Gareth Bale

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Sam said:
Do people seriously want to spend £100 odd million on Bale?

Everytime I see him at Madrid, he looks a good level or two below the technical level of every other attacking player. Its all good and well saying how well he was for Spurs, but if he can't cut it at the top level with Madrid, why should be want him? Unless we're basically admitting we can't get the top level players, and are going to pay a premium for the players a level or two below? (Which is basically what we're doing atm anyway)
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For a player without a lot of technique he's scored a decent amount of goals in a couple of seasons.

I'm not sure what people want. He may not be threading the ball through the eye of a needle, or completing millions of passes, but that isn't his game.

If given the ball he can open teams up with his running, can go past a player with pace and power and can score goals from distance. He did it consistently with Spurs taking the weight of carrying the side on his shoulders and he's been the difference in massive games for Madrid. If scoring the winning goal in a cup final in your first season isn't doing it at the top level I don't know what is.

As it stands he's in a side playing second fiddle to umpteen other players - not least Ronaldo. Playing for Real is about getting the best out of Ronaldo and to be fair to Bale playing front and centre back in a league where he has previously thrived is likely to suit him much better.

He may not be worth £100 million - I'm not sure any player is, big if seems the club may want to bring in a marquee player. They may therefore be happy to pay big. I'm sure other clubs will be if not.
 
MDFC Manager said:
People need to start realizing that our attack is often utter shite. Our defense and central midfield often get the cop and people think that area needs to be improved at a priority.

But look at our attack in the past 4 years. Barring one brilliant Van Persie season, it's been woeful. Far from being a league winning attacking unit. By signing a proven goalscoring attacking player, we can go a long way to improving our attack.
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Especially if we continue with the 433, where you need goals from the wide positions. A 20 goal winger is gold dust.
 
MDFC Manager said:
People need to start realizing that our attack is often utter shite. Our defense and central midfield often get the cop and people think that area needs to be improved at a priority.

But look at our attack in the past 4 years. Barring one brilliant Van Persie season, it's been woeful. Far from being a league winning attacking unit. By signing a proven goalscoring attacking player, we can go a long way to improving our attack.
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I think the reality is we haven't got a lot in the final third to frighten teams.

We've seen recently how easy it is for teams to set up with two banks of 4 (or more) and just defend. All we can then do is try and unpick teams by threading intricate passes through the middle which is incredibly hard to do.

The reason teams set up like the is because we can't attack with pace so it's easy for them.

We either need pace to get in behind teams on the break or to move the ball more quickly. Even with the latter you need pace out wide to stretch teams and get defender's backing off of moving side to side. It leaves more space in the middle. As it stands teams just defend deep and narrow against us knowing we're unlikely to get in behind.

Its about injecting pace into the attack and I thought Di Maria would do that. Perhaps he may next year, big for me that's what we need and Bale could do that.
 
Devil may care said:
I never said it had to be British talent, I was talking about top leagues, the Dutch league has deteriorated quite substantially since the players you listed played there.

The general impression that has been given is that the money for Bale is separate from the other additions, it's the marquee player the club wants, the rest are for the team building.
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Oh the Dutch league has been 'deteriorating' for decades. I can still remember the Italian journalists questioning our decision of breaking the bank for a defender who had never set foot out of Holland. Also we've had two marquee signings this year (Di Maria and Falcao). That didn't really worked well right?

Don't take me wrong. If Bale was 10-20m more than Depay than I'd say lets go for him. However we all know its not the case. Also we've got other, more pressing issues to tackle. Carrick won't last for long, we're playing right wingers as right back and we desperately need a quality defender.
 
RedRover said:
I think the reality is we haven't got a lot in the final third to frighten teams.

We've seen recently how easy it is for teams to set up with two banks of 4 (or more) and just defend. All we can then do is try and unpick teams by threading intricate passes through the middle which is incredibly hard to do.

The reason teams set up like the is because we can't attack with pace so it's easy for them.

We either need pace to get in behind teams on the break or to move the ball more quickly. Even with the latter you need pace out wide to stretch teams and get defender's backing off of moving side to side. It leaves more space in the middle. As it stands teams just defend deep and narrow against us knowing we're unlikely to get in behind.

Its about injecting pace into the attack and I thought Di Maria would do that. Perhaps he may next year, big for me that's what we need and Bale could do that.
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I believe that top priority next season should be to have players playing in their natural position. In my opinion we shouldn't play right wingers playing as right backs, Midfielders playing upfront and strikers playing in midfield etc. Our second top priority is finding Carrick's successor. When you consider our midfield (Herrera, Di Maria, Perriera etc) Id rather see us signing someone whose slightly more physical than Carrick and would give us the stability we need. Finally we need to add wingers who can score. Bale would be perfect however it will cost too much. Depay on the other hand offers better value for money.

