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Player Watch: Gareth Bale - Retires

George94

George94

George
Feb 1, 2015
3,691
19,520
Archibald&Crooks said:
Sancho is the fly in the United ointment. If they sign Bale they are effectively writing off Sancho for two or three years because either one isn't going to be that cheap but both at the same time would be a king size commitment. I feel it's possible United will take the view that even if they had to wait a year for Sancho, given his age and all that, it would be a better investment, which fits with what they are currently doing.

Total guess of course :D But that's what i'm pinning my hopes on.

Of course, the Chairman of Lilliput might pull a rabbit out of the hat. But right know I feel my guess is more likely :hungry:
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Also have Greenwood who plays the same position and looks...really bloody good? Potentially a world class player in the making, right there. Would they want to drop and hamper his development just to get Bale in for a couple seasons before going for Sancho? Wherever Bale goes, he's going to want to play pretty much every game.
 
dagraham

dagraham

Well-Known Member
Sep 20, 2005
19,153
46,149
Japhet said:
2 years ago Vertonghen and Alderweireld were the best CB pairing in the EPL. Just saying.
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Yeah fair point. I not going to pretend there isn’t an element of doubt whether injuries and lack of playing time/hunger will have taken their toll on him.

The point remains though that we not going to get anyone close to his ability and big game temperament any time soon, and we are becoming a less attractive prospect to join by the day.
 
JUSTINSIGNAL

JUSTINSIGNAL

Well-Known Member
Jul 10, 2008
16,037
48,789
Without meaning to come across BSODL I can totally see why Levy is hesitating on this deal, especially with the amount of financial commitment it's likely to involved.

We're in a period where the club is literally haemorrhaging money. There is no real indication when fans will be let into stadiums and the whole reason we built our shiny new stadium was to increase revenue streams. Without fans we are missing a large chunk or revenue while still having to pay the mortgage on it.

There is no guarantee Mourinho will be a success with or without Bale this season. There are still major question marks whether he can make us into a successful functioning unit. If results don't pick up then he will inevitably be sacked and that will cost the club massively in compensation.

Bale is clearly not the same player that left us 6/7 years ago. Does he have the same hunger to make an impact at a club he's already been a success at? Can his body still cope with the rigours of the premier league? Does he even work hard enough and is he disciplined enough to be successful in a Jose Mourinho side? We all see Bale as world superstar but maybe Zidane is right, and he really is on the decline. I'm sure if we signed him and he flopped Levy would be blamed one way or another.

So these are some of the factors that need to be considered. I just don't think it's as easy as 'sign Bale and he will be amazing and lead us to glory this season'. There are some serious implications to it not working out.
 
C

Clockspur

Well-Known Member
Aug 22, 2013
891
4,057
E17yid said:
So the question is, will signing Bale make us challenge for major honours? If yes, Kane stays, if no he’s off. Personally I don’t think signing Bale makes us into league contenders. More like it takes us from a likely 5th-8th place finish into, perhaps, the top 4. And that’s assuming he stays fit, which he won’t.

Kane has given us more than enough and it will break my heart when he leaves (much more so than Bale ooe Modric or whoever) but he deserves to have some silver wear before his career ends and at the moment it looks like he’s wasting his time with us with regards to winning trophies. Let’s hope we can win something and he decides to give us more time but I won’t blame him if not.
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Signing Bale plus a back up striker might mean we win the Europa. That would mean we are in the CL. Jose is safe in his job and says to Kane we’ve won the first of many trophies to come, Lane commits for the following season and maybe we kick on and win something else whilst Kane breaks all the goals records.

we just need that first trophy for a bit of belief, Bale is capable of winning big games by himself and has no problem with the big occasion as multiple CL finals have proven - he ain’t gonna shit his pants if were in a Europa league final
 
Metalhead

Metalhead

But that's a debate for another thread.....
Nov 24, 2013
25,502
38,621
George94 said:
Also have Greenwood who plays the same position and looks...really bloody good? Potentially a world class player in the making, right there. Would they want to drop and hamper his development just to get Bale in for a couple seasons before going for Sancho? Wherever Bale goes, he's going to want to play pretty much every game.
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Who knows. We could frustrate ourselves second guessing what United might or might not do or what we are going to do.
 
topper

topper

Well-Known Member
Jan 27, 2008
3,806
16,254
Duskwen

Duskwen

Well-Known Member
Jan 11, 2015
773
5,510
There is pretty good reason for Bale to choose us over United, especially if wages are the same. United want Sancho, if not a back up for Greenwood. If they sign Bale, 1 a lot of fans will see him as another Sanchez and the relationship could turn sour very quickly. 2 He'd not get as many minutes as he would here, be it as a winger, 10 or even striker for us.

With us he would be loved (there will be a few who are unhappy/concerned) but in general it would be a massive confidence boost for us and for Bale. At United he'd just be a stop gap in a young team, that could be turned on pretty quickly. He's already had that for the last 3 years.

Come home Gareth, Levy for once in your life open your heart
 
Metalhead

Metalhead

But that's a debate for another thread.....
Nov 24, 2013
25,502
38,621
JUSTINSIGNAL said:
Without meaning to come across BSODL I can totally see why Levy is hesitating on this deal, especially with the amount of financial commitment it's likely to involved.

We're in a period where the club is literally haemorrhaging money. There is no real indication when fans will be let into stadiums and the whole reason we built our shiny new stadium was to increase revenue streams. Without fans we are missing a large chunk or revenue while still having to pay the mortgage on it.

There is no guarantee Mourinho will be a success with or without Bale this season. There are still major question marks whether he can make us into a successful functioning unit. If results don't pick up then he will inevitably be sacked and that will cost the club massively in compensation.

