I already said Bale had a fantastic season which gave him his move to Madrid. He then has had to okish seasons. He was as much decisive in Madrid winning the CL as any other member in that team, so I don't get why you put him down as "assisting" Madrid in winning the la decima. He was average in the final, taking potshots from distance. It was Ramos who scored the equalizer in the dying minutes of the game. Extra time killed Atletico off after the kind of season they had.
Its not a clear cut as you make out, Bale on top form is unbelievable and unplayable but we may never see that top form until he steps out of the circus that is Madrid and joins a club that makes use of his full abilities.
You say that Bale gets freedom yet when you watch that's not what you see. I see a player that should be a star of a side but is left in the shadow of Ronaldo. For example, even something small like free kicks where bale is miles better than Ronaldo and yet because of Ronaldos ego he still takes them all. Ronaldo is also the player that is granted the most freedom in that front line and effectively plays like a second striker. I agree Bale is allowed to do little defensive work but I still wouldn't call that a free role. To get a real example of what I mean you just need to watch him for Wales because every time he sets foot in that red shirt he plays like he's a world beater and to me that shows the problems lie in Madrid not with the player.
Actually its probably the opposite. Anyone who watches bale for his club side regularly wouldn't include him in their top 10's, but those who only watch him for Wales but rarely for Madrid, only looking at stats and just remembering him at spurs would put him in. He has a huge reputation, but in reality, he hasn't been one of the top 10 players ever, apart from during the 12/13 season with spurs.
Bale in top form has been seen for one season so far, before he moved to Madrid. If that is what you are basing on, then even then he was not unplayable. He has a terrific shot and exceptional pace. But he is not the best dribbler or someone who will split open a defense with a single pass. He is a very good player but people go overboard in his praise based on one very good season for Spurs 2 years back.
Nail on head. He needs a free role to be at his best. Impossible to give him that role in a team which has Ronaldo. And he is a good winger but not so special that he would command that sort of fee.
fecking Moyes put all his eggs in one basket that summer, we had no second choice when Bale decided he wanted to go to Madrid, which was always going to happen. Moyes would have been better prepared for the job if he'd played Football Manager for a season and managed United. At least have some* experience with a big club then.
Because he's sick and tired of the warm weather.
This year he will get what he wants,play behind the striker and sometimes on the left so we will see if he has the conditions,if not I would sell him
Here's hoping he fails then
I love how United fans simply ignore how Madrid fans feel about bale. I rate him as a quality player. But his lacklustre time at Madrid does put up questions marks. No matter how much people overhype his season with Spurs, top players have to keep proving themselves over and over again. And In that sense, I think it's important for bale to stay at Madrid and win the fans over through performances. There's simply no reason for him to do badly in such a magnificent attaining team.
Seriously. It's incredible how overboard people go when talking about Bale. He was world class in 12/13, nobody is denying that, but even then you could argue Suarez, Van Persie and Mata were at a similar level, the difference being RvP and Mata actually achieved their goals for that season instead of finishing 5th and winning nothing. Other then that, what has Bale done? He was simply a very good winger the year before that, and before that he was an inconsistent youngster at best. Since his move to Madrid, he had a good first year (but many Madrid fans were still disappointed with his performances even if the goals masked them), and then a poor second year.
There is no way you could say he is top 10 right now if you watched him regularly last season. Just no way. Ignore his 5 games a year for Wales, we're just talking about club performances. Also ignore what he did 2-3 years ago. He's just nowhere close. Like Spoony said, he's only ever had one great season, the rest have been very good, or good, or shite like his last season.
Those stats look made up. Or they are selective to prove your point.
Why? Because it happened 1 season in a completely different league to the one he is now, in a team built around him, 2/3 years ago? Pretty obvious I thought. So because he had one world class season in his life, that is his level for the rest of his career? As for international teams... It's really not, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski regularly looked like some of the best players in the world during world cups and euros when we all know they were anything but that.