If you ask me. Id recall Nani and Hernandez back (we'll get peanuts if we sell them), Id bring someone like Schneiderlin and Gundogan in midfield and add players like Coleman/Clyne/Darmian and Hummels at the back. Depay would be a great addition to our team as the boy has great technique and an eye to goal. If we can get Bale on relatively cheap (40-50m) than by all means we should get him. However we know it would be close to impossible to do so.
 
devilish said:
Oh the Dutch league has been 'deteriorating' for decades. I can still remember the Italian journalists questioning our decision of breaking the bank for a defender who had never set foot out of Holland. Also we've had two marquee signings this year (Di Maria and Falcao). That didn't really worked well right?

Don't take me wrong. If Bale was 10-20m more than Depay than I'd say lets go for him. However we all know its not the case. Also we've got other, more pressing issues to tackle. Carrick won't last for long, we're playing right wingers as right back and we desperately need a quality defender.
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We can sign more than one player you know..
 
united_99 said:
But thank God not all United fans think like that and I for sure hope we don't waste money on him, especially if he is unable to adapt to Ancelotti's more liberal system, he for sure won't fit at all into LvG's strict system.
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It doesn't matter what United fans (including myself) think - certainly not enough to thank God.
van Gaal's system has faults, in my opinion, if it can never exploit space behind defences or in front of the ball. I hope that this 80% football isn't the overall aim. But we'll see...
 
Sam said:
For all the 'He can be our Hazard/Sanchez' nonsense, the thing that makes both of those so good, is you can't read them. They can go left or right, they're unpredictable and both fantastic dribblers in tight spaces.

Bale is none of that. Just like all our other 'wingers', he's extremely one footed and easy to read. He's always going to go on his left basically. Yes, he can be effective if you set the team up around him, but thats not going to happen at United. What we need is a winger who is very two footed, can play in tight spaces, and can beat a man without needing space to run into. A peak Nani would be ideal tbh.
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Even though I would love Bale at United I kinda agree with what you're saying here. One thing that the Hazard's/Suárez'/Sanchez'/Torres' (when he first joined the league) have all attributed to them is that they are/were so damn unpredictable, not just relying on attributes such as pace. Although Bale had some of that during his last season for Tottenham I still struggle to see him replicate that if he is to join us.
 
devilish said:
I believe that top priority next season should be to have players playing in their natural position. In my opinion we shouldn't play right wingers playing as right backs, Midfielders playing upfront and strikers playing in midfield etc. Our second top priority is finding Carrick's successor. When you consider our midfield (Herrera, Di Maria, Perriera etc) Id rather see us signing someone whose slightly more physical than Carrick and would give us the stability we need. Finally we need to add wingers who can score. Bale would be perfect however it will cost too much. Depay on the other hand offers better value for money.

If you ask me. Id recall Nani and Hernandez back (we'll get peanuts if we sell them), Id bring someone like Schneiderlin and Gundogan in midfield and add players like Coleman/Clyne/Darmian and Hummels at the back. Depay would be a great addition to our team as the boy has great technique and an eye to goal. If we can get Bale on relatively cheap (40-50m) than by all means we should get him. However we know it would be close to impossible to do so.
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I agree with a lot of that. We have too many square pegs in round holes and that needs to be addressed and that should be the priority.

That being said, Bale is the kind of player who if he becomes available, the club may well see as a signing of intent and worth spending big on alongside the other players we need. It's documentented that they were prepared to pay a massive sumn for him before he went to Madrid, as much to make a statement as anything. I also think the De Gea situation is only likely to end one way - with him asking to go, and Bale may therefore be a more viable option than he might have been.
 
Moriarty said:
The way to beat teams who park the bus is to rip into them from the start. Don't give the defenders time to settle and hit balls over the top of them. Don't piss around for 30 minutes playing side-to-side stuff. Force the opposing manager to change his tactics on the fly. We used to play like this not too long ago. Remember when Kanchelskis and Giggs would torment defenders, or when Beckham, Scholes, and Giggs gave the opposition no time to think or get organised? We always had that bit more going forward and, what's more we could play this was for the full 90 more often than not.
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Sure an early goal would be ideal against a defensive team. But that team of ours never faced a team that parks the bus using top class players. Note im not talking about a defensive team that prioritizes defense first and then builds from it. But rather 'park the bus' teams that put 10 men behind the ball within 30 yards with no intention of playing other than to feed on our mistakes to spam a counter.
 
Much like Di Maria, he wouldn't suit the way we play at all. Isco on the other hand :drool:
 
Varun said:
Much like Di Maria, he wouldn't suit the way we play at all. Isco on the other hand :drool:
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Agree with this, Bale wouldn't be much use against teams that park the bus while we play possession football, he's more suited to a fast paced counter attacking team. Would be a waste of a lot of money in this system.
 
