Bale

[welshrover]

Nov 16, 2022 9:16:23 GMT jbt95 said:

Will we need to change the chant for Qatar?

“Screw the Union Jack… viva Gareth Bale”

If by some miracle we take the lead against England, perhaps the chant

"Are you watching Prince William?"

[CrackityJones]

Just William...drop the prince

[welshrover]

Nov 16, 2022 9:41:27 GMT CrackityJones said:

Just William...drop the prince

Doesn't fit with the tune😌

Or another song when Bale scores

"There's only one Prince of Wales"

[iantov]

Nov 16, 2022 11:30:43 GMT welshrover said:

Nov 16, 2022 9:41:27 GMT CrackityJones said:

Just William...drop the prince

Doesn't fit with the tune😌

Or another song when Bale scores

"There's only one Prince of Wales"

I do like that....

[hooky]

Whatever happens over the next week or two (or longer!) - THANK YOU GARETH !!!

Thank you for the many magic moments
Thank you for putting such pride back into the shirt
Thank you for putting Wales first
Thank you for helping putting Wales on the map
Thank you for inspiring us, your team mates and the next generation
Thank you for caring

We love you!

[hooky]

and you may enjoy this (I have not watched yet but just found on you tube):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NIcMoexpNo

The rise of Gareth Bale - documentary

[erasedcitizen]

Big moment man comes up strong again.

Some idiots criticising him, not understanding why he's on the field for us.

Greatest Welsh player of all time.

[hooky]

As I stated in the match thread

Despite hardly being fit and less able to contribute - Bale has netted his second joint highest tally for a season with 5 goals and 4 of them were extremely vital in the WC campaign

Not sure what we expect! What a conversion rate the guy has in big games. We would not have qualified for anything without him!

[jimexotic]

Proved his worth in the end. He was very off the pace for large parts of the game and wasted possession when we really needed to keep it on a number of occasions but he has this habit of being able to do something that changes a whole match and again he popped up with another Bale moment.

[conwy10]

Nov 21, 2022 22:40:21 GMT hooky said:

As I stated in the match thread

Despite hardly being fit and less able to contribute - Bale has netted his second joint highest tally for a season with 5 goals and 4 of them were extremely vital in the WC campaign

Not sure what we expect! What a conversion rate the guy has in big games. We would not have qualified for anything without him!

For me I just want the guy to do himself justice. He is our talisman and when it matters he pops up more often than not. The bits in between can leave a lot to be desired at times. If he drops deep and connects play he's not where I want him to be but he's involved. Tonight though he didn't seem to do that.

[allezlesrouges]

41 goals in 109 games. Unbelievable! Also noteworthy that he tied Gunter for most appearances tonight (didn't see that mentioned in the build-up), and on Friday he will become the most capped Welsh player of all time (I can't see Gunter catching him up after this tournament)

[cogancoronation31]

Hope his yellow card doesn't come back to haunt us.

[fiveattheback]

Nov 24, 2022 13:37:23 GMT cogancoronation31 said:

Hope his yellow card doesn't come back to haunt us.

A booking tomorrow means he's out for England, right?

A big miss or a solution to a selection headache?

[saturn9]

Nov 24, 2022 15:03:21 GMT fiveattheback said:

Nov 24, 2022 13:37:23 GMT cogancoronation31 said:

Hope his yellow card doesn't come back to haunt us.

A booking tomorrow means he's out for England, right?

A big miss or a solution to a selection headache?

Whisper it quietly, but I'd say it's the latter.

[dai]

I'd be inclined not to start him vs Iran, we may very well need a result against England. Controversial I know. But yellows are scrapped after group stages aren't they? So if he picks one up against England it doesn't matter.

[morg]

Nov 24, 2022 15:47:05 GMT dai said:

I'd be inclined not to start him vs Iran, we may very well need a result against England. Controversial I know. But yellows are scrapped after group stages aren't they? So if he picks one up against England it doesn't matter.

No yellows are wiped after QFs I think.

[dai]

Nov 24, 2022 16:21:09 GMT morg said:

Nov 24, 2022 15:47:05 GMT dai said:

I'd be inclined not to start him vs Iran, we may very well need a result against England. Controversial I know. But yellows are scrapped after group stages aren't they? So if he picks one up against England it doesn't matter.

No yellows are wiped after QFs I think.

Oh is it? Still a sh*t rule then that benefits the bigger nations.

[jimexotic]

I think he has this game to save his place in the starting eleven, that absolute balls up at left back could have cost us the game. Either he's unfit and shouldn't be starting or he just had a bad game and has this one to put it right. I'm sure we'll know which one it is after the game tomorrow, I just hope it's not too late. Take nothing away from him winning an scoring the penalty, I and we just know what he's still been capable of in a Wales shirt in open play.

[morg]

Can't see him being dropped in this World Cup. Injured, rested or suspended maybe but not dropped. Page wouldn't do it. He's scored our last 4 "important" goals. Quite feasible that he could have scored the winner from the half way line against the US too. After the WC may well be the time for a Page/Bale heart to heart though.

[allezlesrouges]

No way he's dropped after his recent contributions, despite admittedly poor performances. He's a moments player now and it's vital we have him on there for penalties, free kicks, corners, a chance that falls his way

He will start tomorrow, but if we win I'd be tempted to rest him against England. It's likely the English beat USA, and if they do and we beat Iran we go into the next game against an already qualified England needing only a point to guarantee 2nd. We don't need Bale to start, we need runners to keep the game tight. Then if we're chasing a goal bring him on

[morg]

Bit like the Italy game, hope we're going into the last game with a Goal difference of at least 5 better than the US. Don't fancy us having to rely on a point in the last game!

