Bale

[Deleted]

Looks like he is playing within himself atm in first or second gear.

I would not be surprised if he pushes the button as the season reaches its crescendo.

[texan]

This is what no pre-season does to a player.

Bale didn't see any action until mid-September, so he went from nothing to full-tilt with only a week or two's basic training. He's almost 3 months behind his team-mates with regards to fitness and by now won't fully catch up to them this season. He hasn't had the explosive start we all hoped he might have but even so, he's still been effective for them on occasion and is creating chances, on the whole he's done well enough considering his condition.

A full summer of prep and you'll see a different player in 14-15.

[flynnfan]

Real fan here seems to agree with you texan:

I can't speak for all of the fans obviously, but in my circle most of us are madridistas and our opinion is pretty much that we won't see 100% Bale this year. We will see glimpses of him (although his glimpses are worth the whole season of the best player of a mid-table team).

It's the same case as Modric. We could see he was the real deal but not all the time he played. After a season of trust, patience and a proper pre season we have a Modric who has nothing to envy of Xabi Alonso. And that's saying much.

We will see Bale next year
-------------------------

[Deleted]

I'm probably going to get slated for this....but I thought Bale was a bit OTT tonight. In the past one of the most impressive things about him is that he always made the right decision when to take the ball on or involve his team mates. Tonight was maybe the first sign where he is starting to play for himself. Thought at times he could have given the ball yet took it on and gave the ball away. So it came across tonight like we were a one man team. Reminiscent at times of Wales v Finland when Giggs took it upon himself to launch a one man crusade against the Finland defence.

What I really wanted to see was a complete team performance but I thought Bale dominated so much that its hard to say that the others contributed all that much in the grand scheme of things. As long as we are winning games, then yeah fuck it I suppose. We won't always have Bale though so I want to see everyone else step up and give Bale a run for his money as the star of the team- I'm probably the only one who looks at it that way I guess!

[rushy]

Gareth was frighteningly good tonight, let him do what he wants I reckon.

[squatter1]

Yes you are going to get slated for that.

Of course when Bale gets the ball he should try something every time. The players all think that too. Not to say to him: 'you are our main man, whenever you get the ball express yourself' would be insane. He's one of the best players in the world, for christsakes.

[pawloss]

Such a joy to watch in a Wales shirt.
What an incredible player.

[Deleted]

If Bale was guaranteed to play every game then I wouldn't care- I want to be confident that we can play with him or without him. Would we have beaten Iceland tonight without him? Its doubtful, nobody really stood out from the rest, it was basically Bale + 10 other blokes, although Huws did well for a debut.

[djb77]

I throughly enjoyed watching him play live again. Another excellent display. However does any one else agree that doesn't seem quite as dynamic as before? He's still very very quick but doesn't seem to quite hit the afterburners and surge forward as in previous seasons.

I've noticed the same thing in the Real Madrid games I've caught on tv this season. I assume people will say it's the lack of pre-season, but would that really affect his top speed and acceleration still?

[alarch]

I think you have a point Storm. It was interesting that when Bale came off and Joniesta on in his place we suddenly looked a team. For most of the game we were very disjointed, relying on a lot of hoofball, and were basically being baled out (sorry!) by Bale's individual brilliance. There is a psychological issue which needs to be addressed, as to how we play coherently with Bale - because without him seems less of an issue.

[nathan1710]

Mar 5, 2014 21:55:43 GMT @storm said:

I'm probably going to get slated for this....but I thought Bale was a bit OTT tonight. In the past one of the most impressive things about him is that he always made the right decision when to take the ball on or involve his team mates. Tonight was maybe the first sign where he is starting to play for himself. Thought at times he could have given the ball yet took it on and gave the ball away. So it came across tonight like we were a one man team. Reminiscent at times of Wales v Finland when Giggs took it upon himself to launch a one man crusade against the Finland defence.

What I really wanted to see was a complete team performance but I thought Bale dominated so much that its hard to say that the others contributed all that much in the grand scheme of things. As long as we are winning games, then yeah fuck it I suppose. We won't always have Bale though so I want to see everyone else step up and give Bale a run for his money as the star of the team- I'm probably the only one who looks at it that way I guess!

I know exactly what your saying, We all know hes our best player but at one point in the second half, Hal Robson was in a decent place to shoot but decided to pass out wide to Bale who lost the ball. 

Even though hes dazzling and amazing we need to score goals all around the pitch, but then again, how can you ask him not to do what he does, hes fantastic, were lucky to have him.

Euros, here we come ;-)

[djb77]

[quote author=" Hal Robson was in a decent place to shoot but decided to pass out wide to Bale who lost the ball. 

Even though hes dazzling and amazing we need to score goals all around the pitch, but then again, how can you ask him not to do what he does, hes fantastic, were lucky to have him.

Euros, here we come ;-)[/quote]

I for one am glad HRK passed, his shooting had been poor all night!  I'd prefer we played Bale on the left if it meant we could also accommodate Joniesta.   Although HRK is a decent squad player,  for me he always seems like he never quite has the ball under control.

