Bale

[fiveattheback]

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?

I don't see why not

Could have it in the city centre or Whitchurch

[vaulksthrowfanclub]

I reckon he just didn’t want to give the English media anything then. “England retire Bale” headlines were that to have happened imo.

I think he must have been carrying an injury for a while, hence his lack of LAFC minutes and which probably explains his World Cup showing.

A statue outside the CCS is a must.

[pclaude]

Yeah. He’s pretty clued up with the press and I never wholly believed the Im carrying on narrative. Only thing I can think of otherwise is that he couldn’t find a club

[CrackityJones]

He had a club, he was contracted at LAFC until 2024

As for a statue...Cardiff city centre for all visitors to see

[cogancoronation31]

Wonder what LAFC will think about him not carrying on with them? Not so pleased, I guess.

Agree with certain theories appearing earlier that there may be a FAW coaching/mentoring role for him in the future, unless he (for now at least) just wants a complete break from football.

Anyway, to add my personal vote of gratitude in the spirit of all previous sentiments in this thread: DIOLCH,GARETH!

[jbt95]

Part of me thinks he has been medically advised to stop playing.

After his performance v Austria I thought him retiring was at least 2024.

[conwy10]

Jan 9, 2023 22:10:35 GMT cogancoronation31 said:

Wonder what LAFC will think about him not carrying on with them? Not so pleased, I guess.

Agree with certain theories appearing earlier that there may be a FAW coaching/mentoring role for him in the future, unless he (for now at least) just wants a complete break from football.

Anyway, to add my personal vote of gratitude in the spirit of all previous sentiments in this thread: DIOLCH,GARETH!

I'm not too sure on this. I mean if he's going to be at the training sessions anyway why not get £500,000 a month and play instead of £500,000 a year.

I think he might have fallen out of love with the game and finally called it quits.

[conwy10]

Growing up I always used to dream about Wales in a finals, never mind a World Cup. This guy is nearly single handedly responsible for that.

Crazy to think what this lad has done. He dragged us to our first Euro's, played in the Euro semi final, qualified for another, qualified for a World Cup, seen Wales ranked above England, finished above them in a group at a major final, scored our first goal at a Euro Finals, scored our first World Cup goal in forever, became our top scorer, our most capped player, won 5 Champions League, scored an overhead kick in a final, played in a champions league final in his home city, was the most expensive player in the world.

He's inspired a generation and woken a nation. I'm happy he's doing what makes him happy but I'll miss the hell out of him. Cymru will never quite feel the same without him. Feels weird to be downhearted about a player retiring but he is literally the icon of Cymru.

[allezlesrouges]

It's sinking in a bit tonight. Tears keep coming to my eyes, I think it's a mixture of sadness his time is over, longing for those moments that will probably never be topped, happiness that he achieved it all, and joy that he's Welsh and gets it and changed our nation forever

[hooky]

Great article which gets what Bale was unlike many in the English and Irish media who portray Bale as unfulfilled! Well they can't be comparing him to any other British or Irish players when making that relative judgement that is for sure!

www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jan/09/joy-of-the-playground-defined-gareth-bale-more-than-records-or-trophies

[highbury06]

Jan 9, 2023 16:53:44 GMT robin1864 said:

Gunter has had the choice made for him, sadly. I can see Ramsey going next, Wayne and Joe will finish the upcoming campaign at least.

No way for Gunts to be picked anymore considering that after the WC he had only played 1 min for AFC.
It hurts not being able to qualify in 2018, due to Chris's conservative approach and Bale's poor timing of injury--- With a peak Bale we would have qualified for the last 16 (such is his biggest regret), and the golden generation would have been able to appear in the WC (gunts, ledley, taylor, hrk, vokes, joniesta, aw, etc...)

[bale-droed]

Jan 9, 2023 22:10:35 GMT cogancoronation31 said:

Wonder what LAFC will think about him not carrying on with them? Not so pleased, I guess.

Agree with certain theories appearing earlier that there may be a FAW coaching/mentoring role for him in the future, unless he (for now at least) just wants a complete break from football.

