Gareth Bale

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And just to compare apples with apples, Di Maria's most productive season ever for Madrid resulted in 17 assists and 4 goals in the league.

Going off whoscored.com (where I got those stats) Bale actually has 13 goals and 9 assists this season.

21 vs 22 goals scored/created.

In the previous season, when Bale and Di Maria were in the same team, he racked up 15 goals and 12 assists. A total of 27 goals scored/created.
 
justboy68 said:
He's direct alright. Direct as a straight line, as that's the only direction he can run with a ball.

On a serious note though he could be a very good player for us for the right price. His long range shooting ability is actually something that could help us against teams who park the bus. Obviously he would be a huge asset if we ever need to counter attack again. I'm just hoping dearly that we don't get completely ripped off by Madrid. We paid £15-20 million too much for Di Maria in my opinion (a player who was significantly more successful at Real) and with some of the figures spouted we could be looking at £25-30 million over the odds for Bale if Woody doesn't play his cards right. I know some say they don't care about transfer fees but that extra £30 million could be another promising Depay like signing and god knows our team still needs improvements in many areas.
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When it comes to the worlds best players "playing your cards right" involves begging, convincing, bending over to every request etc etc as thats exactly what rivals for his signature will be doing! We would be in no position to do anything but say yes yes yes! Otherwise he'll rock up at City or Chelsea.....
 
Pogue Mahone said:
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Not sure it's quite fair to compare their end product stats to compare seasons... Hazard would get loads more if he played in an attacking team like Madrid and not Mourinho's Chelsea (and anyways, he had 20 goals and I think 16 assists in his last season for Lille). That is the main thing about Bale though, he might not be excellent technically but he is a productive player for sure, and it's something we have lacked. I criticize him a lot and don't really want us to spend anything over 50m on him if we go for him, but he would definitely improve our play in the last third where we have too often this season just turned back and kept possession. In general, I don't think many people have criticized his end product until recently anyways, it's his general play that leaves a lot to be desired.
 
bosnian_red said:
Not sure it's quite fair to compare their end product stats to compare seasons... Hazard would get loads more if he played in an attacking team like Madrid and not Mourinho's Chelsea (and anyways, he had 20 goals and I think 16 assists in his last season for Lille). That is the main thing about Bale though, he might not be excellent technically but he is a productive player for sure, and it's something we have lacked. I criticize him a lot and don't really want us to spend anything over 50m on him if we go for him, but he would definitely improve our play in the last third where we have too often this season just turned back and kept possession. In general, I don't think many people have criticized his end product until recently anyways, it's his general play that leaves a lot to be desired.
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See above for a fairer comparison (with Di Maria)
 
There is no way we are going to get him for around 50m. Madrid aren't going to take an almost 50m loss on him. Thats just cuckoo talk. We are getting him he is going to cost around 70-80m.
 
RedorDead21 said:
When it comes to the worlds best players "playing your cards right" involves begging, convincing, bending over to every request etc etc as thats exactly what rivals for his signature will be doing! We would be in no position to do anything but say yes yes yes! Otherwise he'll rock up at City or Chelsea.....
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Yeah for the worlds best players, but I don't see many clubs doing that over Bale, certainly none of the big teams outside the Premier League will be interested. We should be in a strong position if we want him. I guess it will come down to how serious Chelsea are as don't City have FFP worries?
 
amolbhatia100 said:
Totally understandable given Madrid fans have been on his back all season. There seems to be an exaggerated reaction every time things don't come off for him. I understand that for 85 million you expect someone who doesn't look out of place technically at times, but it all seems very excessive.
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This 100%, he didn't have his best ever game, but the fans and media are jumping at every little thing he does. Its been this way all season, something I find rather bizarre.
 
