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How has Bale done at Real?

Col_M

Pointing out the Obvious
Feb 28, 2012
22,639
45,684
Fair enough, can understand your side too. Who was the best you’ve seen ?

Ive got age on my side. had the privilege of seeing Klinsman, Gazza, Bale, Berbs, Ardiles, Modric, Hazard, VDV, Sisso...only joking.
But honestly, nothing matches Hoddle.

And thank you for asking. It was nice thinking back to my favourites. Oddly enough Steve Perryman is my favourite but he’s nowhere near the top of the most talented list
 
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Ionman34

SC Supporter
Jun 1, 2011
7,182
16,793
So funny RM courted Bale so badly when they wanted to sign him and now things changed for such a worse outcome.

RM was distasteful in this whole saga, but Zidane is downright disrespectful and unprofessional. He has become too personal in this issue IMO, when at least Bale has kept quiet all along. Bale had proven track records at RM all these years, scoring greats goals and winning trophies for them, he deserves alot better than these..
"He was born to play for Madrid" was the line, if I'm not mistaken...
 

Ionman34

SC Supporter
Jun 1, 2011
7,182
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Ive got age on my side. had the privilege of seeing Klinsman, Gazza, Bale, Berbs, Ardiles, Modric, Hazard, VDV, Sisso...only joking.
But honestly, nothing matches Hoddle.

And thank you for asking. It was nice thinking back to my favourites. Oddly enough Steve Perryman is my favourite but he’s nowhere near the top of the most talented list
Gotta agree on Hoddle, there was only 1 player in the World better than him at the time and that was Maradona.

"Most talented" is such a subjective thing though, as it can be applied to different aspects of a player's game. For me, the one player we've had who excelled above all others for all round talent was Gazza as Hoddle wasn't much for tackling, though he could on occasion. Klinsmann and Berbatov were hugely talented strikers, Ardiles and Modric were Maestro's at dictating the pace and flow of a game.
One player you've not included in your list, though I know it was just an impromptu example, is King. I've seen some great defenders at Spurs, but none as good as him. He was, for me, the best of his generation in the World. Never went to ground, read the game superbly, had pace, heading ability and, as Henry himself said, could take the ball off you before you even realised it was gone. He's in my top 3 greatest ever, that I've seen play live for Spurs, and that was with a crocked knee for the entirety of his first team career!
 

thebenjamin

Well-Known Member
Jul 1, 2008
12,166
38,547
I think it is genuinely sad to see him waste his footballing career. Regardless of whose fault it is for the current situation, it is not a long career. He has won most things in the game and has money to set himself and his family for life.

I just feel he has got 2-3 years left and his agent and advisors should be pushing him to leave. He doesn't need a massive wage but he has a chance to go and demonstrate why he is such an amazing player. Would have him back in a heartbeat as long as it was within our wage structure..

Pretty obvious that he's lost his passion for football. He's basically retired.
 

Col_M

Pointing out the Obvious
Feb 28, 2012
22,639
45,684
Gotta agree on Hoddle, there was only 1 player in the World better than him at the time and that was Maradona.

"Most talented" is such a subjective thing though, as it can be applied to different aspects of a player's game. For me, the one player we've had who excelled above all others for all round talent was Gazza as Hoddle wasn't much for tackling, though he could on occasion. Klinsmann and Berbatov were hugely talented strikers, Ardiles and Modric were Maestro's at dictating the pace and flow of a game.
One player you've not included in your list, though I know it was just an impromptu example, is King. I've seen some great defenders at Spurs, but none as good as him. He was, for me, the best of his generation in the World. Never went to ground, read the game superbly, had pace, heading ability and, as Henry himself said, could take the ball off you before you even realised it was gone. He's in my top 3 greatest ever, that I've seen play live for Spurs, and that was with a crocked knee for the entirety of his first team career!

Dont disagree the King,I was just choosing some of the “special” players and didn’t really want to hijack this thread.

But now we’re on this subject, it’s strange that Bale became the superstar he did. It’s not like he had the vision and delicate touch of some of the great players, he was obviously talented, but he seemed to grow into it as he bulked up and developed his speed and strength.
 

Ionman34

SC Supporter
Jun 1, 2011
7,182
16,793
Dont disagree the King,I was just choosing some of the “special” players and didn’t really want to hijack this thread.

But now we’re on this subject, it’s strange that Bale became the superstar he did. It’s not like he had the vision and delicate touch of some of the great players, he was obviously talented, but he seemed to grow into it as he bulked up and developed his speed and strength.
By all accounts he was/is quite a shy individual, and he had the stigma of us always losing when he played at first.
Once he got that monkey off his back he blossomed. You can't coach vision etc, so I'd say it was always there, he just needed the self belief to really Express it to it's full.

Bale seems, to me, to be one of those Mellenial types that a few on here have alluded to, especially when talking about TN. He needs a manager who has faith in his ability and encourages him to go out and Express himself. Zidane doesn't appear to be that type of manager. It's abundantly clear he has no faith in Bale's abilities, which is mental when you consider just what he's done even in Zidane's 1st stint.