Anyway, to add my personal vote of gratitude in the spirit of all previous sentiments in this thread: DIOLCH,GARETH!

They already released a video hours ago called “ Thankyou Gareth bale”

Gratitude for that one moment that won them the league.

A career of moments. In 40 years no one will remember the injuries and missed games just the moments and there’s plenty of them for every club he played for an us. I don’t want to compare him to anyone but I think legacy wise it’ll be similar to George best people talk about all those moments he had no the fact he basically called it a day at 27

[bale-droed]

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.

I’m the same! I went mental. It was really symbolic. If memory serves correctly and there could be a lot I’m forgetting/ misremembering but we’d been battered twice by Serbia, kept losing games we’d look like we’d win such as v Croatia despite the fact we all kept believing and telling people we had a great future. We were 1-0 down.Scotland had a disallowed goal that should never of been disallowed. Here we were heading for another convincing defeat v average opposition and all of a sudden it was 1-1 from a pen Bale had won and then he scored that absolute fucking screamer. It had been turned around. It felt so different when that ball went in. I knew that night we were going to qualify for 2016. 2014 was gone already. We of course then lost to Macedonia without bale but the key was without him with him as fans we knew we had a chance v anyone. No one in our generation had given us that feeling before not even Giggs. As a player it was like Giggs would always be up against it for Wales but Bale would just embrace it like he was on a playground and score goals

[quetzal]

Tears crash into my smartphone. Can’t believe it. 4:35am. Can’t sleep. Devastated. Israel away free kick I was there!!! I think that’s it for Welsh football, We’re toast! Don’t go Gareth, don’t leave us. This is so sad. END OF AN ERA

[allezlesrouges]

His agent has come out this morning to say that the reason for retirement is that his body isn't up to it anymore, which is fair enough

When you think about it he's struggled physically these past two years. It's amazing really that despite his body being gone he still single handedly won us the game against Belarus, Austria & Ukraine - all absolutely vital wins! It just goes to show what a force of nature he was, he willed us to that WC in Qatar despite his body falling apart. Getting the only goal for us at the tournament tops off how clutch he was too

[bringbackelmo]

Quite hilarious reading the comments on articles about this on Facebook. Apparently Bale is not better than Gazza, Scholes, Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham etc.... depending on who you talk to.

[CrackityJones]

Yeah you lost me at 'Facebook'

[conwy10]

I do wish we had a friendly and knew it was Bale's last game. I know CCS is our home but get 75,000 in to see that in the Millennium. Not because we like it there but just to give more people the chance to say I was there. Take him off on the 60 minute mark to a standing ovation. One last relevant 'Viva Gareth Bale'.

Part of what hurts is we didn't know he was calling it a day and were probably thinking in the England game "run you lazy b******" "Thank god Bale's gone off".

[highbury06]

If we are a big nation, then picking players based on forms make sense.
But we aren't, and it was the likes of bale rambo and wayne who brought us there, while the alternatives are of championship/league 1 quality only. so it makes sense to let them play.

[insertname]

Jan 10, 2023 11:00:22 GMT allezlesrouges said:

His agent has come out this morning to say that the reason for retirement is that his body isn't up to it anymore, which is fair enough

When you think about it he's struggled physically these past two years. It's amazing really that despite his body being gone he still single handedly won us the game against Belarus, Austria & Ukraine - all absolutely vital wins! It just goes to show what a force of nature he was, he willed us to that WC in Qatar despite his body falling apart. Getting the only goal for us at the tournament tops off how clutch he was too

If that’s the case it puts the discussion above in a new light, where I said I’d put money on it that he wouldn’t even be playing club football in time for the 2024 Euros because of the state he’s been in recently.

It’s looked (to me at least) for a long while that his body can’t take it. He’s made just running look like hard work for him, if you look at how laboured his gait is. As you say, it was some effort just to roll back the years for the play offs. He probably knew himself that his was last chance and he dug deep to get it over the line. There are parallels with Messi winning the World Cup for the way that Bale got us to Qatar. That’s probably the highest compliment I can pay him, that he is one of a very select few players in history who seemed to able to win a game single handedly when he put his mind to it. Always on hand with the vital goal in a crucial game.