Bale is clearly not the same player that left us 6/7 years ago. Does he have the same hunger to make an impact at a club he's already been a success at? Can his body still cope with the rigours of the premier league? Does he even work hard enough and is he disciplined enough to be successful in a Jose Mourinho side? We all see Bale as world superstar but maybe Zidane is right, and he really is on the decline. I'm sure if we signed him and he flopped Levy would be blamed one way or another.

So these are some of the factors that need to be considered. I just don't think it's as easy as 'sign Bale and he will be amazing and lead us to glory this season'. There are some serious implications to it not working out.
Click to expand...
Valid point although it's hard to see how a conclusion can be reached before the end of the window unless there s confirmation of a date that at least some fans will be let back in.
 
King of the Lane

King of the Lane

Well-Known Member
Dec 3, 2010
4,144
23,752
I'm going to believe every terrible tier 190890718676 source if they say we are signing Bale and I'm going to ignore every tier 1 source that says we arent signing him. That's where I'm at now.
 
van_Pommel

van_Pommel

Well-Known Member
May 10, 2004
3,063
998
Wow big update that. If HK goes next summer the levy out brigade will go into overdrive. I'd imagine they'll have a good following by then as well. Crunch time for baldy.
 
E17yid

E17yid

Well-Known Member
Jan 21, 2013
17,157
31,117
Clockspur said:
Signing Bale plus a back up striker might mean we win the Europa. That would mean we are in the CL. Jose is safe in his job and says to Kane we’ve won the first of many trophies to come, Lane commits for the following season and maybe we kick on and win something else whilst Kane breaks all the goals records.

we just need that first trophy for a bit of belief, Bale is capable of winning big games by himself and has no problem with the big occasion as multiple CL finals have proven - he ain’t gonna shit his pants if were in a Europa league final
Click to expand...

True, and I think winning the Europa is the best shout for keeping him for another season but it’s perfectly feasible that we win it without Bale. Mid you, at the moment, it’s feasible we lose on Thursday.
 
WiganSpur

WiganSpur

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
16,060
32,852
JUSTINSIGNAL said:
Without meaning to come across BSODL I can totally see why Levy is hesitating on this deal, especially with the amount of financial commitment it's likely to involved.

We're in a period where the club is literally haemorrhaging money. There is no real indication when fans will be let into stadiums and the whole reason we built our shiny new stadium was to increase revenue streams. Without fans we are missing a large chunk or revenue while still having to pay the mortgage on it.

There is no guarantee Mourinho will be a success with or without Bale this season. There are still major question marks whether he can make us into a successful functioning unit. If results don't pick up then he will inevitably be sacked and that will cost the club massively in compensation.

Bale is clearly not the same player that left us 6/7 years ago. Does he have the same hunger to make an impact at a club he's already been a success at? Can his body still cope with the rigours of the premier league? Does he even work hard enough and is he disciplined enough to be successful in a Jose Mourinho side? We all see Bale as world superstar but maybe Zidane is right, and he really is on the decline. I'm sure if we signed him and he flopped Levy would be blamed one way or another.

So these are some of the factors that need to be considered. I just don't think it's as easy as 'sign Bale and he will be amazing and lead us to glory this season'. There are some serious implications to it not working out.
Click to expand...
I'm against the deal on a permanent transfer but I think getting him on loan (hopefully for 2 years) makes a lot more sense if wages are heavily subsidised.
 
Chirpystheman

Chirpystheman

Well-Known Member
Jan 22, 2019
501
1,610
Anyone else noticed that off the back of a terrible performance the Levy PR machine has kicked in and now talksport espn and a few other places are talking aboutbhow we are talking to Madrid about Bale. Its obvious the club have leaked this to try and divert attention away from how poor will were and take the heat off them. This transfer has been bubbling away for a couple of weeks and only now is it being picked up
 
U

USAYID

Well-Known Member
Aug 11, 2008
395
466
JUSTINSIGNAL said:
Without meaning to come across BSODL I can totally see why Levy is hesitating on this deal, especially with the amount of financial commitment it's likely to involved.

We're in a period where the club is literally haemorrhaging money. There is no real indication when fans will be let into stadiums and the whole reason we built our shiny new stadium was to increase revenue streams. Without fans we are missing a large chunk or revenue while still having to pay the mortgage on it.

There is no guarantee Mourinho will be a success with or without Bale this season. There are still major question marks whether he can make us into a successful functioning unit. If results don't pick up then he will inevitably be sacked and that will cost the club massively in compensation.

Bale is clearly not the same player that left us 6/7 years ago. Does he have the same hunger to make an impact at a club he's already been a success at? Can his body still cope with the rigours of the premier league? Does he even work hard enough and is he disciplined enough to be successful in a Jose Mourinho side? We all see Bale as world superstar but maybe Zidane is right, and he really is on the decline. I'm sure if we signed him and he flopped Levy would be blamed one way or another.

So these are some of the factors that need to be considered. I just don't think it's as easy as 'sign Bale and he will be amazing and lead us to glory this season'. There are some serious implications to it not working out.
Click to expand...


All excellent points. The thing that is frustrating for everyone is that Levy needs to make a decision for once, and not hem and haw until the decision is taken out of his hands. Sign him, or not, and move on to the other targets.
 
SSC

SSC

Well-Known Member
Apr 27, 2004
407
1,639
Chirpystheman said:
Anyone else noticed that off the back of a terrible performance the Levy PR machine has kicked in and now talksport espn and a few other places are talking aboutbhow we are talking to Madrid about Bale. Its obvious the club have leaked this to try and divert attention away from how poor will were and take the heat off them. This transfer has been bubbling away for a couple of weeks and only now is it being picked up
Click to expand...

Or... conversations have been going on for a couple of weeks and leaks gradually increase. Not everything is a conspiracy theory.
 
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