James Restall has been speaking on the latest edition of The Times’ The Game Football Podcast, and he has been talking about Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-3 draw with West Ham United.
Spurs were 3-0 up heading into the final ten minutes of the game and ended up drawing 3-3 with the Hammers as Manuel Lanzini scored a dramatic stoppage-time goal to seal a draw for West Ham.
However, Restall believes that one of the positives that Spurs can take from the game was the second debut of Gareth Bale from the bench.
The Welshman came on in the 72nd minute and actually had a huge chance to wrap up the game for Spurs, only for him to drag his effort wide of the post.
However, Restall believes that Bale’s performance can only be a good thing for Spurs in the long run.
It seems as if even though Bale missed the chance, Restall thinks it is positive that Bale had the chance and thinks that most of the time Bale would score that chance.
He said: “I think Bale’s cameo was actually a huge positive in the long run for Spurs.
“He should have scored that chance, and nine times out of ten Bale would score that chance.
“[But,] what a great piece of firepower to be able to bring off the bench, and in a more tight game, he might well be the difference.
“I mean, it was brilliant build-up play [and a] brilliant bit of skill from him, and this is a guy that has been on the golf course for the last six months.
“So, I think it’s a positive that [his display and the missed chance].”
Do you agree with Restall?
Yes, he will only get better
No, he has to score that
TIF Thoughts on Restall’s view on Bale’s performance…
Bale only played 20 games for Real Madrid last season, and after the restart, he played just two games, so he has not played a lot of football, which could explain why he missed that chance against the Hammers.
However, as Restall mentions, the footwork to open up the space to create the chance for himself was sublime and if that is what he can do with barely any game time in the last year, then think what he could do once he gets his match sharpness back.
Tottenham now face LASK in the Europa League before playing Burnley in the Premier League, so it will be interesting to see if Bale gets more game time in either of Spurs’ next two matches.