[hooky]

I always remember a comment a pundit made in commentary when he scored a midweek goal against Norwich. Bale ran from close to the half way line at full pelt, a couple of changes of direction, in the penalty area ... goal

They said something like its great to watch but I fear this is going to be damaging to his health or lead to injury problems moving forward - something along those lines.

It stuck with me but in his early 20s Bale kept producing those Hollywood moments. However, that guy must have been such a wise guy because that is what happened isn't it? He gave us all that pleasure, but his body started suffering mid to late 20s and it affected him massively in the last 4 years.

Those pundits who claim he failed to make the most of his potential because of how he tailed off towards the end and so kind of undermine his claims to be Best of British (and put joke comparisons versus Rooney and even Gascoigne) just do not get it. Bale had many more big moments than these other guys had in his career that is the key point. The fact that Rooney never got England past a quarter final and Gascoigne missed his big extra time chance versus Germany and failed to make a difference to get them to a final there against what was a pretty average Germany team in a few positions sums it up - they did not provide the big moments in the big games. Bale did several times over.

[welrus]

Jan 10, 2023 0:51:17 GMT hooky said:

Great article which gets what Bale was unlike many in the English and Irish media who portray Bale as unfulfilled! Well they can't be comparing him to any other British or Irish players when making that relative judgement that is for sure!

www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jan/09/joy-of-the-playground-defined-gareth-bale-more-than-records-or-trophies

Yes great article which brings out his immense role for Wales. We have been lucky to have a superstar who was so into the national team. As well as scoring so many goals he was always so visibly supportive of players with less skill and always placed Wales at the top of his or priorities.

His outplay had fallen off but his goals continued to win us so many vital matches. So often it was a goal from him that was the difference between us and the opposition. It’s difficult to see where those goals will come from now, certainly in the short term. We are going to miss that big time, and I suspect the confidence he gave the team - no doubt always believing that he offered a way to win or get back into a game.

It’s a pity there was no big moment when we knew it was his last game. I do hope we can do something. Like everybody in early, ground packed to the rafters and him doing a lap of honour 15 mins before kick off.

After his comments at the World Cup his retirement came as a surprise to me. Didn’t see him playing 90 but for 60 mins or as a sub.

DIOLCH GARETH, you’ve left me and so many others with precious memories.

[hooky]

He has definitely been offered a coaching role by the looks of it - watch Page's comments towards the end of his press conference.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p0edxIsUU4

[iantov]

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

How about a wales v real Madrid testimonial 🤔🤔

Ha! Yes. Football game on a Saturday and then a 'Rhayader Cup' game of golf in Celtic Manor on Sunday..! 

[allezlesrouges]

Jan 10, 2023 14:02:21 GMT hooky said:

I always remember a comment a pundit made in commentary when he scored a midweek goal against Norwich. Bale ran from close to the half way line at full pelt, a couple of changes of direction, in the penalty area ... goal

They said something like its great to watch but I fear this is going to be damaging to his health or lead to injury problems moving forward - something along those lines.

It stuck with me but in his early 20s Bale kept producing those Hollywood moments. However, that guy must have been such a wise guy because that is what happened isn't it? He gave us all that pleasure, but his body started suffering mid to late 20s and it affected him massively in the last 4 years.

Those pundits who claim he failed to make the most of his potential because of how he tailed off towards the end and so kind of undermine his claims to be Best of British (and put joke comparisons versus Rooney and even Gascoigne) just do not get it. Bale had many more big moments than these other guys had in his career that is the key point. The fact that Rooney never got England past a quarter final and Gascoigne missed his big extra time chance versus Germany and failed to make a difference to get them to a final there against what was a pretty average Germany team in a few positions sums it up - they did not provide the big moments in the big games. Bale did several times over.

It's true that explosive players are more likely to have injuries. But my inside scoop is that Bale physically suffered from Real Madrid forcing him back to playing after injury too quickly many times, leading to bigger problems, as they put pressure on him due to the amount of money they paid for him. This especially pissed off Bale because the press would hound him for always beinginjured, and it was because Madrid wouldn't let him fully recover

[insertname]

Interesting…where’s that from? If that’s the case it puts into perspective that he ended up being the villain in Spain for problems that may have been caused by the club

He’s looked so bad on the pitch in later years of his career that I wonder whether he’ll end up with mobility issues later in life.