I would prefer that he is given another season. He is a great player and he is capable of playing much better than he did this season. Funnily enough he was applauded by fans after some of the chances he missed against Juventus (the header over the bar being one of them). That said, I would be lying if I said that I was not disappointed with him this season, especially after last year. He was very good in the 2nd half of the campaign and I really enjoyed watching him (some of the goals he scores and the dribbles/runs he goes on are incredible). I expected him to build on what he did last year but sadly that did not happen.
 
RDCR07 said:
There is no way we are going to get him for around 50m. Madrid aren't going to take an almost 50m loss on him. Thats just cuckoo talk. We are getting him he is going to cost around 70-80m.
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Madrid do live in cuckoo land though and they hardly need money.
 
Hernandez - BFA said:
I genuinely question people's footballing judgement when they don't believe Bale would improve us by n-fold.
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He'd improve us of course, but we already have Di Maria (who was better then him last season), Mata, Januzaj, now Depay, Young and potentially Nani as wing options. That's 2 players who had a world class reputation like Bale, 2 as the most promising young wingers in the world, and then Young and Nani who can be very useful on their day. The question has to be asked, how much of an improvement would he be, or should we just hope that Di Maria finds his form again next season (a reasonable hope as well, considering many players struggle in their first seasons in the prem).

Also, for the price he'd likely cost, we would probably be able to bring in like Vidal and Reus (if we really wanted a winger), or any 2 world class players in other positions. Players that are better then Bale and probably more suited to a possession game and suit our needs more at the moment.
 
Raul Madrid said:
I would prefer that he is given another season. He is a great player and he is capable of playing much better than he did this season. Funnily enough he was applauded by fans after some of the chances he missed against Juventus (the header over the bar being one of them). That said, I would be lying if I said that I was not disappointed with him this season, especially after last season. He was very good in the 2nd half of the season and I really enjoyed watching him (some of the goals he scores and the dribbles/runs he goes on are incredible). I expected him to build on what he did last year but sadly that did not happen.
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What's the consensus in Madrid about why he hasn't kicked on as hoped?
 
2 Neville's said:
I hope Bale comes here and proves the doubters wrong. Class act, seen him play in person multiple times, this myth that he is a one season wonder is ridiculous. Yes his main attribute is his pace but he's a good crosser, good in the air, great left foot and most of all he is direct, something we haven't had for years. He also put in some lovely long passes against Juve that went unnoticed and he was no worse than Ronaldo or Caf golden boy Pogba. I guess most people don't pay much attention to international football either but Bale's performances for club and country are miles apart, especially this season. In the past, I've seen him walk through a Modric, Rakitic, Kovacic midfield with ease, I've seen him bully defences as the main man and I've seen him single handedly raise the level of all the players around him, minus James Collins who's shite. He's dragged Wales to joint top of the qualifying group and we might even get to the Euros. I can guarantee we would be nowhere near if we took Bale out of the equation. He may not be a great 'technician' but he's bloody effective in what he can do.

I really do question the sanity of some fans who would turn down a proven premier league commodity because he 'may' have turned us down in the past. You could probably count on one hand the amount of players who would turn down Real Madrid for a transitioning Moyes led United. I could understand if people didn't want him because of the fee but to ascertain that Bale is an average footballer, one season wonder is bordering on Brendan Rodgers levels of player evaluation and that blokes a walking parody of a parody. Some players aren't suited for Spanish football and I think Bale is one of them. Bring him here and give him a free role and he'll bang in 25+. Football fans really are a fickle bunch.
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Top post.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
See above for a fairer comparison (with Di Maria)
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Yeah, pretty similar numbers, but you have to take into account that Bale is the final 3rd player along with Ronaldo and Benzema, while Di Maria played further back in midfield and did loads of work in the other 2 thirds of the pitch instead of just providing the final ball all the time. If your team needs a goal scorer, then it's a no brainer, Bale is a great goalscorer from wide positions. Di Maria has always been a better creator of chances though, and at his best impacts the game in the other parts of the pitch a lot more. Basically, Bale is capable of dragging smaller teams up because he'll always score goals, but Di Maria is capable of elevating top teams to the next level through all the work he puts in by linking the midfield to the attacking positions and his creativity, though he'll never score many goals.
 
