Bale

[conwy10]

Jan 9, 2023 16:13:48 GMT morg said:

Thought I'd be devastated when this happened but it's the right time for him and I'm excited to see what his continuing involvement with us entails. Wonder if the Bales will now return to live in Wales? Do your coaching badges butty and get involved in our set up. Could have a very important role to play for us yet!

Think Chris Gunter should now be forced to retire. He's a bit too close to being our most capped player 😂

I don't think Bale needs to be highest everything though. He's got the biggest legacy in Welsh football. If Hennessey or Gunter are the highest caps I doubt he'll care.

[talyfan]

Legend. Diolch Gareth! Minutes applause in the 11th minute of each Cymru Premier game and a Welsh bank holiday please to celebrate his career 😅

[insertname]

Jan 9, 2023 17:09:34 GMT conwy10 said:

Jan 9, 2023 16:13:48 GMT morg said:

Thought I'd be devastated when this happened but it's the right time for him and I'm excited to see what his continuing involvement with us entails. Wonder if the Bales will now return to live in Wales? Do your coaching badges butty and get involved in our set up. Could have a very important role to play for us yet!

Think Chris Gunter should now be forced to retire. He's a bit too close to being our most capped player 😂

I don't think Bale needs to be highest everything though. He's got the biggest legacy in Welsh football. If Hennessey or Gunter are the highest caps I doubt he'll care.

Do you just stop picking players who are too close to the cap record in future? It seems a bit of a daft record to try and keep.

I do think there is a good argument to retire the number 11 shirt.

[morg]

Wasn't being entirely serious!
Are you allowed to retire a shirt at international level?

[insertname]

Hmm…I was assuming teams have full control over the allocation of numbers for qualifiers….but if we get to Euro 2024 I guess the 23/26 man squad results in contiguous numbers 1 - 23/26 so it probably can’t be officially retired without FIFA getting involved.

It’s what I’d do though. It’s very very very unlikely there will be anyone who will achieve what Bale has. A total one off so retiring the number seems appropriate

[conwy10]

I'm not making a case for it. Just do what's best for Cymru and whatever will be will be. If its Gunter than fair play. Not like Bale needs anymore accomplishments and anyone who gets more caps will deserve it.

[conwy10]

Does anyone else think we've had our time in the light and we'll slowly start to slip down to where we were before. Despite Bale getting on, getting injured, not playing... he's the only one who really scores for us.

[ddirpytnop]

Difficult to say where we might end up without him but I very much doubt we'll go back to being 117th in the world!

[mrpicton79]

Jan 9, 2023 17:55:42 GMT conwy10 said:

Does anyone else think we've had our time in the light and we'll slowly start to slip down to where we were before. Despite Bale getting on, getting injured, not playing... he's the only one who really scores for us.

I think that's the most likely scenario, has been for a while. We have no right to be qualifying regularly for major tournaments with our tiny player base. Wouldn't surprise me if we never qualify for anything again in our lifetimes. Would love to be proven wrong of course.

[mrpicton79]

Jan 9, 2023 17:09:34 GMT conwy10 said:

Jan 9, 2023 16:13:48 GMT morg said:

Thought I'd be devastated when this happened but it's the right time for him and I'm excited to see what his continuing involvement with us entails. Wonder if the Bales will now return to live in Wales? Do your coaching badges butty and get involved in our set up. Could have a very important role to play for us yet!

Think Chris Gunter should now be forced to retire. He's a bit too close to being our most capped player 😂

I don't think Bale needs to be highest everything though. He's got the biggest legacy in Welsh football. If Hennessey or Gunter are the highest caps I doubt he'll care.

He's got the goals record sewn up at least. If another Welsh player gets anywhere near 40 goals I'll eat my socks 

[conwy10]

Jan 9, 2023 18:00:00 GMT ddirpytnop said:

Difficult to say where we might end up without him but I very much doubt we'll go back to being 117th in the world!

Yeah not that far. Was thinking more finishing 4th in qualifying.

[conwy10]

It's easier to qualify now so I do expect more Euros, but think that will be more Nations League qualifiers than anything.

[yanto]

Jan 9, 2023 18:08:28 GMT mrpicton79 said:

Jan 9, 2023 17:55:42 GMT conwy10 said:

Does anyone else think we've had our time in the light and we'll slowly start to slip down to where we were before. Despite Bale getting on, getting injured, not playing... he's the only one who really scores for us.

I think that's the most likely scenario, has been for a while. We have no right to be qualifying regularly for major tournaments with our tiny player base. Wouldn't surprise me if we never qualify for anything again in our lifetimes. Would love to be proven wrong of course.

Yeah tbh I thought there was a fair chance with or without that we may go into a gradual decline, memories of the golden years will linger for the rest of my days. The euros qualifiers were always going to be 8nteresting more so now. I suspect Rambo won't be far behind

[hooky]

Jan 9, 2023 17:00:20 GMT dai said:

Jan 9, 2023 16:55:07 GMT CrackityJones said:

Don't think I had celebrated a goal as much as the winner against Scotland...until all the other landmark goals he scored for us following that.

He's brought us so much joy, we'll never see the likes of him again. Its been an absolute privilege to watch Bale play

I think that's still the goal I've gone most nuts at.........strange as we were not going to qualify anyway, but still......beating the Scots.

For those old enough to remember the comparison.......

.... it was Roy of the Rovers stuff

For a country that struggled to provide iconic moments for many decades in a footballing sense - this guy regularly supplied them when it mattered for Wales. 

We need to be realistic about the future - Bale was a footballing god. The stardust will now disappear and we need an incredible effort to qualify for competitions now. We are now no better than on a par with Scotland and Ireland and maybe we are below. Bale has however taken the fear of success / stigma of failure away from the Welsh football psyche so hopefully the next generation will not be frightened of failure but will embrace the possibility of further success.

