The Texan Gets His Spurs: Dempsey at Tottenham [R]

That's going a little far don't you think? I think he's similar to Di Maria, not as skilled on the dribble...but more athletic and able to 'body' guys.

 

If a team pays 80 million for him, he will be on the pitch as quickly as they can find him a shirt. Grin . . .

 

He also has poor vision, which will hurt him in Spain where expectations of creativity are much higher (at least for Barca/RM, the only teams Bale would actually transfer to).

 

I believe that what Bale offers is the speed to transition from defense to offense in the pocket that is opened up when a 4-2-3-1 formation attacks. He also is quality enough to punish any team when he is placed in a position of advantage. It's a formation thing. No matter what, all formations have a weakpoint. Bale might just have the toolset to really pry open that formation.

 

Sounds like the weather will be crappy in London for the ManU match. Saturday forecasts are highs of only 2deg centigrade with rain and/or snow...

 

Sounds like a match that will require grit, luckily Dempsey found his.

 

He started off as a left back, which is where he played for Southampton and were he got his early games for Spurs and he's even played as a LB once this season. He has only played as a left winger for a couple of seasons. That said his strengths are so much more his dribbling, shooting, crossing and creativity than his defensive play.

 

This.

 

No, he's not. He is a left winger/left mid

 

no. He currently plays LW/LM, but he started out as a left back. He was converted to a winger because his speed, dribbling, crossing, and shooting abilities were better served in a more advanced position than as a defender. However, in a team that already has good wingers such as Real Madrid, or Barca, he might be moved back to LB

 

Right. But in your original response to my post, you said that he is a left back by trade, which he is not. He may have started his career there, but he hasn't played that position (outside of a couple games) in over 2 years. When he first burst onto the scene as a left back, he was actually very scrutinized for his performances and the team's lack of winning. All of his and Tottenham's successes the past few years have been with him playing on the left side of midfield/LW. So, I would say he is a LW/LM, not a LB, by trade.

 

Says the guy who asked if Bale had ever played leftback before...

 

Real Madrid have Marcelo, Di Maria and Coentrao...Bale seems like overkill.

 

Marcelo and Coentrao are used as outside backs... Bale would be used as a winger in the midfield like Di Maria.

 

They've played as wingers before with Real Madrid or Previous clubs in stints.

And I don't think Bale is better than Di Maria, and he isn't as good as a LB as Marcelo or Coentrao. If one of those guys aren't leaving, why pick Bale up?

I don't think he'll go to Real Madrid or any club in Spain. That leaves only two or three clubs in England and Russia.

 

As I was saying -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jan/16/tottenham-midfielder-sandro-surgery

 

The Sandro injury is a drag, although if Parker is back to full health I think it's less of a big deal. I think if Parker gets back to form he's an improvement on Sandro.

I don't understand the Hudd love. From what I've seen this year he is fine but uninspiring. Then again, so has the Fulham I've seen, so perhaps a match made in heaven.

 

And?

99.9% of the clubs in the world try to sign the players they need, that fit into their budget.

Real Madrid tries to sign any player that strikes their fancy and they laugh in the face of budgets. Bale makes at least as much sense for them as Modric did.

 

This was addressed previously. He wouldn't replace Di Maria since he's on the right. He wouldn't replace Marcelo and Coentrao who share LB duties. Instead, he could play LW where CR currently plays. Bale would track back further than CR, provide better defense, and still have plenty of speed left to transition into that empty pocket on the wings. CR could then play a free roaming 9/10 role where his lack of defensive skills wouldn't hurt the team so much.

 

Bale is better than DiMaria ever thought of being. DiMaria is embarrassing to watch with his diving and sillyness between plays. How it took Mourihno this long to sit him is beyond me.

The problem for Bale would be that his best position is CR's favored LW position. No way he unseats him. I do think his style would suit RM very well. They don't rely on a heavy possession game. They are the fastest countering team in the world though. He could also play LWB there, which is Marcelo's spot (injured). It's very attacking in combining with Ronaldo. Not 100% sure Bale is an upgrade over Marcelo.

Mou isn't going to be there either way, so Bale would have to be careful about moving over.

 

The reason posters can't decide where to put him is that he can play all over the field, offense and defense. That is what makes him valuable. His weakest point is seeing/understanding what his teammates are doing. He tends to play within himself too much. He thinks Ade is in position for a header when he is not and thinks Dempsey is not when he is.

 

Is this the bale thread?

 

I think so too but they do need depth.

With the loss of Danny Murphy, Fulham lost a central mid who can both tackle and move the ball. Baird can tackle, not so good with the other stuff. Jol has even been playing Karagounis, who can move the ball but not much in the tackle, there recently.

And they have been hunting for the central mids all over Europe, as their forwards and wingers are sort of OK with Berbatov, Ruiz, Rodallega, Duff, Petric, et al.

 

Holtby would seem a curious choice as cover for a DM (Parker/Sandro). Can he adjust to this role (as well as adjust to the EPL) ? Holtby would seem to be more suited as cover for Dembele or even Dempsey.

 

Huddlestone is struggling to get starts for a team like Spurs who have 3 quality central midfielders ahead of him, but for a team like Fulham he'd be a pretty big signing.

Holtby isn't coming to Spurs to play as a DM, even with Sandro injured they have Parker. If Holtby comes now I'd guess he'd slot in behind Defoe, but in a more midfield position than Adebayor or Dempsey have been playing.