Gareth Bale- An Alternative View

There can be no doubt that Gareth Bale is a fantastic footballer, but is he worthy of the tag ‘world class’ just yet? I would argue not quite.

For me, a lot of what Bale currently does on the football pitch is more that of an Olympic sprinter than it is Premier League footballer.  The way that Spurs attack when Bale is in the side is to feed him the ball in a deep lying position, upon receiving the ball Bale will draw his full back towards him before knocking the ball as far up the line as possible turning the winger/full back contest essentially in to a sprint race, a race Bale is always going to win unless Usain Bolt is planning a change in vocation.  Having left his marker for dead Bale will then do one of two things, he will either drill the ball hard and low towards the far corner of the net or he will drill the ball hard and low across the box where any touch may result in a goal.  Both acts look nearly identical but I am willing to allow the Welshman the benefit of the doubt on that one.

 The repetitiveness of this tried and tested formula would normally make Bale a very one dimensional player and one that is very easy to defend against if it wasn’t for his lightning pace.  If you look at the midfield/attacking players voted into the FIFA team of the year for 2012 recently, only Cristiano Ronaldo you could describe as being lightning quick.  However, Ronaldo scores all types of goals from all over the pitch, you certainly would not label him one dimensional.  Of the other players, most are what I would call ‘thinking footballers’, they do not have outstanding pace to call upon but have awareness, vision, and technical ability that for me is much more pleasing on the eye.  Players like Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi can receive the ball with opponents within three yards of him and be able to twist, turn and wriggle their way out of the situation.  Players like Xavi and Xabi Alonso know where they are going to pass the ball before they have even received it. 

I do believe that Bale has the potential to add more dimensions to his game.  I remember him as a 17 year old kid being able to manipulate the ball from dead ball situations having only just broken into the Southampton first team so there is no doubt that Bale has technical ability, which makes the fact his doesn’t use it all the more frustrating.  Pace is a very precious commodity in modern football but it is also a very fragile one.  In the long term pace is bound to diminish with age as we have seen with Ryan Giggs, another Welsh wing wizard who has so brilliantly adapted his game over the years to remain effective at the top level.  In the short term, what if Bale was to go out in his next match and snap one of his hamstrings?  We have seen it with Michael Owen the affect that injury of this seriousness has on a players game as for me Owen was never the same player after his ‘hammy’ gave up the ghost at Elland Road all those years ago.  If Bale can develop a more technical side of the game, he stands a great chance of being able to sustain a career at the top once age catches up with him and if he falls foul of serious injury.  Not only that, there is a very real possibility he can become a ‘world class’ player.  It is in fact to his credit that Bale was voted by his peers their Player Of The Year for the 2011-12 season, imagine the player he could be if he can develop the technical side of his game.

Aaron Sharp

Follow @ajs26061988

Comments

[VTVeteran]

Have you just been watching repeats of the Inter Milan games, or have you actually seen a match Gareth has played in the last year? Witness for example his volley-cross away at Werder Bremen, his goal at Stoke last season, his free kick against Serbia for Wales; the boy has a fantastic ball-striking technique coupled to an incredible ability to pick out an accurate cross/shot whilst running at full pace.

[Ben]

This article either deliberately misses many of Bale's skills or is just inaccurate. Perhaps if you look at the 9 premier league goals he has scored (more than most strikers) this season you will see glimpses of the technical ability that apparently he 'doesn't use'. He has scored many different types of goals, many of which demonstrated world class technical ability.

The only thing Bale needs to iron out is his inconsistency. He can sometimes go missing in games and not make much of an impact, but on the whole he is getting towards world class.

Whether intentional or not, this article paints the picture of a man better suited to joining the GB 100m sprint team rather than being a top footballer. Accuracy seems to have left the room with these quick fire internet articles.