Bale is the greatest ever British footballer in my opinion - for what he has achieved in terms of trophies, iconic winning moments, dragging his tiny country to 3 tournaments, giving so much excitement in terms of the way he played the game and delivered so many great assists and goals. Even at the end he dragged us through the WC playoffs and played a key part in LA's cup win. George Best did it at the tope level for just a few years and achieved far less, England hail their world cup winners but come on - such a big country and their greatest players won nothing like what Bale did (Charlton better - really - what were his numerous iconic moments again? Moore - really - for being a great defender but nowhere near a Beckenbeuer) and then the joke comparisons made to Rooney, Beckham (the guy is not even in the same league as Bale) and Gascoigne - they are not fit enough to tie his bootlaces. None of them were as dynamic, supplied as many iconic/winning moments or so many varied skills / variety of goals at the very top level. Bale could do 'everything' at a very high level. England and the English press will never admit this truth but who cares - he is one of us and he was the BEST OF BRITISH! 

[cymruramdcfc]

How about a wales v real Madrid testimonial 🤔🤔

[cymruramdcfc]

No doubt in my mind greatest player for wsles
Just feel sorry that world cup was last games he played was such a poor way to end.

Need faw to organise big send off

[hooky]

Jan 9, 2023 17:55:42 GMT conwy10 said:

Does anyone else think we've had our time in the light and we'll slowly start to slip down to where we were before. Despite Bale getting on, getting injured, not playing... he's the only one who really scores for us.

Yes but we will still watch every minute however difficult!

I do hope we never plunge to the lows of the Bobby Gould era though

Page has earned the right to lead us in the Euros but I am very worried about his capabilities. I really hope he has developed but if it goes badly wrong then we need to be ruthless as without Bale we need our coaching group to add value to get decent results / have a prayer of qualifying for Euro tournaments. 

[insertname]

Jan 9, 2023 18:56:59 GMT cymruramdcfc said:

Dec 22, 2022 20:56:29 GMT insertname said:

How about a wales v real Madrid testimonial 🤔🤔

The players who would turn out for Real Madrid would certainly tell us a lot about who had a lot of time for Bale and who didn’t in that dressing room!

[surge]

Going into Euro 2016 and World Cup 2022 I had zero expectations but a list of things, of increasing difficulty, I wanted to see happen if possible:

1. Our national anthem played at major tournament
2. Our nation score a goal
3. To up at least one point
4. To pick up a win
5. To qualify
6. To see how far we could go.

We have been able to do so many good and great things as a national team by emphasising "together stronger" but Bale was such a huge part of ticking off my list, of making our dreams come true.

Thank you to him and his family. After doing so much to make me happy, I hope he has a whole lot of happiness coming his way.

[pclaude]

Jan 9, 2023 17:04:01 GMT insertname said:

Jan 9, 2023 16:55:10 GMT vaulksthrowfanclub said:

Fitting that his last club game was a cup win, where he came in clutch, and his last game was at the World Cup. Legend.

Interesting point, thinking about it I can’t think of anyone else who would have retired from football after an international game.

Zidane 

[fiveattheback]

Build the statue.

[hooky]

We really need to quickly honour him in a big way.

I wish we could have a friendly and honour him with one last appearance but he is so modest - he never wants it to be about him.

As I have said a few times - to have a superstar who is also one of Wales' greatest, most passionate fans too - its what dreams are made of.

I hope his injuries are not chronic and he can enjoy a good quality of life. I suspect he has been managing chronic injuries for the past 5 years or so.

[hooky]

One last thought.

He was on his last legs this year and yet:

1. Drags us to a World Cup through the play offs. His contribution in particular against Austria was iconic.
2. Scores a goal right at the death in his last club match and his LA team win their first ever major league trophy
3. Scores our first WC goal since 1958.

Its mad isn't it!

[surge]

And if he wasn't tactically fouled in injury time against USA he would have scored from halfway line in a World Cup.

[wirralwelsh]

Strange after he sounded so adamant after the England game that he was going to go on as I'd have thought he'd decided beforehand World Cup was going to be the end. I always preferred Giggsy myself

[superunknown]

Always gives me a small chuckle when I see the first post of this thread asking where does he go from here? What an absolute ride it’s been from there eh.

Very emotional reading his statement earlier and Wales games won’t be the same without him there but probably the right time I think.

Thanks for everything Gaz, given me some of the best memories I’ll ever have in football. Enjoy your well earned retirement.

[conwy10]

Jan 9, 2023 19:43:25 GMT fiveattheback said:

Build the statue.

Would love this, where would they build one though? Never played for Cardiff so would it be at the stadium?

[morg]

Jan 9, 2023 20:45:52 GMT surge said:

And if he wasn't tactically fouled in injury time against USA he would have scored from halfway line in a World Cup.

Too right. Testament to him that scoring from there would have been very likely.

[conwy10]

Jan 9, 2023 20:47:12 GMT wirralwelsh said:

Strange after he sounded so adamant after the England game that he was going to go on as I'd have thought he'd decided beforehand World Cup was going to be the end. I always preferred Giggsy myself

Does feel strange. Said he'd continue as long as he's wanted. Did someone have a word in his ear that destroyed him? Maybe said he'd only be a squad player for Cymru or LA said he wasn't wanted anymore.

[bracklablue72]

Jan 9, 2023 20:50:09 GMT conwy10 said:

Jan 9, 2023 19:43:25 GMT fiveattheback said:

Build the statue.

Would love this, where would they build one though? Never played for Cardiff so would it be at the stadium?

It’s the home of the National team so it’s better to have it there than outside the egg stadium