Ratings v Twente

[BorisTM]

Bale was so wasteful - many of his dribbles, many of his crosses. Bassong, BAE, King and Huddlestone had much better game than Bale did.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Disagree re Waddle and Bale. Waddle is still probably the most exciting player I saw at Spurs. His last season he was quite unbelievable (after Hoddle left, but before Lineker came sadly), winning any number of games almost single handidly. The demolition of Aston Villa and Paul McGrath in particular still springs to mind. No wonder Marseilles paid all that money for him. Not to say Bale can't match that. But Waddle at his best was a wondrous sight - 2 footed and in the air, and a mean free kick too - Bale's the closest I've seen since though...

But how many games has Bale won for us already ? Would we have won Wednesday without his contribution ? Would we have got a point in Bremen without his contribution ? Already he is our most important creative player.

Wingers are a unique species aren't they ? Bale is more direct than players like Waddle and Ginola, very powerful and fast. His end product can be erratic but for 21 it's pretty damn good. There are few positions on a football field that entertain like a winger, but you always have to accept their foibles don't you ?

The thing with Bale is you have the potential to get a bit more team dynamism out of him as well as just as much creativity as the likes of Waddle gave you.

 

[stemark44]

Disagree re Waddle and Bale. Waddle is still probably the most exciting player I saw at Spurs. His last season he was quite unbelievable (after Hoddle left, but before Lineker came sadly), winning any number of games almost single handidly. The demolition of Aston Villa and Paul McGrath in particular still springs to mind. No wonder Marseilles paid all that money for him. Not to say Bale can't match that. But Waddle at his best was a wondrous sight - 2 footed and in the air, and a mean free kick too - Bale's the closest I've seen since though...

Totally agree,Waddle was incredible,especially that last season when he was untouchable.
After returning from Marseille where he was voted as the second best Marseille player of the century,he was voted the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year in 1993 playing for Sheff Utd.
What a player!

 

[BringBack_leGin]

The Ardiles/Modric comparison is a good one. Very similar players. But VDV is nothing like Hoddle. I have really not seen a player like Hoddle since. Platini was the only player who was close that I can think of.

I have, to this day, never seen a player who could pass a ball with the vision and finesse of Hoddle.

I think Bale is more exciting than Waddle to be honest.

You older boys have a use after all then :wink:

I want a Hoddle :-(. Extensive though the clips might be, and descriptive though my father and others who saw the great man are about him, it's still not enough.

Waddle too actually. I remember him most from the season he won player of the year with Sheffield Wednesday, but for Spurs, I'm too young.

Ah wel, at least I got Ginola.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

This may not seem like the most flattering comparison in the macho world of football but watching Hoddle was probably the closest you'll ever see on a football pitch to watching a ballet. He just moved with a flowing grace, he had this air of superiority about him. You can get an idea of this if you watch the clips but to watch him week after week you just knew you were watching one of the the most talented footballers to ever kick a ball. Five times better than Beckham ever was and ten times better than Huddlestone ever will be.

But even after saying all that, Ardiles has always been my favourite player. Ardiles was like the Iniesta of his day. Constantly moving, seeing all angles, craft, intelligence and industry. It wasn't Mario Kempes that won the WC for Argentina it was Ardiles.

 

[whitelightwhiteheat]

Wingers tend to look "wasteful" - not sure if people's expectations are a little high. Every dribble, every cross, every shot is NOT going to end up as a goal. That goes for Bale, Messi, C. Ronaldo. Whoever.

Bale is 20 and is already very effective at what he does. Just imagine, he WILL get better with age. How frightening is that for right backs up and down the country and throughout Europe? And it's piss-your-pants exciting for Spurs fans. He already looks like one of the best young players in the world and he will improve on that. Great!

I just wish we had more of him. Another two or three players who cover as much ground as he does and at that pace. He's a nightmare for defenders to deal with for many reasons.

And being Welsh I just love to hear "It's just a shame he's not English!" every time there's a discussion about the boy. Funny stuff. It's like Giggs all over again, except he's better than Giggs (in my opinion anyway).

 

[Damian99]

But how many games has Bale won for us already ? Would we have won Wednesday without his contribution ? Would we have got a point in Bremen without his contribution ? Already he is our most important creative player.

Wingers are a unique species aren't they ? Bale is more direct than players like Waddle and Ginola, very powerful and fast. His end product can be erratic but for 21 it's pretty damn good. There are few positions on a football field that entertain like a winger, but you always have to accept their foibles don't you ?

The thing with Bale is you have the potential to get a bit more team dynamism out of him as well as just as much creativity as the likes of Waddle gave you.

He's got plenty to do before he can even be mentioned in the same breathe as Chris Waddle, as good as Bale is.

 

[Bobishism]

Bale was so wasteful - many of his dribbles, many of his crosses. Bassong, BAE, King and Huddlestone had much better game than Bale did.

Agree. Decision making is an area Bale needs to improve on.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

This may not seem like the most flattering comparison in the macho world of football but watching Hoddle was probably the closest you'll ever see on a football pitch to watching a ballet. He just moved with a flowing grace, he had this air of superiority about him. You can get an idea of this if you watch the clips but to watch him week after week you just knew you were watching one of the the most talented footballers to ever kick a ball. Five times better than Beckham ever was and ten times better than Huddlestone ever will be.

But even after saying all that, Ardiles has always been my favourite player. Ardiles was like the Iniesta of his day. Constantly moving, seeing all angles, craft, intelligence and industry. It wasn't Mario Kempes that won the WC for Argentina it was Ardiles.

I just read your description to my dad, he simply agreed. Things like this make me resent my youth!

 

[steve]

But how many games has Bale won for us already ? Would we have won Wednesday without his contribution ? Would we have got a point in Bremen without his contribution ? Already he is our most important creative player.

Wingers are a unique species aren't they ? Bale is more direct than players like Waddle and Ginola, very powerful and fast. His end product can be erratic but for 21 it's pretty damn good. There are few positions on a football field that entertain like a winger, but you always have to accept their foibles don't you ?

The thing with Bale is you have the potential to get a bit more team dynamism out of him as well as just as much creativity as the likes of Waddle gave you.

Bale is playing mostly with much better players than Waddle did in that last season. He really was the heartbeat of the side put in top performance after top performance (I remember him tearing Stuart Pearce a new one when we beat Forest away) and was gutted when we sold him. I still maintain to this day that if he'd have stayed the next season we could've won the title with him, Gazza and Lineker in the same side. We certainly would've gone close.

Bale's so young and so good that by the time he reaches his peak he could outstrip Waddle. I just hope he's still at Spurs.