I don't know just how much of the issue sits with Bale, but any decent manager would look at a World class, game changing player like him and structure the team around his best attributes. It's not like he'd have to make sweeping changes to the playing staff either. I often wonder if Zidane has that same arrogance that Hoddle had when he managed us. That "I was better than you on my worst day" mindset, so he resents the obscene money he's being paid in comparison to what he earns as manager.

There could be a multitude of reasons why Zidane doesn't like him, he might just hate his accent or just the British in general, but he's criminally underused one of the World's best talents, piss poor man management, when Bale showed with AVB that hed run through walls for a manager that showed faith and trust in him.
 

nailsy

SC Supporter
Jul 24, 2005
30,536
46,628
By all accounts he was/is quite a shy individual, and he had the stigma of us always losing when he played at first.
Once he got that monkey off his back he blossomed. You can't coach vision etc, so I'd say it was always there, he just needed the self belief to really Express it to it's full.

Bale seems, to me, to be one of those Mellenial types that a few on here have alluded to, especially when talking about TN. He needs a manager who has faith in his ability and encourages him to go out and Express himself. Zidane doesn't appear to be that type of manager. It's abundantly clear he has no faith in Bale's abilities, which is mental when you consider just what he's done even in Zidane's 1st stint.

I don't know just how much of the issue sits with Bale, but any decent manager would look at a World class, game changing player like him and structure the team around his best attributes. It's not like he'd have to make sweeping changes to the playing staff either. I often wonder if Zidane has that same arrogance that Hoddle had when he managed us. That "I was better than you on my worst day" mindset, so he resents the obscene money he's being paid in comparison to what he earns as manager.

There could be a multitude of reasons why Zidane doesn't like him, he might just hate his accent or just the British in general, but he's criminally underused one of the World's best talents, piss poor man management, when Bale showed with AVB that hed run through walls for a manager that showed faith and trust in him.

I guess from a managers point of view it might not be the smartest move to build your team around an injury prone player.
 

teok

Well-Known Member
Aug 11, 2011
10,837
33,609
Pretty obvious that he's lost his passion for football. He's basically retired.

In the grand scheme of things he has done the right thing for his family, he has set them up for countless generations to come.

You can see when he plays for wales he still loves it. I think if he joined the right team he would be motivated.
 

Ionman34

SC Supporter
Jun 1, 2011
7,182
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I guess from a managers point of view it might not be the smartest move to build your team around an injury prone player.
Is he really that injury prone though? I'm sure this was brought up previously and it was shown that he actually hadn't missed that many games through injury, not enough to warrant the label injury prone anyway.

That is beside the point though. Rather than put in place a contingency to allow for when he is injured, and let's face it there are few out there that don't, Zidane has just removed him from the equation altogether. For me that is even dumber.
 

thekneaf

Well-Known Member
Jan 18, 2011
1,933
3,878
Also Real put him on the Ronaldo weight plan which messed up his muscle balance. Was so dumb. We delivered them an elite game winning forward and they made poor decisions at almost every junction.
 

Matthew

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2012
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Just seen a snippet from an interview on sky sports (could be edited tjat way) but he comes across quite unlikeable now.
 

WalkerboyUK

Well-Known Member
Jun 8, 2009
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Just seen a snippet from an interview on sky sports (could be edited tjat way) but he comes across quite unlikeable now.

Just watched 3 mins on Twitter and he’s basically said Madrid keep blocking moves. He wants to get on with playing football but Madrid scrapped China move at last minute and also rejected other offers.
 

Matthew

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2012
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Just watched 3 mins on Twitter and he’s basically said Madrid keep blocking moves. He wants to get on with playing football but Madrid scrapped China move at last minute and also rejected other offers.

thats the one I meant,do you not think he comes across he wanted to go to China for the money? Like he doesn’t care a lot football and his talent anymore?
 

TC18

Lurker
Jan 27, 2011
529
1,699
he wants to come to PL

He’ll go to whoever offers the most money on the longest contract, like any 31 year old footballer would in my opinion. I can’t see there being many takers in the PL, maybe Utd. Wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up in the MLS or Qatar though.

Can’t believe he’s 31..:eek:
 

dontcallme

SC Supporter
Mar 18, 2005
33,988
81,938
thats the one I meant,do you not think he comes across he wanted to go to China for the money? Like he doesn’t care a lot football and his talent anymore?
If that’s your definition of unlikeable then fair enough.
 

Barmby Army

Well-Known Member
Jul 21, 2020
169
780
Also Real put him on the Ronaldo weight plan which messed up his muscle balance. Was so dumb. We delivered them an elite game winning forward and they made poor decisions at almost every junction.

That's a bit harsh, given those decisions led to three successive Champions League wins, two of which Bale made crucial contributions to.
 

NickHSpurs

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2004
13,626
11,875
He'll go where the money is, as proven by the deal that was almost done to China last season. He doesn't give a fuck about his legacy anymore.
 
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