Glass Dragons Still Breathe Fire - The Gareth Bale Thread

that's the problem. it' so rare for him to be good, that we all forgot. true.

 

It was a long time ago in the galaxy far, far away....

 

The biggest issue with bale is not that he is playing bad . For me the main issues are
1. he is the main reason we play 433
2. he takes minutes away from better players .
3. Makes it difficult for other top talents to join us.
4. We are throwing money away on his high salary.

 

You need to take a chill pill.

 

It's right , even more of a disgrace that he gets compared to Neymar.

 

No they have not, his two goals are recalled over and over again as proof of how good he can be, he has been good at other times too but those two goals are constantly brought up as a reminder

 

I really want to know what these people that are so hung up on Bale see in him. "On form he's one of the best". That hasn't happened in a long time and I just don't see the progression ever since he got back from injury. He looks lost and honestly looks like he's lost a step or 2 which was probably his best asset. I wouldn't bet all my chips on the guy

 

I agree.

I think he's really afraid of getting injured again, must be really hard for him mentally to have to play with that fear constantly. If it weren't for his high wages i wouldn't mind him staying if he's willing to fight for a spot. I'd rather go into the tougher parts and games of the season with Bale on the team sheet (not a starter) than without him.

He seems to have aged badly too, i don't know how marketable he is right now. I definitely think he didn't live up to his potential in that aspect. I know he has a large social media following but i just don't see him being a huge marketing draw compared to guys like Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar and even Pogba etc.

 

He seems to have lost pace after all of those injuries. Doesn't leave him with too many abilities.
His style of kicking the ball is similar to Ronaldo's, his knees and legs will pay the price even more in the following seasons.

It's visible on Ronaldo by how much pace he lost and how his free-kicks turned from amazing to shit.

 

This is Bale. It always has been. He was never involved in build up play. He was never one for 50/50 balls. His best games are when he has space and when we play on the counter. He won't change now.

I like him but he hasn't been right for us more often than not. If we give him another season then so be it, but I hope he plays like he's fighting for his place.

But in all honesty I would love to sell him this season and see if Isco, Asensio or Mbappe could step up to the mark.

 

Wonder if anything's being done to try and cut out his numerous injuries, seeking any specialist advice ala Robben ..

Remember he tore it up last pre season and we all know how his last season went due to fitness. Shame.

 

I was quoting what some other people when they say "on form he's one of the best", not myself. Not confused at all. I don't deny at one point he was a good player but I don't see it anymore and haven't in a long time.

 

Isn't Robben injured most of the time though? When you don't follow the club it may seem like he's healthy but i'm constantly told by Buyern fans that he's out a lot with injuries.

 

He is. Just like Bale the main difference it that he does not need 20 games to get back into form, he usually delivers as soon as he's back.

 

I don't like to put much stock into preseason but Bale looks terrified to even attempt getting out of 1st gear. Pretty sad to see the youngest of the BBC has aged the worst.

 

This.
every time he goes down he start to stretch, checking his legs and you can see a look of worry on his face.
Having said that, these two goals that he made (the Barca supercup and the 2014 CL final overtime) gave him a lot of marketing credit and its not gone yet, so as long as he has that to him, Perez will not sell him, but it does look that this credit is fast going down so if this is another year of injuries, he'll be out next summer for sure.
This is a risk that Perez is taking, selling him now with a higher value vs injured again and selling him for 20M next summer. for those type of risk management decision I put my trust in Perez.
BTW, of course there is the possibility that he never gets injured, have a 30 goals season and become instrumental for our team, but for some reason, we all know he is not going to play all season - which is the only comforting thing (in a bizarre way) in all this because it means at some point Isco will get the nod just because Bale will be injured again.

 

I'd been under the impression that he'd cut out the frequency of injuries after leaving us.