Bale as a striker until Summer?

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

Bottom line is he scores stacks of goals. I'd say that was good for a striker.

But he scores those goals playing in midfield. Why change?

 

[vegassd]

If you play Bale as a striker it makes him easier to mark out of the game. The opposing CB's and CM's will be constantly aware of the threat.His crossing ability goes out of the game and his pace becomes less important.

Playing him on the wing with a free license means that he is less predictable and harder to pick up. Letting him and Lennon switch means the opposing wide men need to be aware of different threats.

Allowing the entire front 4 to stay fluid gives the entire opposing back line countless problems - and this is where Ade + Holtby rather than Defoe + Dempsey could be the missing piece of the puzzle.

Bale is our best player and I think that a striker's role would actually limit him. Let him do what he has been doing for the past few games.

 

[RichSpur58]

It's a team sport and Bales abilities are best used from an attacking midfield position rather than with his back to goal IMO.

I think he will play in the hole, so he wont have his back to goal. More like he VDV role, which I think would suit him and gets him more involved than being out wide.

 

[idontgetit]

He would score more goals as a striker than any other player anyone on here wanted to spend over £20m on in the summer. But he's not a striker apparently

 

[tobi]

All strikers go missing. The reason is because they are the furthest up the pitch, so will see less of the ball if the team isnt playing well.

Bale would never be an out and out striker, but would play in the whole with the license to find space.

BTW Ronaldo never gets frustrated and shoots, he shoots on site. Someting Bale has learned to do too.

Yes strikers go missing but those end to be poachers, the other types of strikers that can bring others into play (or create space for others) may not always play well but at least they are involved and contribute.

Ronaldo has outstanding off the ball movement but his team mates are key. Marcelo is excellent at exploiting the space Ronaldo leaves/creates and the centre backs have to focus on the striker (Benzema/Higuain) and to a lesser extent Ozil.

The problem with playing Ronaldo (and Bale) a sa striker is that he doesn't know to be the reference point for the team and doesn't want to be either. That's why he struggles and gets frustrated and I've seen him do that whenever he has to fill in, especially when playing for Portugal and when Real are up against a good defence. Pace isn't everything if you (and your team mates) don't know how to use it.

 

[Mullers]

Bottom line is he scores stacks of goals. I'd say that was good for a striker.

How comes Defoe get's such a hard time then? He's scored 14 goals and Bale has scored 13 goals. Anyway bottom line is he should start on the left, he is the only player we have that can give us genuine width there.

 

[Gassin's finest]

He can fill in there, as Andre told us this morning in the papers. He did against Norwich and WBA to good effect. But if we have a striker available, like Adebayor hopefully will be if he's not too 'tired', the poor lamb, then there's no need to resort to it.

Simply play your best players in their best positions.

 

[RichSpur58]

I think Bale has everything to be a top striker. I guess we will have to watch this space.

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

He would score more goals as a striker than any other player anyone on here wanted to spend over £20m on in the summer. But he's not a striker apparently

Ha! Where is your evidence for this?

Just because he scores goals from midfield doesn't mean it would work the same higher up the pitch. It is a totally different role playing as a striker than it is a winger or attacking midfielder with space in front of you.

 

[MarkyP]

Think he is better playing from the wing / through the middle, allowing him to build up a head of steam running with the ball at defenders, making them scared to challange him / having others pull centre halves out of position with movement to open them up for his runs.

Would most likely have to play on the shoulder as an out and out forward to utilise pace, not really a 'hold up' type of player. In doing that I think we lose his best attributes.

 

[The Apprentice]

He plays where he wants, he plays where he wants, Gareth Bale, he plays where he wants.

 

[bugsdad]

I remember Tom Finney. He was the best winger of his era together with Mathews. Finney was also a top rate striker . Mathews however could only play on the wing. Bale like Finney and Ronaldo is as effctive playing through the middle. Not as a lone striker, holding up , laying off and challenging high balls cleared from defence, but rather running through the center like he has done recently just as Finney and Ronaldo do. It will be a nightmare for defences as by swapping positions like this it will make marking of him even more difficult. Much prefer him taking on this kind of role then swapping wings.

 

[BillyWhizz]

Lets just leave him in the free role AVB seems to have given him recently and let him carry on causing havoc its worked well so far.

 

[Nocando]

Lets just leave him in the free role AVB seems to have given him recently and let him carry on causing havoc its worked well so far.

Pah surely the fans know best. Come on AVB you should ignore anything you've learnt and listen to the fans when they say he plays on the left...

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

Case in point - the goals he scored against Norwich recently wouldn't have happened if he was playing a striker. Similarly the hat trick against Inter. Bale is at his best when he has space to run into not when he has his back to goal in tight areas of the pitch.

 

[Nocando]

Case in point - the goals he scored against Norwich recently wouldn't have happened if he was playing a striker. Similarly the hat trick against Inter. Bale is at his best when he has space to run into not when he has his back to goal in tight areas of the pitch.

Impossible to tell. Wingers can find themselves just as, if not more restricted (hence why he likes to wonder).

Personally I don't think it's clear cut. Fans love to have a yes no answer and to be honest I think there are times he should play on the wing and there's times when he can play upfront or as a floating player. I don't think there's a clear cut right or wrong answer (hence my annoyance at fans when they demand something by singing stupid songs).

 

[Zammo]

It's not his best position in my opinion, but it's required that he has to fill in there then so be it. It's not natural to him though so I'd expect him to continually drop into midfield leaving us strikerless at times.

 

[Spurs1960]

But he scores those goals playing in midfield. Why change?

Because he scores a lot more as a striker. You maximise your assets.

 

[Spurs1960]

How comes Defoe get's such a hard time then? He's scored 14 goals and Bale has scored 13 goals. Anyway bottom line is he should start on the left, he is the only player we have that can give us genuine width there.

Defoe gets a hard time because he should score more. Despite all the crosses we put across the 6 yard box he hasn't scored a single goal from them, simply because he never attacks the box. He has scored 1 goal from close against Newcastle in the first game of the season.

As for Bale starting on the left I agree with you.

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

Because he scores a lot more as a striker. You maximise your assets.

Again, where is your evidence for this? He has never played as a striker for us.

You are basing your assumption on how many goals he has scored from midfield.

It's like saying if we play a centreback in midfield we would conceded less goals. This of course is not true. Centreback and centre mid are a totally different position as are winger and striker. Bale is effective right now due to the space he has in front of him. If you play him as the fulcrum of the attack he loses that effectiveness as there is less space to operate in and he will end up playing with his back to goal!