[hooky]

Bale not great but stepped up to the plate without hesitation. No one is as reliable as him when we need a key goal

Wilson - invisible for 50 mins then woke up a bit

Ramsey - more disappointing than Bale. Hope he can't be that poor 2 games in a row

My big issue is Rodon. Fans keep throwing Mepham on the naughty chair with him but Mepham is calmer and has far better technique - can pass short and long with accuracy and can bring the ball out. Rodon was like a rabbit in headlights, especially in the first half. Hope he mans up.

I am almost tempted to put Ampadu at the back with Mepham if Allen really was fit. We can't afford such a weak link at the back again versus Iran - I hope Rodon gets over his nerves

[fiveattheback]

Nov 24, 2022 21:05:18 GMT hooky said:

Bale not great but stepped up to the plate without hesitation. No one is as reliable as him when we need a key goal

Wilson - invisible for 50 mins then woke up a bit

Ramsey - more disappointing than Bale. Hope he can't be that poor 2 games in a row

My big issue is Rodon. Fans keep throwing Mepham on the naughty chair with him but Mepham is calmer and has far better technique - can pass short and long with accuracy and can bring the ball out. Rodon was like a rabbit in headlights, especially in the first half. Hope he mans up.

I am almost tempted to put Ampadu at the back with Mepham if Allen really was fit. We can't afford such a weak link at the back again versus Iran - I hope Rodon gets over his nerves

Mepham is the better player for me, he had some shaky moments early on so he's just an easy target whilst Rodon's tackles and blocks make him easy to praise (if you ignore the reason he has to do that being his poor positional sense of course!)

I've seen quite a few fans calling for a back 4 with Davies & Rodon as centre backs, that is an utterly terrifying prospect imo!  Left centre back in a 3 is a wholly different position to one of 2 centre backs whilst I feel Rodon needs the security of 2 other centre backs covering in behind, especially with two full backs who aren't the best defensively

[highbury06]

Nov 24, 2022 21:14:22 GMT fiveattheback said:

Nov 24, 2022 21:05:18 GMT hooky said:

Bale not great but stepped up to the plate without hesitation. No one is as reliable as him when we need a key goal

Wilson - invisible for 50 mins then woke up a bit

Ramsey - more disappointing than Bale. Hope he can't be that poor 2 games in a row

My big issue is Rodon. Fans keep throwing Mepham on the naughty chair with him but Mepham is calmer and has far better technique - can pass short and long with accuracy and can bring the ball out. Rodon was like a rabbit in headlights, especially in the first half. Hope he mans up.

I am almost tempted to put Ampadu at the back with Mepham if Allen really was fit. We can't afford such a weak link at the back again versus Iran - I hope Rodon gets over his nerves

Mepham is the better player for me, he had some shaky moments early on so he's just an easy target whilst Rodon's tackles and blocks make him easy to praise (if you ignore the reason he has to do that being his poor positional sense of course!)

I've seen quite a few fans calling for a back 4 with Davies & Rodon as centre backs, that is an utterly terrifying prospect imo!  Left centre back in a 3 is a wholly different position to one of 2 centre backs whilst I feel Rodon needs the security of 2 other centre backs covering in behind, especially with two full backs who aren't the best defensively

hennessey
Roberts BD Mepham Ampadu Neco
Allen Rambo Wilson/Johnson
Bale Moore

[highbury06]

Nov 24, 2022 16:21:09 GMT morg said:

Nov 24, 2022 15:47:05 GMT dai said:

I'd be inclined not to start him vs Iran, we may very well need a result against England. Controversial I know. But yellows are scrapped after group stages aren't they? So if he picks one up against England it doesn't matter.

No yellows are wiped after QFs I think.

We must defeat Iran. If we draws, and USA/iran defeat Iran/USA, we are out.
ENG, I think they will not beat us with a big margin. Perhaps they will want to qualify as a 2nd place because it seems like the 2nd place path is easier.

[1gwaunview]

Where was he today? Saviour on Monday non-existent today unfortunately.

[wft]

All the little school kids he got to watch...bless um.

[ddirpytnop]

Nov 25, 2022 12:38:13 GMT 1gwaunview said:

Where was he today? Saviour on Monday non-existent today unfortunately.

He may have won and then scored the penalty on Monday but he was just as non-existent in most of that match as he was today.

[dai]

This week has been a massive reality check for him. You can’t go on being complacent at club level and expect to put in world class performances at international level.

I still think he’s retiring after this.

[insertname]

Nov 25, 2022 12:38:13 GMT 1gwaunview said:

Where was he today? Saviour on Monday non-existent today unfortunately.

I don’t really understand this criticism- it’s been apparent for years that he offers not very much in a Wales shirt if he doesn’t score. I’ve been criticised in the past for suggesting Bale gets dropped. We’d have been having this conversation in the play off if he hadn’t scored against Austria or hit the vital free kick against Ukraine.

We’ve finally reached the end of the road game- where we got beat and Bale didn’t produce the goods and people feel he shouldn’t have played. Maybe if he had got dropped earlier we’d have a better team and identity now…but we may not have been in a World Cup.