[rob]

So Bale is only good because he is fast, and you hint at the fact that hitting the ball blindly across the box is all he does? Well then I guess that every player in world football who is also fast must be considered as good as Bale. After all, if they can outpace a full back and hit the ball across goal in some way then they are duplicating what Bale can do, right? By your logic Usain Bolt would in fact be the better player.
I suggest you actually sit down and watch a few Spurs games with your Dad or someone who knows what they are talking about. You have a very simplistic and child like understanding of football which would be charming if you didn't couple it with being so smug.

[Bcee]

To be honest, over the past two seasons he has stopped play as much as sprinted. Also he's popping up all over the place. Both, I think, need to be addressed in either giving him a number 10 role and bringing in Townsend, or for him to be told to play left wing. Either way, he has once again improved, as have many players, this season, and I feel that AVB has really shone as a man manager.

[Stel]

Its one thing being lightning quick but you still have to control the ball as your running, think you are trying to cause a stir and get some hits as Bale is as good with the ball at his feet as any 6ft + footballer in the world. players like Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Alonso are the jewels of this spanish football generation and Messi is the greatest player of all time. to try and claim Bale is merely a Sprinter on a football pitch is very narrow sighted indeed.

[My Heart Is White]

You cannot possibly know anymore about football than the average half deaf, half blind, elderly lady at a nursing home! What a complete and utter load of camel dump! Funny how such a one dimensional player cut through the heart of the Man Utd. midfield and defence like it was butter, no.... milk. Your opinion is so far off the mark, that even though I tried to give your words enough credit by just reading them, I couldn't get to the end. Please don't remark on our players, you obviously have no clue whatsoever, just keep your extremely lame comments to yourself, or at least write in a language that very few people use. In which dimension would you put his left foot volley against Stoke last season? The only footballing dimension that you know of is flat and is usually found on the back page of a newspaper!

[Shannon]

I too feel that Bale needs to affect the outcomes of games a bit more to be considered truly world class. But that is not the same as saying he is one-dimensional. In fact, I really don't even want to go into such a ludicrous claim.

[RhinoNeal]

You say Gareth Bale is a one dimensional player and all he does is draw the defender towards him and then knock the ball up the line and sprint after it, well to me your view is a bit "one dimensional". Your view seems mainly based on the 2010 Inter Milan game and you cannot of watch Bale over a number of matches. From what I have seen Gareth has so much more to his game now. He has good close ball control, a brilliant header of a ball and good dribbling skills. Despite all those skills he is a brilliant finisher and free kick specialist.

I suggest you have another closer look at him because what you are saying is crap and just seems to be contraversial for the sake of an article. Either that or you are a Gooner.

[Aaron]

Apologies if you already heard enough from me today, but please allow me to respond.

This is only the second blog I have written so if my writing style comes across as a little 'green' I apologise, I am eager to develop my style the more I write. In hindsight the use of the term 'one dimensional' was short sighted and i assure was not to be deliberately controversial or to gain more hits.

Having said that, the article was my honest opinion of the player, however if so many of you feel I am wrong I am happy to study the player more.

I welcome any constructive criticism as I feel it can only help with my writing, I hope I haven't put you off reading any of my future blogs.

Many Thanks

[rob]

Chill out Aaron; the fact is if a blogger writes something everyone hates people tend to come back anyway in the hope of having some other half baked tosh to have a go about. Sooner or later they may start agreeing with you about other things, and then you can build up a bit of a following for the right reasons. Being regularly boring, claiming to be ITK when you clearly aren't or using bait and switch headlines are the only guaranteed ways to stop people from clicking on your page altogether.

I've been writing these for a few years and I'll give you two pieces of advice if you'll indulge me. Firstly, never apologise. You will always have people who disagree and I can guarantee you that if a hundred people joyously berate your opinion in the most smug and patronising manner imaginable, not a single one of them will return to say sorry if you turn out to be correct.

Finally; proof read! Do it a couple of times then come back half an hour later and do it again with fresh eyes. Opinions are one thing but there's no excuse for sloppy writing.

You need a thick skin to do this mate, just take the rough with the smooth.