Gareth Bale follows a long list of technically gifted Tottenham players such as Gazza, Chris Waddle and Glenn Hoddle, having the ability to excite the crowd every time the ball is at his talented feet. He really has been nothing short of exceptional this season, almost single-handedly keeping Tottenham amongst the sides battling for one of the “must have” Champions League spots. Quite simply without him, I am very confident that Spurs would be 7th or 8th in the Premiership – he really is that vital to his team’s results.
I know he cannot do it all alone, but he’s the type of player who produces the goods when you most need him. That makes all the difference at the top level. Bale joined his current side, Spurs, in 2007 from the amazingly productive Southampton Academy (who also produced Arsenal’s Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain) for around 5million plus possible add-ons. For all intents and purposes, that is looking to be an extremely sweet deal for the folks at White Hart Lane.
Since arriving, he has consistently (for the most part) been a top drawer player for Spurs and deservedly won PFA Player of the year 2010-2011, voted on by fellow players – a very well respected award. To be honest, he was absolutely outstanding that season. Known for having a cultured left foot that can deliver pinpoint crosses on a regular basis to waiting strikers, Bale is also capable of spanking 30 yard free kicks that flies into the onion bag, giving the keeper no chance. He’s very quick, and seemingly glides past opposing players with ease. This makes him a very dangerous player that teams need to try to keep quiet and limit space for the full 90 minutes – easier said than done. When he gets in and around the final 3rd he normally produces quality balls in the box or shots on goal.
As a Gunner’s fan, please understand how I’m writing this diatribe through gritted teeth. It’s taken everything in me to give due respect when earned in this case as Mr. Bale has definitely earned the accolades despite playing in the wrong part of North London. He has provided consistent performances of the highest level week in and week out (*shudder* – that was hard to write). This season has been far and away his most successful scoring period as he already has 15 goals, most of which are the spectacular kind rather than 2-yard tap- ins. Of course he still has plenty of time to increase this number before the season finishes, which I have no doubt he will do.
Now back to how good Bale is…
What is NOT is a Messi or Ronaldo, but in fairness very few are (actually, none are). Okay, a very unfair comparison! But still, at only 23 he has lots of time. He really looks capable of knocking on the door of the world’s top players in the very near future if he carries on playing in his currently lethal form. The main worry for Spurs fans must be whether they keep hold of him – which brings me to why he’s making current headlines.
Big clubs like Real Madrid have been consistently linked, surrounding him like feeding sharks. The key to keeping him must be for Champion’s League football next season, but even that might not be enough as it’s very hard to turn down one the world’s most glamorous football teams when they come calling. Bale plays his international football for Wales, which sadly makes it very unlikely (like Ryan Giggs) he will ever get the chance to grace the highest stage of football in the Euros or the World cup finals.
Case in point, just as I write this, Bale just scored twice more making it 17 goals for the season, after a 2-1 win against Newcastle. Both were tremendous strikes, by the way! The first was a ferociously stroked 25yard free kick giving the keeper no chance, the other a quality controlled finish between the keepers legs, once again showing just how important he is to the current Tottenham team.
Back to the original question, which still needs answering; is Gareth Bale top class or over-hyped? In my opinion he is a high quality footballer that can become one of top 10 players playing today. So for me, and remember I am a very strong Arsenal supporter, he is top class.
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