bosnian_red said:
Yeah, pretty similar numbers, but you have to take into account that Bale is the final 3rd player along with Ronaldo and Benzema, while Di Maria played further back in midfield and did loads of work in the other 2 thirds of the pitch instead of just providing the final ball all the time. If your team needs a goal scorer, then it's a no brainer, Bale is a great goalscorer from wide positions. Di Maria has always been a better creator of chances though, and at his best impacts the game in the other parts of the pitch a lot more. Basically, Bale is capable of dragging smaller teams up because he'll always score goals, but Di Maria is capable of elevating top teams to the next level through all the work he puts in by linking the midfield to the attacking positions and his creativity, though he'll never score many goals.
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I'd agree with that assessment. I just hope we can see Di Maria get back to being that player. He's a shadow of himself at the moment.
 
2 Neville's said:
I hope Bale comes here and proves the doubters wrong. Class act, seen him play in person multiple times, this myth that he is a one season wonder is ridiculous. Yes his main attribute is his pace but he's a good crosser, good in the air, great left foot and most of all he is direct, something we haven't had for years. He also put in some lovely long passes against Juve that went unnoticed and he was no worse than Ronaldo or Caf golden boy Pogba. I guess most people don't pay much attention to international football either but Bale's performances for club and country are miles apart, especially this season. In the past, I've seen him walk through a Modric, Rakitic, Kovacic midfield with ease, I've seen him bully defences as the main man and I've seen him single handedly raise the level of all the players around him, minus James Collins who's shite. He's dragged Wales to joint top of the qualifying group and we might even get to the Euros. I can guarantee we would be nowhere near if we took Bale out of the equation. He may not be a great 'technician' but he's bloody effective in what he can do.

I really do question the sanity of some fans who would turn down a proven premier league commodity because he 'may' have turned us down in the past. You could probably count on one hand the amount of players who would turn down Real Madrid for a transitioning Moyes led United. I could understand if people didn't want him because of the fee but to ascertain that Bale is an average footballer, one season wonder is bordering on Brendan Rodgers levels of player evaluation and that blokes a walking parody of a parody. Some players aren't suited for Spanish football and I think Bale is one of them. Bring him here and give him a free role and he'll bang in 25+. Football fans really are a fickle bunch.
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I'm not sure it's worth giving somebody a free role and making him the main man when the most they've ever scored in a season was 26 goals in all comps... It's a good total, but it's not worth the sacrifices you have to make in the overall team with other players just to get him to get 25 goals when you can stick Rooney up top all season and he'll do that anyways (or at least before, might not be able to anymore). Depay doesn't have a free role at PSV yet he scored 28 goals. It's about the needs of the team, and Van Gaal won't buy Bale and then give him a free role and make the rest of the team revolve around him. He'd probably only do that for Messi and Ronaldo, and that's because they can bang in 50+ goals a season (huge difference).
 
Brwned said:
Which impressive performances are we talking about? There were two important goals in the finals but that's pretty much as far as it goes. A Madrid fan last year was saying that's the main criticism against him in fact:



In the CL final he was criticised by fans and pundits alike throughout the 90 minutes and if not for Ramos scoring the key goal in the game in the dying minutes, he would've been roundly criticised as being the main contributor to their profligacy in front of goal. He scored a tap-in which di Maria created on his own and that was it. That alone doesn't lift a performance from being wasteful to being very impressive. I suspect you're judging him based on his goals and watched very little of his "very impressive performances" last year.
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You suspect wrong. I watched a lot of himself year and was impressed regularly. Having moved to a big club under massive pressure and a huge price tag I was impressed by how he dealt with it. He played like he did at Spurs last year, without fear, and I think that's the sign of a good player.

He was the difference in the Cup Final when Ronaldo was out. He came up with a big goal when they needed it most.

In the Champions League final I thought he played well and was a threat.