[biwmares]

Gareth Bale is a tremendous world class talent he has everything the desire & commitment etc so lets all rejoice he is Welsh.

Agree he was like his teammate Ronaldo tonight & a bit selfish with the ball

But if we keep on winning long may it continue .

[abwales]

I think under Coleman any game without Bale & Ramsey we won't win unless its a San Marino and that's a huge problem considering our record of not having both of them on the pitch. Coleman says we can't do anything without our best players. Yes we can with a solid midfield & defensive unit, something he hasn't shown us, instead he's constantly moaned, he's already mentioned us only having a chance to qualify for 2016 if our best players stay fit. A better coach would keep his mouth shut and set his team up so we're hard to break down to grind out results without them. No doubt without Bale we wouldn't have won. Vokes CANNOT play up top on his own.

Mar 5, 2014 22:51:18 GMT djb77 said:

I throughly enjoyed watching him play live again. Another excellent display. However does any one else agree that doesn't seem quite as dynamic as before? He's still very very quick but doesn't seem to quite hit the afterburners and surge forward as in previous seasons.

I've noticed the same thing in the Real Madrid games I've caught on tv this season. I assume people will say it's the lack of pre-season, but would that really affect his top speed and acceleration still?

He definitely isn't at 100% in my opinion. He isn't as dynamic or strong as he was last season. Although I do think he's improved many areas of his game this season at Madrid.

[djb77]

.

Mar 5, 2014 22:51:18 GMT djb77 said:

I throughly enjoyed watching him play live again. Another excellent display. However does any one else agree that doesn't seem quite as dynamic as before? He's still very very quick but doesn't seem to quite hit the afterburners and surge forward as in previous seasons.

I've noticed the same thing in the Real Madrid games I've caught on tv this season. I assume people will say it's the lack of pre-season, but would that really affect his top speed and acceleration still?

He definitely isn't at 100% in my opinion. He isn't as dynamic or strong as he was last season. Although I do think he's improved many areas of his game this season at Madrid. [/quote]

I meant to also say that on the plus side he does appear to be developing his overall game. Which can only be good for us long term.

[Deleted]

Mar 5, 2014 22:59:19 GMT alarch said:

I think you have a point Storm. It was interesting that when Bale came off and Joniesta on in his place we suddenly looked a team. For most of the game we were very disjointed, relying on a lot of hoofball, and were basically being baled out (sorry!) by Bale's individual brilliance. There is a psychological issue which needs to be addressed, as to how we play coherently with Bale - because without him seems less of an issue.

Glad you picked up on how 'the team' as a whole looked while Bale was in charge. They seem happy to just give it to Bale and tonight is the first time where Bale himself seemed to think "fuck it, I'm just going to do it all myself". It was only ever going to go 3 ways when he picked up the ball: he gets fouled, he gets to the byline and puts in a cross, or he gets a shot away.

I think it bothered me because early in the game he was giving it away or wasting good positions- to be fair the end product came after half time.

I really would like to see us play more like a team. There is a time and place for Bale and his brilliance but I think tonight he made the game too much about him. We need to see more from the other players now going into the new campaign and I don't think we learnt or saw much of anybody else because everything was all about Bale. Bale won't be able to qualify us single handed, we will need to strike a balance between his ability and those around him being able to get into the game. Not the worst problem in the world to have, admittedly!

[Deleted]

Mar 5, 2014 22:59:19 GMT alarch said:

I think you have a point Storm. It was interesting that when Bale came off and Joniesta on in his place we suddenly looked a team. For most of the game we were very disjointed, relying on a lot of hoofball, and were basically being baled out (sorry!) by Bale's individual brilliance. There is a psychological issue which needs to be addressed, as to how we play coherently with Bale - because without him seems less of an issue.

I think once Aaron Ramsey and Jonny Williams START a game as well that will take a lot of pressure off Gareth Bale.

[Deleted]

Mar 6, 2014 0:50:32 GMT dai said:

I tend to agree a bit on his game tonight, played a little bit selfish at times. But tbh I think he just wanted to show off, and score. Amazing to see such enthusiasm for your country.

But.....we definitely performed better as team when replaced by Williams, and others like Allen stepped up immensely. To 'give Bale the ball' is only natural I suppose when you've got his talent in the team, but it will frustrate him at some point. He won't beat teams like Belgium and Bosnia by himself, so everyone needs to perform in order to reach our holy grail, qualification!

Yes that is my concern- that he will try that stuff against Bosnia and he won't find it so easy.

Still, he seems to have a bit of a brain about him so as long as he saves the exhibition stuff for friendlies like tonight it shouldn't be a problem. He has always in the past been able to strike the right balance and make the right decisions when to pass and when to take it on so I shall put tonight down to a one-off against unspectacular opponents.

