Bale's right foot

[Jules77]

On the face of it it's ludicrous to criticize the guy and i've bitten my tongue on this for a while.... But... I just wish he'd have a little more confidence in striking a ball with his right foot if the need arises. I think it's the case in 2, maybe 3 games so far this year that he's missed a decent chance by electing to take a more awkward left footed shot.

Obviously his left foot has kept us in games and this isn't some 'bale is shit' post. He's my fav player. but just cos he's a legend, doesn't mean we should not talk about improvements he could make.

 

[whitelightwhiteheat]

I thought this was going to be a trailer for a new film.

 

[mil1lion]

Have you seen how left footed Robben and Messi are though? Maybe it's because he's on the left and those 2 usually play on the right, which favours goalscoring. But then we get the great crosses from Bale from the left which you wouldn't get so much on the right.

He did score a good goal v Chelsea with his right though, so should have a bit more faith in it.

 

[whitelightwhiteheat]

They should remake My Left Foot for Bale. Make it a bit more up-lifting and about football.

Not sure Daniel Day Lewis would want to be in it. Not sure if he'd win an oscar for it?! Who knows!

 

[ERO]

I agree 100 % with the poster. Which is a shame, as it really makes my post worthless.

Bale is godish, but he lacks a right foot, or faith in it.

 

[whitelightwhiteheat]

Have you seen how left footed Robben and Messi are though? Maybe it's because he's on the left and those 2 usually play on the right, which favours goalscoring. But then we get the great crosses from Bale from the left which you wouldn't get so much on the right.

He did score a good goal v Chelsea with his right though, so should have a bit more faith in it.

Wonder if there are posts on the Barca forum saying similar things about Messi.

"That Messi... he's so one footed... it's terrible!!!"

 

[nferno]

everyone has an achilles heel :wink:

 

[Jules77]

Wonder if there are posts on the Barca forum saying similar things about Messi.

"That Messi... he's so one footed... it's terrible!!!"

yes of course you can ridicule the point.. I am not doubting how good or valuable a player he is.. just wish he'd show a little more on the right - he has in the past.

versus Man City really good chance second half (almost open goal) - that was on his right i think... Chance when we were 1-0 up this weekend when he elected to go outside of left rather than with his right... Clearance in our box in the same game - went with outside of left foot and it skewed off for a corner (similar, although under more pressure, to BAE's 'clearance' today which lead to WB's first)...

 

[whitelightwhiteheat]

yes of course you can ridicule the point.. I am not doubting how good or valuable a player he is.. just wish he'd show a little more on the right - he has in the past.

versus Man City really good chance second half (almost open goal) - that was on his right i think... Chance when we were 1-0 up this weekend when he elected to go outside of left rather than with his right... Clearance in our box in the same game - went with outside of left foot and it skewed off for a corner (similar, although under more pressure, to BAE's 'clearance' today which lead to WB's first)...

I didn't mean to come across as ridiculing, that's not my intention. I agree with you as it happens, it's frustrating (the miss against Man City/West Brom saturday, as you rightly say)

But the boy is 21. He hasn't even played regularly in the top flight for a whole year yet. He will get better. (He might still miss more often than he should with his right foot down the years, but there are plenty of players who will do the same).

The benefits will far outweight the negatives at the end of the day. That's what will matter.

 

[spurdownunder]

Bah, I love Bale's right foot. It's for balance allowing his sexual left foot to work unimaginable magic.

much manlove for the Bale

 

[agrdavidsfan]

He has a good right foot 2 trust I've seen it close up but I think hes just scared of making a mistake do he's using his left all the time

 

[Kingellesar]

Lennon was the same a few seasons ago, tended to go on his right foot more, but he now has more confidence with his left. Bale scored with his right against Chelsea, so he can do it.

I think this season it will be frustrating as he will shy away or attempt with his right foot and it will go wrong but hopefully he can gain the confidence and improve his ability.

 

[ShelfSide18]

He certainly can use his right foot well, the goal at Chelsea being the obvious one and I remember him hitting a sweet volley on his right too. His left foot is sheer weaponry though, and maybe he just has so much confidence in it he will take on awkward shots with it - because he can?

 

[Jules77]

yeah, that crossed my mind also.. almost an overconfidence in his left. If that is the case then great, the coaching staff should be able to sort it out. And they need to, because he gets into far too many great positions to not take the highest percentage option (rather than what he considers to be the highest percentage option).

in a way it's comforting to think there is something fairly basic he can work on to progress even from the level he is at right now!

 

[Jules77]

I didn't mean to come across as ridiculing, that's not my intention. I agree with you as it happens, it's frustrating (the miss against Man City/West Brom saturday, as you rightly say)

But the boy is 21. He hasn't even played regularly in the top flight for a whole year yet. He will get better. (He might still miss more often than he should with his right foot down the years, but there are plenty of players who will do the same).

The benefits will far outweight the negatives at the end of the day. That's what will matter.

agreed

 

[ShelfSide18]

It's no biggie to be honest, and I don't think he looks at all like those genuinely one footed players who always have to turn back onto their right foot, I just think in the last few games he had the time and absolute confidence in his left, today for instance he had so much time to get inside the ball. If you look at Berbas goal this weekend technically it was on for his left foot but he stroked it home, and he is genuinely both footed.

Every player is different I suppose, I personally have more power in my right foot but more accuracy in my left. I just think Bale has a dizzyingly good left boot. I'm not comparing Bale and me by the way, he's got a long way to go yet...

 

[Jules77]

It's no biggie to be honest, and I don't think he looks at all like those genuinely one footed players who always have to turn back onto their right foot, I just think in the last few games he had the time and absolute confidence in his left, today for instance he had so much time to get inside the ball. If you look at Berbas goal this weekend technically it was on for his left foot but he stroked it home, and he is genuinely both footed.

Every player is different I suppose, I personally have more power in my right foot but more accuracy in my left. I just think Bale has a dizzyingly good left boot. I'm not comparing Bale and me by the way, he's got a long way to go yet...

I agree, with that shot tonight, he did the right thing with the time he had, just it was another example (mb a bad one, but certainly an in-your-face move against his right foot).

Against WBA his position was much more acute than Berba's that's all that lends me to think his right would have been better.

 

[Twizzle]

didn't his goal of the year (so far) come from his right foot, that volley that hit the top corner of the net

 

[spurdownunder]

didn't his goal of the year (so far) come from his right foot, that volley that hit the top corner of the net

V Stoke?

Nah, that was his sweet lefty

 

[spurdownunder]

He certainly can use his right foot well, the goal at Chelsea being the obvious one and I remember him hitting a sweet volley on his right too. His left foot is sheer weaponry though, and maybe he just has so much confidence in it he will take on awkward shots with it - because he can?

Yep, the right footed goal v Chavski proves his right peg if for more than just standing on.