Bale

[abwales]

Playing the devils advocate......

could he have had more goals & assists tonight with the amount of ball he had?

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2014 23:04:38 GMT abwales said:

Playing the devils advocate......

could he have had more goals & assists tonight with the amount of ball he had?

I didn't see much of the game tonight so difficult for me to say, but on the basis of previous games:

Sevilla: Most definitely yes, they would not have lost that match if Bale was on his game.

Barcelona: No, did about as well as he could have considering very little came his way and things were compounded by a sending off which effectively ended his night.

[abwales]

I agree on Sevilla and partially agree on Barca, I do think he had chances to do something but Alba played him really well and he just kept running the ball out and couldn't cut in.

As for tonight..... maybe I'm being a bit picky but after the goal and the free kick I felt like he could have done a lot more damage, my missing person post at half time was half-joking half-what I was actually feeling. I also felt that Dortmund were really really shit which made his good performance..... less good, for me.

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2014 23:32:07 GMT abwales said:

I agree on Sevilla and partially agree on Barca, I do think he had chances to do something but Alba played him really well and he just kept running the ball out and couldn't cut in.

As for tonight..... maybe I'm being a bit picky but after the goal and the free kick I felt like he could have done a lot more damage, my missing person post at half time was half-joking half-what I was actually feeling. I also felt that Dortmund were really really shit which made his good performance..... less good, for me.

Yes, there will be an element of talking up about it, like Dortmund are the cream of Europe when, being brutally honest, after Man United they were the team everyone wanted to draw. From the bits and pieces I saw they looked like a side on the way down.

Anyway, so long as Bale does it for Wales what do we care? It would be nice from a Welsh POV to see one of our own stamp his authority on Europe obviously. But its not the be all and end all. Qualification is the main thing for us and so long as Bale stays fit and keeps on running from deep to good effect in a Wales shirt what he does for Madrid ultimately becomes window dressing.

[ladotelli]

Off course it's a big game. Regardless of who you are playing, a Champions league quarter final is massive. I only saw parts of the first half. He looked decent and that free kick was well saved.

[welshiron]

and his nightmare continues with an opening goal in a champions league quarter final and a semi final place virtually secured

Should of stayed with Spurs lol

[abwales]

Massive game tomorrow away to 5th placed Sociedad. Ronaldo's out so he'll be the main man playing in Ronaldo's position.

[ontheroadagain]

Apr 4, 2014 12:32:17 GMT abwales said:

Massive game tomorrow away to 5th placed Sociedad. Ronaldo's out so he'll be the main man playing in Ronaldo's position.

No, Bale will be the main man playing in his own position!

[Deleted]

It certainly makes you wonder how much ball he will see with Ronaldo out. I bet those feckless tarts he plays with will have no shame in looking to him at every opportunity to do the business for them in The Boss's absence.

I would love it, absolutely love it if Real suddenly click and play like a team and put Socieded to the sword without The Boss on the pitch.

[ontheroadagain]

Apr 4, 2014 20:04:55 GMT @storm said:

It certainly makes you wonder how much ball he will see with Ronaldo out. I bet those feckless tarts he plays with will have no shame in looking to him at every opportunity to do the business for them in The Boss's absence.

I would love it, absolutely love it if Real suddenly click and play like a team and put Socieded to the sword without The Boss on the pitch.

Substitute prima donna for "The Boss".

Bale is a team player for Real Madrid, Ronaldo isn't.

[Deleted]

Apr 4, 2014 20:53:31 GMT ontheroadagain said:

Apr 4, 2014 20:04:55 GMT @storm said:

It certainly makes you wonder how much ball he will see with Ronaldo out. I bet those feckless tarts he plays with will have no shame in looking to him at every opportunity to do the business for them in The Boss's absence.

I would love it, absolutely love it if Real suddenly click and play like a team and put Socieded to the sword without The Boss on the pitch.

Substitute prima donna for "The Boss".

Bale is a team player for Real Madrid, Ronaldo isn't.

I worry that Bale is pretending to be The Boss when he turns up for Wales duty, there was something Ronaldo-esque about his greed & ego against Iceland. I think Bale can learn more from Messi than Ronaldo.

Btw, my use of the term 'The Boss' for those who don't already know is in relation to how Bale referred to Ronaldo when he first arrived at Madrid. Give the guy his due obviously, but 'The Boss'? Jesus fucking wept, no wonder they are a team full of egos.

[squatter1]

I don't understand when people talk about Bale trying to emulate Ronaldo being a bad thing, when Ronaldo is Ballon d'or and arguably the best player in the world.

And Bale creating two and scoring one of the three goals against Iceland is a worrying fact rather than a cause for celebration.

