Krafty
Well-Known Member
- May 26, 2004
- 4,780
- 2,108
Gareth Bale is a fantastic player but as his ability to produce goals and assists increases, so does his tendency to frustrate us fans. Bale needed to move away from the left flank if he was going to move his game on to the ‘world class’ level, but now he needs to move upfront for our sake as much as his.
Bale could play for any team in the world. Those naysayers who did not recognise the progress the Welshman made last season, those who said he had a fine six months and nothing more, have been made to eat their words. His end product is there in the nine goals and eight assists in the league this season – and anyone who has caught more than highlights of Spurs this season will know he has created many, many more chances than those eight assists would suggest.
He has become the focal point of the Spurs attack, even the Tottenham team as a whole as others have loss form and fitness. With the brighter spotlight though has come a bigger ego. It would be wrong to say Bale is arrogant, or particularly selfish, but as Bale’s star has rose so has his feeling of responsibility and need to be involved in Tottenham’s attacks, and only their attacks.
He couldn’t spend his life on the left wing, where teams could neutralise him if they doubled or tripled up on him, but Bale’s wandering sees the team’s shape go to pot. The team becomes narrow, the centre becomes congested, Benoit Assou-Ekotto finds no outlet for balls up the line, Modric cannot find the space to operate nor can he link up with Bale down the left channel. Van der Vaart either gets shunted to the right or finds his space behind the striker encroached.
As we apparently can’t play 4-4-2 anymore (if only there was some guy who could give instructions to the players that would enable them to adapt to most if not all formations) and to allow Bale to roam, we play with one striker and either van der Vaart coming in from the right or forced to play deeper. Problem there is that when Bale does get the ball and put a cross in, we lack numbers in the box.
Then in defence, well, Bale doesn’t do defence anymore. He is all about attack, he is about scoring and creating and making a difference. He is about headlines, and he is one of the reasons, not the only one by a long shot, but one of the reasons we are so open.
Bale doesn’t track back most of the time, and when he does defend he is more interested in the opposing full back – only coming deep if the full back is getting forward, otherwise he is eyeing up the space he will attack on the counter. He leaves Benny one on one, leaves the central midfielders to deal with their counterparts, even if they are outnumbered.
In isolation there is nothing wrong with this, but in a team with a lacklustre Modric, players like Lennon and van der Vaart who aren’t that interested in getting behind the ball at the best of times, offensive and often overrun full backs, and a creaking centre defence, Bale’s detachment from the defensive unit merely compounds our problems.
The answer is simple. Gareth Bale is not a full back. Gareth Bale is not a wing back. Gareth Bale is someone you only play on the left side of a four man midfield if you expect to completely dominate. Gareth Bale is no longer a left winger who can play left midfield, he is a left winger who can play upfront.
When we play 3 forwards, he plays nominally on the left. When we go with two upfront he is the man who runs the channels, looks for balls over the top, comes deep, turns and runs. He creates, he scores. And when we play one upfront, maybe with VDV behind, he is that lone striker.
He has blistering pace, he is strong in the air, he can beat players on the outside and the inside, when he wants to be he can be physically strong, he can smack the ball with his left, and his right isn’t too bad. He will make runs, look to score, and has the stamina to keep doing it all game long.
When we talk about the need for a top class striker, could Bale be the answer? Imagine a forward line of him and Adebayor – pace, power, technical ability, and plenty of goal threat. In a way, it is similar to the evolution of Lionel Messi: from the wing to the centre. And if he isn’t going to get back to help the team defend, play him in a position where we don’t need him to come back.
Another plus point is that with his ability he could play with Adebayor; he would bring the physical and aerial attributes that would make him a good partner for Defoe; he has the technical ability and pace to link up with van der Vaart.
Playing as a striker doesn’t stop him coming wide onto the left and ripping apart a full back, but he is playing (and talking) as if he is a player in the same vein as Ronaldo or Messi and the sooner the team is setup to accommodate this the more solid we will look.