[allezlesrouges]

I have a friend who knows the family Bale has married into. Told me a few years back that particularly when Bale seemed to be injured literally all the time, that it was because Madrid pressured him to come back too early causing re-aggravation. This is why Bale then hired a personal physio to monitor him, as reported in the press. That was to get someone outside of the bias of the club to assess his readiness to return

For a period I do think this made Bale overly cautious. Do you remember when Mourinho made a point of calling him out publicly for there being a psychological reason Bale was dropping out injured at Spurs? Soon after that Bale put in some blistering performances, and seemed back to his best (he actually ended up with an incredible return when he went back to Spurs), and I think that proved Mourinho was right in saying Bale had become overly cautious about his body - which was clearly a result of Madrid misusing him

That being said it obviously caught up to him late in his career. But I think the thing people forget is that he might only be 33, but he started regular professional football when he was 16. A 17 year career is pretty standard for most, if you think a player that breaks through when he is 19 and then retires when he's 36 - that's a 17 year career too!

[iot]

Yeah. There's also a point about how people's pain threshold and what they can manage psychologically varies. It's been like that with Bale throughout his career. I can't find the comments, but I remember Redknapp saying that when he first came to Spurs, he really rated Bale but he would go down all the time in training. Every slight knock would keep him down for a while, and that he was encouraged to pick himself up and play through the pain. He was saying that Bale had to overcome that psychological / physical hurdle before he could kick on.

[foxmulder]

What I found really interesting is that when he returned to Spurs, as mentioned above, his form was not good to start with. There was even a period where he couldn't even get off the bench and it was hard to see him even playing, let alone starting.

But then he did, but what was different is that he was chewing gum whilst playing. As my kid has sensory issues, I've attended many sensory/autism classes and employing certain devices can distract from mental/sensory problems.

Bale's form suddenly improved and he started scoring braces, hat tricks and brought out the short-lived but loved, Welsh Mafia hand gesture.

I know it's fucking ludicrous to suggest that an improvement in form down to a sudden practice of chewing gum is the reason. There were obviously other factors, but when did he ever chew gum previously? It only happened during those four/five months in his 17 year career. And that period was probably the last time he was in form. And it's interesting that his form slumped since, with the absence of gum lol.

I think he used it as a device to mentally get past fear of tackles/muscle pain.

[insertname]

Jan 11, 2023 12:22:31 GMT allezlesrouges said:

I have a friend who knows the family Bale has married into. Told me a few years back that particularly when Bale seemed to be injured literally all the time, that it was because Madrid pressured him to come back too early causing re-aggravation. This is why Bale then hired a personal physio to monitor him, as reported in the press. That was to get someone outside of the bias of the club to assess his readiness to return

For a period I do think this made Bale overly cautious. Do you remember when Mourinho made a point of calling him out publicly for there being a psychological reason Bale was dropping out injured at Spurs? Soon after that Bale put in some blistering performances, and seemed back to his best (he actually ended up with an incredible return when he went back to Spurs), and I think that proved Mourinho was right in saying Bale had become overly cautious about his body - which was clearly a result of Madrid misusing him

That being said it obviously caught up to him late in his career. But I think the thing people forget is that he might only be 33, but he started regular professional football when he was 16. A 17 year career is pretty standard for most, if you think a player that breaks through when he is 19 and then retires when he's 36 - that's a 17 year career too!

Interesting- thanks for sharing! That’s certainly a new (albeit perhaps unsurprising) perspective on it and also goes to show that even though the game is awash with cash at the top end such tremendous amounts of money per week still come with some pretty heavy duty strings attached - such as risking your longevity in the game to satisfy your pay masters.

It’s a pity more of this stuff isn’t made more public because reading the narratives around Bale’s retirement emphasis is placed on how his career tailed off in the last few years at Madrid due to injury…and it seems like that was thanks to his club!