It's like having Jimi Hendrix in your band but not wanting him to play any solos cos that makes everyone else looks mediocre. Let's put Jimi on bass so he doesn't stand out.

[Deleted]

Interesting 5 minutes, picks up what appears to be an injury, looks like he should have gone off, then pounces on a loose clearance from the keeper to score from 25 yards+. Whilst the keeper ballsed up and was out of his goal Bale still needed a hell of a lot of accuracy to put it in the near corner as the keeper was scrambling back covering most of the goal.

Need to wait and see about this injury now, with us not having any qualifiers it doesn't seem bad enough that its bad news for us.

Other than that not been having the best of games. Socieded have marshalled him well as Barcelona did, only one trademark driving run (what has happened to those?!) but he came up with a goal at a crucial time to make it 2-0 and give Real a cushion and thats what counts.

Real as a whole have done nothing to suggest that they are a better team without Ronaldo, they have been even worse than when he plays. They really are a disjointed collection of individuals, the Galactico policy has looked flawed this season and Atletico are proving what a team of less individually talented players can achieve when they play for each other and integrate.

[Deleted]

Looks to have run off the injury, at least for the time being. May miss the Dortmund game I guess as a precaution with Real pretty much through.

[Deleted]

Apr 5, 2014 0:57:58 GMT squatter1 said:

I don't understand when people talk about Bale trying to emulate Ronaldo being a bad thing, when Ronaldo is Ballon d'or and arguably the best player in the world.

And Bale creating two and scoring one of the three goals against Iceland is a worrying fact rather than a cause for celebration.

It's like having Jimi Hendrix in your band but not wanting him to play any solos cos that makes everyone else looks mediocre. Let's put Jimi on bass so he doesn't stand out.

Its not a case of making him look mediocre so others look better, just imo not encouraging a culture where he (and everyone around him) believe that he is carrying the national team. This manifests itself in many subtle ways (not least even the manager making remarks about how he should have asked Bale for his autograph!). If not discouraged this could very well result in his decision making being adversely affected when it matters. He was pretty much perfect under Speed, did everything at the right time- when to play when to pass etc. Against Iceland he was playing like he was determined to prove he didn't need his team mates. Like it was his chance to be 'The Boss' fr the evening. You can see how Real play when Ronaldo is in that frame of mind- its annoying to watch when a player who is driven solely by his ego keeps ballsing it up because they have some sort of point to prove. Bale's first half against Iceland was along those lines, constantly losing the ball because he wanted to do it all himself.

I don't want to dredge this whole argument up again- I just don't think I have stated why it bothers me concisely enough, so it seems to come across like I am just ragging on Bale for the sake of it cus thats what people seem to think I do.

EDIT: I should add that if Bale took it on 100% in every game and produced goals 80% of the time then hell yeah, I would sit back and crack open a beer and not give a toss that HRK doesn't get a touch the whole 90 minutes (actually, that would be fucking fantastic!) but even with Bale's talent thats not realistic so rather than run up blind alleys for the sake of it he needs to trust his team mates as he has done previously.

[abwales]

He was awful in first half along with every other attacking Madrid player. The turning point of the game was without a doubt the first goal on half time without which they probably wouldn't have been as good as they were in the second half. In his last season at spurs a lot of the time he had terrible games and would pop up randomly with a crucial goal, he has never been one to be seen for the full 90 minutes.

I actually felt they were very strong without Ronaldo. First half they didn't look like scoring but at least they didn't look like conceding and in important games this season that's something they haven't had which bodes well for the more important games to come.

The goal was vital for Madrid and the celebrations showed it. It was a brilliant finish, not many players would've scored that. It's much better with Spanish commentary too.

www.realmadrid.com/noticias/2014/04/asi-fue-el-golazo-de-bale-?pid=4500014100834

[Deleted]

Apr 5, 2014 21:43:12 GMT abwales said:

He was awful in first half along with every other attacking Madrid player. The turning point of the game was without a doubt the first goal on half time without which they probably wouldn't have been as good as they were in the second half. In his last season at spurs a lot of the time he had terrible games and would pop up randomly with a crucial goal, he has never been one to be seen for the full 90 minutes.

I actually felt they were very strong without Ronaldo. First half they didn't look like scoring but at least they didn't look like conceding and in important games this season that's something they haven't had which bodes well for the more important games to come.

The goal was vital for Madrid and the celebrations showed it. It was a brilliant finish, not many players would've scored that. It's much better with Spanish commentary too.

www.realmadrid.com/noticias/2014/04/asi-fue-el-golazo-de-bale-?pid=4500014100834

My memory of him in his prime for Spurs was of him playing like he did for Speed- always involved and every touch would result in something positive happening for the team. Maybe that's why I am a little underwhelmed with him for Madrid and perhaps my recollection is wrong. I didn't watch spurs games week in week out, I must admit.

