Recently Tottenham Hotspur sent a warning out to the Manchester clubs after an impressive victory over Norwich City at Carrow Road with one man in particular showing his class once again. Gareth Bale has been a victim of his own success over the past 18 months that has forced everyone in football to air their opinion on the pacey left winger.
A run of form at the beginning of the 2010-2011 season changed Bale’s life forever as he went from being an improving winger that had just cemented his place in the Spurs side, to being Barcelona and Real Madrid’s top transfer targets for the coming windows. In October 2010 the Welsh winger scored a stunning hat trick away at Inter Milan in the Champions League and even though his side lost the game Bale’s contribution was noted all over the world.
The interest in him and the form he was on would mean that Bale was constantly the headline news in the sports pages and a keen topic of conversation all over the country which heaped pressure on the 21-year-old that in my opinion affected the former Southampton wingers form which led non-Spurs fans to jump on the bandwagon that Bale was extremely overrated and not as good a player as the media had made out. However, it is clear to me that now people have stopped droning on about Bale’s ability and form it has allowed him to go unnoticed on another run of great performances in a rapidly improving side.
This is not at all based on last night’s game, but Bale has returned to his very best at the start of this season which has coincided with Spurs sitting pretty in third place above London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal. Along with Aaron Lennon, the width at White Hart Lane has become un-defendable in the Premier League and has been the catalyst for the amount of goals the club are scoring under Harry Redknapp.
Bale has now made over 100 appearances for Spurs and is a key player for the North London side that will do everything they can to keep hold of him in January and beyond. A mysterious hatred surrounded Bale after his media hype last year and so after a dip in form, people seemingly dismissed him and that has now made him stronger. Admittedly, Bale is not the best player in the world, he is not the best player in the Premier League but he would comfortably get in any side in the division and his form this season has been second to none on the left wing.
Unfortunately last night’s performance has once again sparked a media surge of ‘Bale is God’ which will inevitably force fans to once again slate the winger. Whether it is jealousy or just people who don’t understand football, the negative vibe effected Bale last time and hopefully it will not repeat itself. A period of six months or so where the Welshman has been ignored by the media is now over and it could time for another run of form that will once again interest the European big-guns who would be open for a move for the winger.
If anyone has doubts over Bale’s genuine quality just take a look at his second goal last night and his importance in a Spurs side that will take some stopping in once again breaking into the top four.
Disagree? Let me know on Twitter: @Brad_Pinard
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