Tottenham Hotspur: Seb Stafford-Bloor discusses Gareth Bale

Seb Stafford-Bloor has been speaking on the latest edition of The Athletic’s Tifo Podcast about Tottenham Hotspur’s display in the Carabao Cup final as well as other topics from the world of football.

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One of the topics that were mentioned while talking about Spurs was Gareth Bale.

The Welshman returned to Tottenham on loan in the last summer transfer window, and after initially struggling with injuries, it looked like he had rediscovered his form earlier this year.

However, after a run of six goals and three assists in just six games, he was dropped by Jose Mourinho after the Dinamo Zagreb defeat and only played a further ten minutes until Mourinho was sacked.

Stafford-Bloor believes that Bale’s lack of game time has been a missed opportunity.

He said: (44:03) “Gareth Bale feels like a real missed opportunity because had Gareth Bale had a bit more football, he might be a little bit more of a force in games.

“I still don’t really understand why, having been amongst that side’s most productive players for a month, he was then kind of [jettisoned] from the side – that was odd to me.

“One of Mourinho’s habits is that if he doesn’t rate a player, he [marginalises] them to such an extent that it takes time for them to become useful again.”