Randall Flagg said:
Di Maria had half of old Trafford to work with at times on Saturday. Bale would have destroyed that space (or whatever boss used to say)
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You could have 75% of OT to work with and it wouldn't matter when 10 players are camped in the 25% space that matters. The way we play now, Bale would be an epic waste of money. His strength is in running at players with pace suited to counterattacking teams like Madrid. Much like another left footer we spent loads on recently.

Our team and style is crying out for an attacking player that has an eye for a pass and can go past players without needing much space to do so. Bale isn't that player.
 
2mufc0 said:
Agree with this, Bale wouldn't be much use against teams that park the bus while we play possession football, he's more suited to a fast paced counter attacking team. Would be a waste of a lot of money in this system.
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aaaaaaaaaaggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!! :mad:
 
golden_blunder said:
yes it is, but we're seemingly not that constrained anymore. The money will be there for additional players
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People just need to look at the way we have been spending money lately and with the new kit deal I can see us spending more than we did last summer.
 
PlayerOne said:
People just need to look at the way we have been spending money lately and with the new kit deal I can see us spending more than we did last summer.
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exactly, we're not stuck in the "you've got 80 million to spend this summer" days anymore. we're minted.
 
golden_blunder said:
exactly, we're not stuck in the "you've got 80 million to spend this summer" days anymore. we're minted.
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your not making a lot of sense, even if we have 200m to spend, if we spend 80 on Bale that's less money for our other purchases, and in term of spending strategy can we afford to do that, we need two CMs, 1 RB and 1 winger.
I'd prefer to see us buy two '40m' center midfielders, than Bale at 80m.
 
Varun said:
Much like Di Maria, he wouldn't suit the way we play at all. Isco on the other hand :drool:
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The last thing we need is another Spanish midget.

I'm sure LVG said that our current side is not tall enough so i suspect we will be signing Crouch :smirk:
 
devilish said:
I believe that top priority next season should be to have players playing in their natural position. In my opinion we shouldn't play right wingers playing as right backs, Midfielders playing upfront and strikers playing in midfield etc. Our second top priority is finding Carrick's successor. When you consider our midfield (Herrera, Di Maria, Perriera etc) Id rather see us signing someone whose slightly more physical than Carrick and would give us the stability we need. Finally we need to add wingers who can score. Bale would be perfect however it will cost too much. Depay on the other hand offers better value for money.

If you ask me. Id recall Nani and Hernandez back (we'll get peanuts if we sell them), Id bring someone like Schneiderlin and Gundogan in midfield and add players like Coleman/Clyne/Darmian and Hummels at the back. Depay would be a great addition to our team as the boy has great technique and an eye to goal. If we can get Bale on relatively cheap (40-50m) than by all means we should get him. However we know it would be close to impossible to do so.
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I couldn't agree more with any of this (although I still think we could do well with finding an eventual Rooney replacement.) But playing players in their proper positions is a must, as far as I'm concerned.
 
I don't see why a hundred million is the fee that's being talked about? Madrid paid, what, 85ish? From Daniel Levy and from a club who didn't want to sell. Not only will his value have gone due to his performances not being at the lever they were at spurs, but also if Madrid don't want him anymore. We would be in a much stronger negotiating position then when Madrid signed him from Spurs. I wouldn't be surprised if 65-70m did the trick. And for a premier league proven, world class winger I would be all over that.
 
I really rate the player but it seems evident that he is in love with Madrid and his lifestyle over there.

I am tending to think that we go with the wild card in Depay.
 
devilish said:
Oh the Dutch league has been 'deteriorating' for decades. I can still remember the Italian journalists questioning our decision of breaking the bank for a defender who had never set foot out of Holland. Also we've had two marquee signings this year (Di Maria and Falcao). That didn't really worked well right?

Don't take me wrong. If Bale was 10-20m more than Depay than I'd say lets go for him. However we all know its not the case. Also we've got other, more pressing issues to tackle. Carrick won't last for long, we're playing right wingers as right back and we desperately need a quality defender.
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That doesn't matter, the club want big names and because Di Maria hasn't panned out it doesn't mean that will stop Woody going in for more high profile stars.

As I said Bale and the other deals are separate, buying him wouldn't mean missing out on a CM or CB.
 
Bale will never enjoy the freedom and respect he was accustomed to at Tottenham. Ronaldo is at the top of the hierarchy for the coming years and he (Bale) will have to accept his serving role. Surely, even he would at a certain point in time evaluate his career and question if thats the direction he wants to go in the coming years. Atleast at United, you will have fans that will accept you with open arms and create an unconditioned love/support for the player(s) that wear the famous red kit. Yes, every club undoubtedly has it's chunck of plastic fans, but showing a conditioned displeasure to a player that had a decisive role in conquering La Décima is quite appaling. Circumstances over there are like the weather, score a goal and you will be admired again. Judging his press statements he probably will fancy his chances to accept that challange.
 