You obviously don't rate him and thats fine. He's a player I like. I liked him at Spurs and I think he's as close to nailed on as possible to be a success if he comes back to the PL based on his skill set, physical attributes and history in the league. I think we're desperate for something different to inject change of pace, power and a goal threat into our side and think he's well capable of doing it.

In terms of what he's done in Madrid he's been brave enough to go there and try his hand in a pressure cooker environment. A lot of the stick he's getting from the fans I think is unfair. He's evidently struggling for confidence. Regardless, it doesn't make me rate him any less.
 
justboy68 said:
I'd agree with that assessment. I just hope we can see Di Maria get back to being that player. He's a shadow of himself at the moment.
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He needs to be more willing to take the physicality of the league. Too keen to go down on occlusion. He won't get that protection in the PL.
 
Raul Madrid said:
I would prefer that he is given another season. He is a great player and he is capable of playing much better than he did this season. Funnily enough he was applauded by fans after some of the chances he missed against Juventus (the header over the bar being one of them). That said, I would be lying if I said that I was not disappointed with him this season, especially after last year. He was very good in the 2nd half of the campaign and I really enjoyed watching him (some of the goals he scores and the dribbles/runs he goes on are incredible). I expected him to build on what he did last year but sadly that did not happen.
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Someone might have to get a GIF up but I'm pretty sure they were sarcastic clapping him.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
What's the consensus in Madrid about why he hasn't kicked on as hoped?
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There are a lot who believe that his lack of technical ability in comparison to other players in the team is making things difficult for him and that it is a disadvantage that he has when playing in the league and that this weakness is highlighted much more in La Liga than it would be in the Premier League, but the most commonly held opinion is that he needs the team built around him like he had at Tottenham with it being the only way to get the best out of him and that playing in Ronaldo's shadow is not helping. I guess that is true to an extent as every goal-getter would benefit from having the majority of the chances fall for them and having everything aimed at them but he showed that he could play at a high level consistently last year when being used similarly and playing second fiddle to Ronaldo so I do not see why he shouldn't be doing better than he is this campaign. His performances in general were better last year (ie decision making etc) IMO so he really is capable of playing better in almost every way (in terms of end product and general play) than he has shown this season. A lot of the criticism he has received is exaggerated but he certainly deserves some of it and he is capable of being better than he was this season (which he proved last year).
 
Raul Madrid said:
There are a lot who believe that his lack of technical ability in comparison to other players in the team is making things difficult for him and that it is a disadvantage that he has when playing in the league and that this weakness is highlighted much more in La Liga than it would be in the Premier League, but the most commonly held opinion is that he needs the team built around him like he had at Tottenham with it being the only way to get the best out of him and that playing in Ronaldo's shadow is not helping. I guess that is true to an extent as every goal-getter would benefit from having the majority of the chances fall for them and having everything aimed at them but he showed that he could play at a high level consistently last year when being used similarly and playing second fiddle to Ronaldo so I do not see why he shouldn't be doing better than he is this campaign. His performances in general were better last year (ie decision making etc) IMO so he really is capable of playing better in almost every way (in terms of end product and general play) than he has shown this season. A lot of the criticism he has received is exaggerated but he certainly deserves some of it and he is capable of being better than he was this season (which he proved last year).
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So would you say he was worth his money last year?
 
Wade3 said:
So would you say he was worth his money last year?
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I don't think he will ever justify that price tag but it is not something that I will hold against him. He was massively overpaid for (I would say that he was worth 40-50 million maximum). The only player off the top of my head that really justified such a ridiculous price in recent years is Ronaldo and he is an exceptional player and not one that comes around very often.
 
The rumour just wont go away. We dont want you Welsh one season wonder!!! At this point, i would take Cavani over him, would suit us much better. He scores 20+ goals in every season, people say he is shit. How shit must Bale be then?lol
 
Where would van Gaal play Bale?