[Tim P]

Apr 5, 2014 19:29:21 GMT @storm said:

Other than that not been having the best of games. Socieded have marshalled him well as Barcelona did, only one trademark driving run (what has happened to those?!)

Um…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcqi7SKkW6w

[Deleted]

Apr 6, 2014 9:04:12 GMT Tim P said:

Apr 5, 2014 19:29:21 GMT @storm said:

Other than that not been having the best of games. Socieded have marshalled him well as Barcelona did, only one trademark driving run (what has happened to those?!)

Um…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcqi7SKkW6w

What I mean is that he used to have more opportunities to do them, he has about one or two per game for Real and rarely do they result in anything. If I was Ancelotti I would be looking at how they can give him the ball in those positions more often.

[Deleted]

What is frustrating is that madrid often don't release bale early enough on turnover ball. This is when bale can be at his most devastating.

Its a difficult balancing act for bale this season, balancing what he feels he is capable of in his own mind and building on field trust and relationships with his new team mates. This at real madrid with a world record price tag.

To me he is doing pretty well so far. Even when he has frustrating periods on the pitch he usually pops up with something special. It he can help achieve 'la decima' he will be a madrid hall of famer for life.

For wales....i wouldn't worry too much. Ramsey will restore all the balance we need in the middle of the park.

[Deleted]

Apr 6, 2014 21:34:26 GMT @baresi said:

What is frustrating is that madrid often don't release bale early enough on turnover ball. This is when bale can be at his most devastating.

Its a difficult balancing act for bale this season, balancing what he feels he is capable of in his own mind and building on field trust and relationships with his new team mates. This at real madrid with a world record price tag.

To me he is doing pretty well so far. Even when he has frustrating periods on the pitch he usually pops up with something special. It he can help achieve 'la decima' he will be a madrid hall of famer for life.

For wales....i wouldn't worry too much. Ramsey will restore all the balance we need in the middle of the park.

Case in point was Bale's run into the box on Saturday when Pepe made a storming run forward. No doubt if The Boss was playing it would have resulted in a pass to him, instead of giving it to Bale Pepe shoots from 25 yards and shanks it so horrendously high and wide that it posed more threat to pigeons on the roof of the stand than even the spectators in row Z. A centre back having a shot instead of giving it to the world's most expensive player. A penny for Bale's thoughts at that moment.

[Tim P]

Bale has to earn the right to be the boss - this is Madrid not some mediocre epl side. But the signs are very encouraging that he's earning that status.

[welshiron]

I see his Spanish nightmare continued over the weekend lol

[abwales]

Awful tonight, along with every other Madrid player though.

[Deleted]

Apr 8, 2014 20:52:56 GMT abwales said:

Awful tonight, along with every other Madrid player though.

Yep. Had a few chances to finish Dortmund off and make a name for himself and didn't take them.

I have to say I take it back, I can see why they call Ronaldo The Boss now. He was the real winner as his reputation was actually enhanced by not playing. They really are an awful 'team'.

[welshiron]

A reported £20m deal with Adidas when will he wake from this first season nightmare

Why can't he have a great first season like Ozil, Neymar and all the big money signings made by Spurs

[abwales]

No Ronaldo for the cup final or semi final first leg. Hopefully he can awake from his big game nightmares. The Ronaldo excuses won't be valid.

[Deleted]

Bum draw for Real, mind you given how crap they have looked of late I wouldn't fancy them against any of the 3 semi finalists in the European cup. Massive, massive game for Bale in the first leg. With Ronaldo definitely out it all falls on his shoulders to do the business as you would suspect that they will need to take something into the second leg (as it's away) for them to have a chance of getting through. Hopefully we will see shades of Inter Milan in the San Siro.

[Deleted]

I imagine this article isn't going to be popular, which is fair enough. Although it will be interesting to hear people's case for the defence.
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27032391

I do find it interesting that Bale has not made a telling contribution in terms of the final score (all his goals scored in games that Real won comfortably) and I agree with the articles overall suggestion that he needs to stamp his authority on the game tomorrow night. That being said, could his team mates be doing more for him and will they help him to be the best player othe pitch tomorrow?

[abwales]

The article is spot on.

Tomorrow they'll play him on the left against Alves & Neymar. He'll play the Ronaldo role, cutting inside, making runs through the middle which is Barca's weak spot, leaving space for Di Maria to run down the left if Ancelotti actually plays Di Maria in the middle.

So far he hasn't appeared when Madrid needed him most. Tomorrow they may not need him even if they win, but he really needs to show that the team does need him. Its not a case of if he doesn't do it its ok if someone else does. He needs to make a mark on a big game like this. Good luck to him, I'll be the first to tweet Baleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee if he scores.