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Ex-Spurs Player Gareth Bale

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Showed a lot of improvement against Wycombe.....and lasted 90 minutes.

We are not ever going to see the 'old' Bale back, but I'd be delighted if he can be a realistic alternative to Moura and Lamela in the 2nd half of the season, not in speed of course, but sheer quality on the ball and experience. Not to mention that if he gets the ball in or close to the opposition box he can still make it count better than most.

I still suspect that Bergwijn is a better option to play with Kane and Son as Bergwijn not only forces defenders to follow him, leaving Kane and Son more room to score/assist, but also does a lot of dirty work tracking back to aid the defence which JM likes. Bergwijn is only 22 and still needs developing as a player and if Bale can help in that so much the better as Bergwijn is young enough to be at Spurs for the next decade.

But having Bale able to play 90 minutes does us allow to rotate the front line more, and with the number and frequency of matches we have, that's very good news, both to start some matches but also as a sub..
 
Imo, against teams like Pool, need to start Steve B. Need his pace and ability to track back. And, I feel like he is on the verge of breaking through. Getting in a lot of good spaces.

But Bale is perfect for teams that pack it in. He can help us unlock those games. Yesterday was very encouraging. Got in very dangerous positions, had 8 shots, most of which were legit scoring chances. Not crazy to say he could have had a hat trick if even a bit more clinical.

Need 'em both to come good - lotta games coming up.
 
I feel like Bale would suit us best when we're on the back foot in games like City, Chelsea and Woolwich.
No, he may not be as fast as he once was, but that's like saying Jenifer Aniston isn't as hot as she used to be - you still would.
If we're playing against a team with 9 or 10 behind the ball, he's got nowhere to go. If we're up against an onslaught he's got the ability with Son to take a good ball, control it, run it and either score or provide the right pass again.
Not sure I want the likes of Moura, Lamela, Sissoko or Bergwijn being the recipient when that might be the only chance we get.

Sadly, I think he won't even come off the bench against Lolerpool on Thursday having played 90 minutes yesterday
 
If Bale can get fit and knock the rust off, he's better than any attacker in the squad not named Kane or Son - let's not kid ourselves here. Even half fit and rusty, that's largely true.
 
MemphisWill said:
If Bale can get fit and knock the rust off, he's better than any attacker in the squad not named Kane or Son - let's not kid ourselves here. Even half fit and rusty, that's largely true.
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He's better than anyone in our squad at taking a direct free kick.
Like 100% better than all of them including Kane and Son.

Oddly, in the minutes he's played, I only recall us getting one in shooting range. And he very nearly scored from it - Vinicius ultimately finishing it off.
 
I think his best role for us will be super sub, coming on for any of Kane, Son or Berg or even making a front four.

His burst of pace will be more useful against a tired defence. He also provides long range shooting which we seem to lack outside of Kane (even short range shooting seems like a challenge for some of our players)
 
70s said:
When did he switch numbers?
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Which time?

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Matt1882 said:
I feel like Bale would suit us best when we're on the back foot in games like City, Chelsea and Woolwich.
No, he may not be as fast as he once was, but that's like saying Jenifer Aniston isn't as hot as she used to be - you still would.
If we're playing against a team with 9 or 10 behind the ball, he's got nowhere to go. If we're up against an onslaught he's got the ability with Son to take a good ball, control it, run it and either score or provide the right pass again.
Not sure I want the likes of Moura, Lamela, Sissoko or Bergwijn being the recipient when that might be the only chance we get.

Sadly, I think he won't even come off the bench against Lolerpool on Thursday having played 90 minutes yesterday
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Not sure I agree with this - I'd suggest that Bale would be better served against a packed defence as he will have less running backwards to do and his skill would be useful to help unlock it.

Against the big boys Mourinho would expect his wingers to do a serious amount of defending which Bale is not interested/able to do. Whereas against a West Brom or similar he wouldn't need to worry too much about tracking back.

It's not like Bale is going to have the legs to play the counter-attack style as he would be expected to run full sprints on every turnover as well.
 
Perhaps he might get a start v Brighton at the weekend.
Finishing aside he looked so much better v Wycombe.

We'll rotate our squad a lot over the next month so I'm sure he'll get his chance. But he has to take it and he has to play better.
 
BAE32 said:
Not sure I agree with this - I'd suggest that Bale would be better served against a packed defence as he will have less running backwards to do and his skill would be useful to help unlock it.

Against the big boys Mourinho would expect his wingers to do a serious amount of defending which Bale is not interested/able to do. Whereas against a West Brom or similar he wouldn't need to worry too much about tracking back.

It's not like Bale is going to have the legs to play the counter-attack style as he would be expected to run full sprints on every turnover as well.
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I don't disagree with you but I'm getting concerned his best is against neither really.
Not disciplined enough to deal with defending against good sides when not getting in behind, not confident enough anymore to really go at weaker teams.
 
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