LW: Young, Memphis, Di Maria
RW: Di Maria, Mata, Januzaj

We can't always bench one of Rooney/Bale/Di Maria because of their wages, therefore a player would need to leave. I don't think it will be Young since he's proven his worth as squad player. Di Maria is more likely (I still don't believe he will leave) if Bale is coming here. I don't think Di Maria will play in midfield next season either, he has a different skillset to what van Gaal wants from his midfielders and hasn't used him there in a while now. Therefore I don't think van Gaal is interested even if RM insist on selling him. The only realistic spot for him would be as a striker (which he doesn't suit van Gaal's profile of) and we'd see Rooney in midfield again since he's undroppable.

Especially if the transfer ban is true why would they sell their record transfer with 3 years left on his contract for a reduced price because of a form loss? Their players get boo'd all the time and they won't take more than a 10m loss (I personally don't think they'll take one at all tbf). That means he would cost 70m at least, meaning we've already spent 90m on 2 wingers, while we still need midfielders, defenders, a fullback and maybe a goalkeeper. I don't think we can afford all that in 1 transfer window.
He'd also be the 4th left footed winger (including Mata) and this would be too 'unbalanced' for van Gaal or mean the end of Januzaj (Memphis, Di Maria and Mata aren't old enough to decline soon).

For the price, and for what he offers (Memphis is direct and can score long range screamers too), I hope we stay away from him.
 
izec said:
The rumour just wont go away. We dont want you Welsh one season wonder!!! At this point, i would take Cavani over him, would suit us much better. He scores 20+ goals in every season, people say he is shit. How shit must Bale be then?lol
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One more addition to the striker's department would mean forced loan of Wilson while Bale could offer athleticism and goals from the wing where he wouldn't block any striker from playing.

You may not like him because of his face or whatever but wings should be always one of priorities in United.
 
NL Max said:
Where would van Gaal play Bale?

LW: Young, Memphis, Di Maria
RW: Di Maria, Mata, Januzaj

We can't always bench one of Rooney/Bale/Di Maria because of their wages, therefore a player would need to leave. I don't think it will be Young since he's proven his worth as squad player. Di Maria is more likely (I still don't believe he will leave) if Bale is coming here. I don't think Di Maria will play in midfield next season either, he has a different skillset to what van Gaal wants from his midfielders and hasn't used him there in a while now. Therefore I don't think van Gaal is interested even if RM insist on selling him. The only realistic spot for him would be as a striker (which he doesn't suit van Gaal's profile of) and we'd see Rooney in midfield again since he's undroppable.

Especially if the transfer ban is true why would they sell their record transfer with 3 years left on his contract for a reduced price because of a form loss? Their players get boo'd all the time and they won't take more than a 10m loss (I personally don't think they'll take one at all tbf). That means he would cost 70m at least, meaning we've already spent 90m on 2 wingers, while we still need midfielders, defenders, a fullback and maybe a goalkeeper. I don't think we can afford all that in 1 transfer window.
He'd also be the 4th left footed winger (including Mata) and this would be too 'unbalanced' for van Gaal or mean the end of Januzaj (Memphis, Di Maria and Mata aren't old enough to decline soon).

For the price, and for what he offers (Memphis is direct and can score long range screamers too), I hope we stay away from him.
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You just want that LW spot only for yourself aren't you ?

All points taken however Bale offers athleticism and goals... and Mata is more of a classic number 10 if i'm not mistaken. Young hitting his 30's and probably agreed for a reduced contract which should already tell you something.

Hope is in Januzaj while Di Maria and you of course are the most trusted options so far. Bale wouldn't be a bad idea especially when he's treated like he's treated in Madrid.
 
bosnian_red said:
The only players who will ever be worth that amount of money would be Ronaldo and Messi really.
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Neymar will be worth his monster fee too. Suarez as well in terms although he won't give them as many years as he could, he is worth the fee.
 
Anyone else bored of this transfer saga already?
 