The obvious question is who plays left midfield but there are options – Kranjcar, Pienaar, Townsend (next season), Rose, Lennon at a push, and we could always dip into the transfer market. It will be easier and cheaper to find a hard working left sided midfielder than the twenty goal-a-season striker Bale will become.
Bale could play for any team in the world. Those naysayers who did not recognise the progress the Welshman made last season, those who said he had a fine six months and nothing more, have been made to eat their words. His end product is there in the nine goals and eight assists in the league this season – and anyone who has caught more than highlights of Spurs this season will know he has created many, many more chances than those eight assists would suggest.
He has become the focal point of the Spurs attack, even the Tottenham team as a whole as others have loss form and fitness. With the brighter spotlight though has come a bigger ego. It would be wrong to say Bale is arrogant, or particularly selfish, but as Bale’s star has rose so has his feeling of responsibility and need to be involved in Tottenham’s attacks, and only their attacks.
He couldn’t spend his life on the left wing, where teams could neutralise him if they doubled or tripled up on him, but Bale’s wandering sees the team’s shape go to pot. The team becomes narrow, the centre becomes congested, Benoit Assou-Ekotto finds no outlet for balls up the line, Modric cannot find the space to operate nor can he link up with Bale down the left channel. Van der Vaart either gets shunted to the right or finds his space behind the striker encroached.
As we apparently can’t play 4-4-2 anymore (if only there was some guy who could give instructions to the players that would enable them to adapt to most if not all formations) and to allow Bale to roam, we play with one striker and either van der Vaart coming in from the right or forced to play deeper. Problem there is that when Bale does get the ball and put a cross in, we lack numbers in the box.
Then in defence, well, Bale doesn’t do defence anymore. He is all about attack, he is about scoring and creating and making a difference. He is about headlines, and he is one of the reasons, not the only one by a long shot, but one of the reasons we are so open.
Bale doesn’t track back most of the time, and when he does defend he is more interested in the opposing full back – only coming deep if the full back is getting forward, otherwise he is eyeing up the space he will attack on the counter. He leaves Benny one on one, leaves the central midfielders to deal with their counterparts, even if they are outnumbered.
In isolation there is nothing wrong with this, but in a team with a lacklustre Modric, players like Lennon and van der Vaart who aren’t that interested in getting behind the ball at the best of times, offensive and often overrun full backs, and a creaking centre defence, Bale’s detachment from the defensive unit merely compounds our problems.
The answer is simple. Gareth Bale is not a full back. Gareth Bale is not a wing back. Gareth Bale is someone you only play on the left side of a four man midfield if you expect to completely dominate. Gareth Bale is no longer a left winger who can play left midfield, he is a left winger who can play upfront.
When we play 3 forwards, he plays nominally on the left. When we go with two upfront he is the man who runs the channels, looks for balls over the top, comes deep, turns and runs. He creates, he scores. And when we play one upfront, maybe with VDV behind, he is that lone striker.
He has blistering pace, he is strong in the air, he can beat players on the outside and the inside, when he wants to be he can be physically strong, he can smack the ball with his left, and his right isn’t too bad. He will make runs, look to score, and has the stamina to keep doing it all game long.
When we talk about the need for a top class striker, could Bale be the answer? Imagine a forward line of him and Adebayor – pace, power, technical ability, and plenty of goal threat. In a way, it is similar to the evolution of Lionel Messi: from the wing to the centre. And if he isn’t going to get back to help the team defend, play him in a position where we don’t need him to come back.
Another plus point is that with his ability he could play with Adebayor; he would bring the physical and aerial attributes that would make him a good partner for Defoe; he has the technical ability and pace to link up with van der Vaart.
Playing as a striker doesn’t stop him coming wide onto the left and ripping apart a full back, but he is playing (and talking) as if he is a player in the same vein as Ronaldo or Messi and the sooner the team is setup to accommodate this the more solid we will look.
The obvious question is who plays left midfield but there are options – Kranjcar, Pienaar, Townsend (next season), Rose, Lennon at a push, and we could always dip into the transfer market. It will be easier and cheaper to find a hard working left sided midfielder than the twenty goal-a-season striker Bale will become.
