For The Sake of English Football Bale Must Stay

[The Fighting Cock]

There is this rumour doing the rounds, you might have seen it at some point. In case you have been lucky enough to miss it, or you have opted to spend the summer in a lead lined fridge avoiding the nuclear fallout from limited live football, here it is: Gareth Bale may depart for mainland Europe. According to many sources teams that have been bankrolled by the black stuff are stuffing multiple suitcases with cash. It’s hardly the most surprising [...]

Continue reading...

 

[Johnboy40]

Bale to Monaco/ PSG has come about because our fine print media has realised that the biting racist tshirt model in Liverpool is more likely to be the marquee signing at Madrid this summer, simply because he has been making noise about it. That, and they don't actually like us being there or thereabouts without making the £30 million signings the others do (hence the sudden demise of " grand slam sunday" on sky the minute we displaced the bin dippers in the top 4.)

 

[AlMacca_]

Well this is quite possibly the worst article I've read on here.

"The general perception of the English game will be irrevocably damaged; SKY, BT and thousands of billboard poster-sticker-uppers will be affected."

Who gives a fuck about how Bale leaving will affect Sky and BT. The only positive from Bale leaving is that it will effect them and hopefully do some damage to them.

"but there is no denying he puts us on today’s global football map. Football as we see by the astronomic rise in TV revenue is now a global game and personally I like having a player good enough that even in a remote part of Indonesia, a nippy 7 year old with big ears being inspired."

Like I said before, who cares if a 7 year old that lives in Indonesia knows about us because of Bale?

"The greatest league in the world? Perhaps briefly once, but not anymore.

They need Bale to stay as much as we want him to stay. If Bale left this year, not only would Spurs lose a fantastic and vital component, but it would signify the end of the Premier League as a force."

Bale is not the be all and end all of English football, far from it.

"The Premier League is on the wane and the national teams are wobbling, attendances are down and it’s imperative for SKY and BT that the Premier League keeps hold of at least one global asset."

I honestly cannot believe that you have mentioned falling attendances and then said that it is important for Sky (one of the main reasons that their are falling attendances but that's another matter altogether) that Bale stays. BT not so much as they've only just come about but I know for a fact they will contribute to even lower attendances in the next few years.

 

[pbesmoove]

I think it's a little hyperbolic to say Bale leaving would end the Premier League being a global force. Eventually Man United will pay down their debt and Chelsea will always spend. It was only like 13 months ago that an English team won the European title.

The transfer isn't even open so it seems early to say all the best players in the world have refused to come to England this summer.

 

[Bardi]

Well this is quite possibly the worst article I've read on here.

Thank you for your feedback. A couple of points on your remarks.

1. The only way spurs are able to sign players of lloris and Vertonghen class without regular CL money is via TV money. We don't generate enough money to compete with certain teams. No Bale, no attraction, less global appeal, less of a bargaining chip, less TV money. BT and SKY reducing the money they invest will only hurt us.

2. Its the idea that Bale gives us a player we can be proud of and people around the globe aspire to be. How many times as a kid did you pretend to be Doherty, Sherwood, or Jason Cundy in your back garden? Football is a sport that has always inspired people from different countries, in Bale Tottenham have someone that does this.

So you don't care that a kid somewhere is pretending to be spurs player? Would you prefer him to be Walcott? You don't feel any sort of pride about your club inspiring young people? You would prefer us to be unknown?

3.Bale is one of very few truly class acts left in the PL. I don't want to spend my money going to watch Adam Johnson/Charlie Adam/Lee Cattermole lumbering around a pitch for 50 quid. I like to be able to watch class players at the top of their game, regardless of who they play for. If Bale isn't the standard bearer for English football who is? The national team? The Under 21's? John Terry?

4. The reasons attendances are falling are ticket prices soaring. Clubs trying to make as much money as possible in order to stay competitive. Wages have stayed the same but living costs have risen, people cant afford to spend the little money they have left at the end of the month on watching live football.

You know for a fact that BT will contribute to lower attendances? Please look into your crystal ball and tell me the euro millions numbers for tonight. Then perhaps i can buy a player for spurs and we can exist without TV money.

 

[Bardi]

I think it's a little hyperbolic to say Bale leaving would end the Premier League being a global force. Eventually Man United will pay down their debt and Chelsea will always spend. It was only like 13 months ago that an English team won the European title.

The transfer isn't even open so it seems early to say all the best players in the world have refused to come to England this summer.