I'm getting a little worried about these rumours. If he cost £30M ok - but why spend so much on one player who hasn't proven he's consistently good? Don't want us overpaying for Madrid's rejects - especially as they're trying, or going to try to low ball us over De Gea. Plus I think Bale wants to stay at least another season to prove people wrong.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
And just to compare apples with apples, Di Maria's most productive season ever for Madrid resulted in 17 assists and 4 goals in the league.

Going off whoscored.com (where I got those stats) Bale actually has 13 goals and 9 assists this season.

21 vs 22 goals scored/created.

In the previous season, when Bale and Di Maria were in the same team, he racked up 15 goals and 12 assists. A total of 27 goals scored/created.
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That's not a comparison of erm apples though. Di Maria contributed far far more in aspects other than the final third than bale who is mainly a final third player.
 
RedorDead21 said:
When it comes to the worlds best players "playing your cards right" involves begging, convincing, bending over to every request etc etc as thats exactly what rivals for his signature will be doing! We would be in no position to do anything but say yes yes yes! Otherwise he'll rock up at City or Chelsea.....
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:lol:
 
Bale should be left to regret the day he thought he was too good for the top English teams and went to Spain. We offer something that they never will - the opportunity and patience for a developing talent. Not that I ever was a great admirer of him. These players need to learn, unless they enjoy being cast aside after a year or two in the limelight.
 
Jazz said:
I'm getting a little worried about these rumours. If he cost £30M ok - but why spend so much on one player who hasn't proven he's consistently good? Don't want us overpaying for Madrid's rejects - especially as they're trying, or going to try to low ball us over De Gea. Plus I think Bale wants to stay at least another season to prove people wrong.
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Swap deals are almost fantasy but if negotiations would depend on De Gea's stay then it's a big and easy 'no' to Gareth Bale in United.

£30M would be a quite a steal for player in a peaking age...
 
Jazz said:
I'm getting a little worried about these rumours. If he cost £30M ok - but why spend so much on one player who hasn't proven he's consistently good? Don't want us overpaying for Madrid's rejects - especially as they're trying, or going to try to low ball us over De Gea. Plus I think Bale wants to stay at least another season to prove people wrong.
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£30m for Bale? They're not gonna take a massive hit on Bale Jazz. He's worth way more than that anyway - just not £85m that Real paid for him..

Bale would be outstanding for us & if the club want to spunk a ton of dough on him - so be it..

Bring it on, but bring all the priority signings in too!
 
Van Piorsing said:
You just want that LW spot only for yourself aren't you ?

All points taken however Bale offers athleticism and goals... and Mata is more of a classic number 10 if i'm not mistaken. Young hitting his 30's and probably agreed for a reduced contract which should already tell you something.

Hope is in Januzaj while Di Maria and you of course are the most trusted options so far. Bale wouldn't be a bad idea especially when he's treated like he's treated in Madrid.
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The reason why I don't think we should go for him is because, well it's a pretty reasonable expectation to think Di Maria will be loads better next season, and he has had a reasonably productive season this year. So we'll already either have Mata in midfield as the 10, or fighting with Di Maria out on the right, along with Januzaj who I expect to have a much better year next season as well and show he is still one of the best youngsters around.

So 3 players fighting it out for the right wing position. If they're all on top form, we have 2 players who are more talented and arguably better for our team then Bale could be, and Januzaj. So why spend 100m on something when if we just have a bit of patience with what we have then we'd be just as good, or better? Not to mention that for the left wing we'll have NL max come into the team like you say, and then Young being reliable as a squad player, and Januzaj/Di Maria both being capable of filling in on the left if need be. Worst case scenario is that Depay flops, Young goes back to his previous self, Januzaj turns out to be a one season wonder, Mata makes no impact on the wing and Di Maria doesn't adapt at all to Van Gaal's style and then we're left with pretty much nothing, and only then would it make sense to buy Bale. Doubt that will happen though as we are well stocked now with Memphis in quality, pace, goals, defensive work rate and the right mix of ages.
 
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