I'm not sure he is enjoying things at Madrid as much as he claims to be.
Anyone would be affected by the criticism he is getting and the fans have booed him on occasion.
Whether Madrid would sell for less than what they got him for I don't know, but if we could get him for £70m I would go for it. The only potential issue is that he seems to be injured quite a lot. Perhaps that is a result of him bulking up a fair bit over the last year or so, I don't know - but he seems to get quite a few muscular injuries.
 
I'm unsure if we need another player who's world class one match then anonymous for the next few. I don't think Bale is anywhere near as bad as his criticism would suggest (except for last night) because they seem to be so hot and cold with their support over there, if Real aren't winning every game by 5 goals then they aren't happy. Would still love to see him in a United kit, but not really thinking it's gonna happen. Don't think he wants to leave Real or join United, and I don't think Real really want to sell for anything less than a staggering stack of cash, in which case wouldn't be worth it, he's got to want to be here or not bother coming at all IMO.
 
The fee is down to them daft sods. I reckon they only paid it because of clubs like PSG, City and the like. Some kinda statement like when they messed about with that picture in pre season to show more Madrid support. Unfortunately, if we want him we will have to follow their foolish lead. A fit Bale would be priceless and a better player at United. At Madrid, no matter what he does, he's playing a supporting role. He could and perhaps should have left after a season because I doubt it will get that good again for him.
 
golden_blunder said:
yes it is, but we're seemingly not that constrained anymore. The money will be there for additional players
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If that's the case than we should go for him. Dont ask me why but I have this funny feeling that fans will not keep reminding Bale of his transfer fee if he takes his time to settle down. Actually they wouldn't even mind if he keeps getting injured all the time like 30m Shaw does.
 
Devil may care said:
That doesn't matter, the club want big names and because Di Maria hasn't panned out it doesn't mean that will stop Woody going in for more high profile stars.

As I said Bale and the other deals are separate, buying him wouldn't mean missing out on a CM or CB.
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The club should only play the Galactico game once we've got a stable side. What's the point of having two 60m rated players when we keep playing wingers at the back, strikers in midfield and midfielders upfront? It sorts of reminds me of Robson's Middesbrough who had 3 quality players surrounded by mostly crap (not that our team is crap but you get the hint)
 
The Purley King said:
I'm not sure he is enjoying things at Madrid as much as he claims to be.
Anyone would be affected by the criticism he is getting and the fans have booed him on occasion.
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The British media is trying to make a bigger deal out of it than it really is. Very few players in that team have not been booed or jeered at some point, even Zidane and Ronaldo. Bale is no exception. Its a different culture. Like that man who attacked Bale, Jese and Ancelotti's car, the headlines in the British media was 'Fan attacks Bale's car'. Im sure the reports in Italy would have said 'Fan attacks Ancelotti's car'. Its understandable as the media is more interested in 'one of their own'. If he really is a childhood Real Madrid fan like he said he was then he knew exactly what he was getting into.
 
Nate Dogg said:
The last thing we need is another Spanish midget.

I'm sure LVG said that our current side is not tall enough so i suspect we will be signing Crouch :smirk:
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I'd argue that the first thing we need in the current setup is someone who has the creativity to break down packed defences.
 
JPRouve said:
your not making a lot of sense, even if we have 200m to spend, if we spend 80 on Bale that's less money for our other purchases, and in term of spending strategy can we afford to do that, we need two CMs, 1 RB and 1 winger.
I'd prefer to see us buy two '40m' center midfielders, than Bale at 80m.
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the point im making is that we dont have a set budget, it seems to be that they will try and get whoever the manager asks for
 
We still need to sort out our central midfield and defence. These two areas should be the priority regardless of whether we are offered Bale or not. He is an excellent player but one incapable to carrying a team on his own (the Welsh purple patch aside). Besides, it is high time United moved from investing in individual brilliance to investing in collective brilliance, the two of which may not necessarily equate.
 
golden_blunder said:
the point im making is that we dont have a set budget, it seems to be that they will try and get whoever the manager asks for
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We have a set budget, there is a reasonable limit set by the club. It's just not clearly stated.
 
Whether we have a budget or not if we sign Bale it HAS to be for less than what Madrid paid IMO.
He is not worth that fee, regardless of whether we can pay it or not, if he comes for that money, then the expectation levels are going to be VERY high for him and I'm not convinced he can handle having to be the Ronaldo of the EPL which is what would be expected.

Infact Real have a cheek to sell him for more than what they paid when he hasn't progressed since hes been there.
 
Ballache said:
you make a valid point, but we aren't. I don't think Bale fits with the Philosophy, and before people refer to Ribery and Robben, they are miles ahead when it comes to operating in tight spaces.
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Oi, watch it. Ribery was cleared of all charges.
 
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