They were often as tedious as us, and they seemed to pass quite a bit for the sake of it too. They weren't possession based to the same extent, but then I don't think the level of emphasis we currently give to possession is going to work in the long run anyway.
Tbf there are much more spaces in the PL.
You could say the same about Di Maria, and Robben, and a lot of other players. I'd still have quality like that in my side.
A lot said that about Ryan Giggs as well. Frankly there are few players who are any good at the top level when their legs go.
Even if it was the case he's a player who clearly looks after himself. He might be a great player for the next decade.
Would love him to play for us. He is what I would call a traditional United type player. Him together with AdM back in form would be fantastic.
We need to change our style to get the best out of him - however this is something we should do anyway.
We need to change our style to get the best out of him - however this is something we should do anyway.
He would be great for us at LWB if LVG wants to pursue that sort of formation, or at left wing obviously in a 433 or 4231 type formation
Ryan Giggs played at a high level well into his 30's - quality players can adapt to different roles - and Bale is a quality player
erm... on the wing? think he'd be a slight improvement over Young or Janujaz
I'd take him. He'd add pace & goals which is what we badly need. Don't particulalry care about the cost. If we get him, we can afford him. I doubt it'll harm our attempts at other signings this summer.
That was what Im alluding to. The original post suggested that once a quick player loses his pace then that's it. It might be the case - but it also may not. Better players adapt, and a lot of them still have a lot to offer.
Not to mention, the quality of the training and treatment players get these day - his pace might last a lot longer that it might have any way.
Don't want. Even when he was at Spurs he always struck me as a one trick pony who just used his speed to run into space. When he started being denied that space by right-backs he changed sides and started coming inside from the right and shooting from distance instead. It often worked for him but you can't rely on a guy to get 20+ goals a season from distance and I don't think he has that much more to his game. I'd much prefer we went for someone with more technical ability. Someone less easily stifled and less predictable.
Huh? He got 31 in his last season at Spurs.
I mentioned this a few posts back when someone likened him to Robben. He is not a great dribbler.
I don't even get the issue regarding 'playing without space'.
There is always space in the Premier League. Week in-week out the better teams are creating counter-attacking opportunities and three versus two situations. That's the nature of this league. Teams will always have to push up and attempt to play at some point.
He scored every type of goal during that season. Do people have the same worries about Di Maria? Because I'm not seeing better dribbling or close control from him than Bale's capable of. And at least Bale has goals in him.
There is always space in the Premier League. Week in-week out the better teams are creating counter-attacking opportunities and three versus two situations. That's the nature of this league. Teams will always have to push up and attempt to play at some point.
He scored every type of goal during that season. Do people have the same worries about Di Maria? Because I'm not seeing better dribbling or close control from him than Bale's capable of. And at least Bale has goals in him.
Last edited:
I used to be in the whole 'lacks technical ability' boat when it came to Bale, but not anymore. I've watched wonderfully talented players like Kagawa and Mata struggle to play at their best here and seen enough to know that a crafty first touch isn't the be all and end all.
Bale may not be very skillful and he mightn't be the most comfortable player in and around a tight space, but he puts the ball in the net and has pace and power to burn. We need more of that in the side and if he's ever available we should blow the competition out of the water as best we can.
We're crying out for a player like Bale in the side.
Bale may not be very skillful and he mightn't be the most comfortable player in and around a tight space, but he puts the ball in the net and has pace and power to burn. We need more of that in the side and if he's ever available we should blow the competition out of the water as best we can.
We're crying out for a player like Bale in the side.
And, anyway, when was the last time one of our midfielders got anywhere near that?
We're crying out for a pacey attacking player and people think Bale wouldn't fit?
One of the things which has made Wilson look so promising when he's played is his ability to run in behind with pace, Bale would provide that level of pace in more ways than that and y'know, does it all on an extremely good level. Bale screams a United player and would be sensational for us.
One of the things which has made Wilson look so promising when he's played is his ability to run in behind with pace, Bale would provide that level of pace in more ways than that and y'know, does it all on an extremely good level. Bale screams a United player and would be sensational for us.
I kind of agree, but I also agree this is all hypothetical while LVG is around. I'd love to see a break from all the complicated, slow posession stuff - a direct athletic player would be great. But it ain't gonna happen under LVG.
We said pretty much the exact same about Di Maria though, but look what LvG did to him under our current system. Obviously Bale has the advantage of having played in the PL previously but I'd still be wary of spending so much money on the type of player LvG struggles to get remotely close to the best out of due to our style of football.
What type of attacking player should we sign, then?
If we base our transfer strategy on the idea who don't sign anyone who is stylistically comparable with an under-performing player already in our squad we're not going to be able to sign anyone!
Last time we had a midfielder with goalscoring ability like Bale.
We obviously need players in the mould of Bale, because we're so fecking slow right now, but Bale himself is something I'm unsure of due to the enormous fee. I'd much rather take a 20-30m punt on someone like Depay. I just don't really trust LvG with massive amounts right now. He's actually done way better with cheaper players like Blind and Rojo.
I agree that we need that power and pace.
But for the bit in bold: The funny thing is - some of his goals that season (and maybe even before) involved killing the ball with one touch (in a congested area) and smashing it into the goal with his second. Plus, there are only so many times you need to dribble nimbly around challenges.
The area of the pitch that he really operates in is about power and explosiveness more than perfect footwork. Suarez, Costa and Aguero aren't exactly the cleanest technically. It's their explosiveness that really sets them apart.
van Persie can still do it in 'tight spaces', but that explosiveness/power isn't there, and unsurprisingly he's not the same player.
Give Bale that same freedom he had at Tottenham (instead of what I imagine is a restricted role at Madrid) and he'd be amazing. Don't stick him on the wing; give him the freedom to roam and do damage.
I'm not particularly bothered about a forward who can play in tight spaces. What we need is that explosive forward who can burst past defenders, anticipate the loose balls quicker than them, and score goals.
Last edited:
Please take him. He's half the player on the right and he's not getting any minutes on the left side as long as Ronaldo is here.
I thought we all expected Di Maria to play in the middle, where when he has played imo he's been alright, even brilliant in flashes, not out on the wing. Bale is the opposite, he's a proper wing-forward-striker nonsense thing. Feck knows what the footy hipsters call positions nowadays.
True, but a bit part of Di Maria's game was his ability to break quickly with the ball and run and beat players with his pace. I'd say a key difference with him and Bale is that Di Maria uses that ability to then create chances whereas Bale is all about putting them away himself. Either way I think the point about LvG's system nullifying the pace and dribbling Di Maria has in his locker (to an extent, that is, because obviously Di Maria takes blame here too) could also have a negative effect on bale.
For the record, I'd love Bale here, he's great and screams a Utd player to me, just ... not really under this current system.
- Status