As with any opinion piece there is a touch of "the sky is falling we are doomed" in order to give it some resonance. Take a look around the PL though and compare it to where it was a few years ago. There is no denying that we don't have the best players anymore. The PL can not afford to lose another star, or fail to bring the next one.

Regarding the CL win by an English team, i think everyone knows that was a fluke. The basic fact is that that baring that one fluke, for the last few years English teams have underperformed in the CL, with our national champions twice failing to make it out of the group stages. Man U 2011/12 MCFC 2012/13 as well as the holders in 2012/13

 

[S.L.R]

At first the idea "English football needs Bale" made me cringe, but I see your basic point. It's good for the league to have world class players, and he's one of them. There are still plenty of other fantastic players in the league though - it's not a choice between Bale and Charlie Adam.

 

[Eskimo]

SOCCER!

Fuck "football", i couldn't care how many "world stars" are in the premier league in fact the fewer the better if they aren't playing for us. I support Tottenham Hotspur not the "BPL".

 

[Eskimo]

The transfer isn't even open so it seems early to say all the best players in the world have refused to come to England this summer.

Just to be pedantic, the window is open, it opens at midnight following the last game of the season:
Oh and the transfer window is open:

FA Premier League

The first Transfer Window in any year shall commence at midnight on the last day of the season and shall end on 31 August next if a Working Day, if not, on the first Working Day thereafter, at a time to be determined by the Board.

 

[Bardi]

Fuck "football", i couldn't care how many "world stars" are in the premier league in fact the fewer the better if they aren't playing for us. I support Tottenham Hotspur not the "BPL".

Its all relative. There will always be better players out there, but if the league is shit, that just means the top teams will get second/third class players, leaving us to pick up fourth/fifth/sixth class players.

If the league is weak, then the players joining are weak. Attractive football is impossible without players of a certain class.

 

[Eskimo]

Its all relative. There will always be better players out there, but if the league is shit, that just means the top teams will get second/third class players, leaving us to pick up fourth/fifth/sixth class players.

If the league is weak, then the players joining are weak. Attractive football is impossible without players of a certain class.

If we are playing the best football in a shit league and winning things i'll be happy.

 

[Tucker]

If we are playing the best football in a shit league and winning things i'll be happy.

That's like being happy to win the smelliest turd contest.

 

[Eskimo]

That's like being happy to win the smelliest turd contest.

But we'd be winning it in glorious colour!

 

[pleb]

That's like being happy to win the smelliest turd contest.

What about the largest one??

 

[S-11]

Chelsea and Man City have raised the profile in recent years of how cun ty things are in the EPL.

 

[Johnboy40]

What about the largest one??

That particular record, according to the European Fecal Standards & Measurements office, of Zurich, Switzerland, belongs to a Mr Randy Marsh, of South Park, Colorado. The record breaking moment was recorded for posterity:

 

[Lister]

Im not even convinced "For the sake of Tottenham Hotspur Bale should stay"

 

[pleb]

I would like to see more of this:

 

[AlMacca_]

Thank you for your feedback. A couple of points on your remarks.

cheers for getting back.

1) I do see your point but, if SKY and BT get damaged from Bale leaving and that in turn damages us in the sense that we can't necessarily sign "big" players then that's fine with me.

2) I wouldn't care if the kid was pretending to be Sol Campbell. It's a little kid in Indonesia, he has no effect on me or the rest of the fan base, but like I said before I do see what you mean. (Just so you know I used to pretend to be Craig Bellamy in my garden, he was my idol!).

3) When we mug ourselves off and pay £50 to go to a game that's that, any thing exciting happens it's a bonus. I know what you mean as no-one wants to watch Charlie Adam week in week out and we'd rather watch players like Bale, but that's something only a handful of teams in the PL have at the moment.

4) Obviously ticket prices are the main reason for falling attendances but to say SKY haven't contributed to them as well is foolish. A lot of people will think, why pay £40 to watch my team at home on a Monday night when I can watch it live on SKY at home for free... & I know BT will also contribute to falling attendances as I've seen SKY do it with my own eyes. Foolish to think they won't.

 

[Blanchflower]

Bardi I'm always amazed at how Sky and the written press are seemingly so keen to weaken their brands by selling all the leagues best players abroad or trying to get them all to join United, City or Chelsea and reduce the competition in the league.

They should all be throwing money at Bale to stay at Spurs, it would obviously weaken the integrity of the league but as if the millions of people in the Far East (who they actually make their money from) would care about that.