If he does this against Bosnia and scores 4 goals and we win 4-1 then I couldn't give a monkeys, I do have reservations that it will be a lot tougher than that though and he will need to use his team mates in those games. In fact the amount of space he created tonight just by the number of Icelanders closing him down was staggering. We need to make sure the likes of Williams and HRK are running into those channels and that we exploit it with passing rather than a determination to beat every player on the pitch before having a shot from by the corner flag

[Deleted]

I think the question I am trying to pose here is: as exceptional as Bale was, could we have done even better if he had played more for the team?

I am not sure I can say either way. We may have scored less, but I may have been happier overall with the team's contribution and feeling less pessimistic about our chances literally resting on whether Bale plays or not.

[njdragon]

Rubbish!!

We have lacked that bit of selfishness for a long time now and need someone like Bale who will pick up the ball with confidence and shoot. Now you're saying he's too selfish.

How many times in the past have you seen players in excellent positions to shoot just waste a chance by playing a pass(even when Bale is out) or hang on too long until the chance passes.

If Bale had played for the team alone tonight, we prob wouldnt have got a single goal. A goal scorer has to be selfish.

[welshiron]

What a load of bollocks I have read on here. He scored one made 2 and set up numerous other chances (HRK header for example.

I want him to be selfish every game his direct running at defenders scares the shit out of them and it is up to the other players to use the space he creates wisely

In 30 years+ of watching Wales I can honestly say he is by far the best player I have ever seen in a welsh shirt, can't remember too many better players playing against us.

On top of this he is passionate about our country and if he plays 8/9 out of the 10 qualifiers I believe we will at least make the play offs.

[Deleted]

Only Storm would find a negative in Bale's performance last night.

[Deleted]

Mar 6, 2014 10:17:00 GMT @baresi said:

Only Storm would find a negative in Bale's performance last night.

I was hoping to see a cohesive team performace last night and I didn't get that. Bale was outstanding granted, but do you think it's a good thing that we are so reliant on him? What are we going to do when he isn't there? Run around like headless chickens probably because all we have known is give Bale the ball and let him win the game on his own. Fine if he plays all the games- but he is likely to miss at least one - and that could be a crucial game, so I personally was hoping to see more from the other 10 players who aren't Gareth Bale so I can be confident in the whole team rather than just one man.

[Deleted]

the thing is storm, we were missing our arguably most influential player last night.

[njdragon]

simple fact is without Bale and his 'selfishness' scoring goals we will not qualify. Like any other team with an exceptional player, they'll always be reliant on them to achieve anything.

Bale squaring the ball to HRK instead of shooting may make lovely cohesive football but if we don't score like time and time before, its wasted.

[squatter1]

You've got to laugh reading this thread.

Is there a personality disorder that pathologically turns positives into negatives? Cos if there is, it was first identified in Wales.

We have the most expensive football player IN HISTORY playing for us right now.

He's a world phenomenon and our main goal threat.

He plays for Real Madrid in La Liga and the champions league.

The other two attackers we had alongside him last night play in the English championship. One of them barely gets a game for his club these days.

Gareth Bale scores one, creates two more, and is the most dangerous player on the pitch by light years.

And his own fans start complaining about him being selfish!

When he plays for us Bale MUST be selfish. He must be TOLD to be selfish. He is the best player in the world in his position ffs. When he's selfish (as he was for spurs last season) he can win games on his own (as he did last night).

The time for a more complete team performance is when Bale isn't available. When he is available, I applaud every time he tries something, or has a shot from range. He's the best player that's played for Wales in the modern era.

[welshiron]

Here Here

[Deleted]

Mar 6, 2014 11:05:49 GMT squatter1 said:

You've got to laugh reading this thread.

Is there a personality disorder that pathologically turns positives into negatives? Cos if there is, it was first identified in Wales.

We have the most expensive football player IN HISTORY playing for us right now.

He's a world phenomenon and our main goal threat.

He plays for Real Madrid in La Liga and the champions league.

The other two attackers we had alongside him last night play in the English championship. One of them barely gets a game for his club these days.

Gareth Bale scores one, creates two more, and is the most dangerous player on the pitch by light years.

And his own fans start complaining about him being selfish!

When he plays for us Bale MUST be selfish. He must be TOLD to be selfish. He is the best player in the world in his position ffs. When he's selfish (as he was for spurs last season) he can win games on his own (as he did last night).

The time for a more complete team performance is when Bale isn't available. When he is available, I applaud every time he tries something, or has a shot from range. He's the best player that's played for Wales in the modern era.

Spot on Squatter.

Iker Casillas says he will go on to become a real Madrid legend following Zidane, Raul and Ronaldo in the modern era.

[welshiron]

Bale has now scored as many welsh goals as Giggs and is only 24. He has also played 20 games less.

Even more impressive when you think he played some games at left back.

[llannerch]

What a depressing thread this has turned into. Bale was unplayable at times last night. Aron Gunnarsson admitted as much in his post-match interview. I bet the Romanian team looked disjointed when Haji went off on one, or Bulgaria when Stoichkov did. That is what gifted players do. It is the other players' responsibility to maintain shape and respond to his brilliance. To suggest that Bale should tone it down a bit because we look less like a team when he's playing like he did is a bit Don Howe if you ask me.