Maltese Falcon
Niko Kranjcar
Bale in a class of his own
February 9, 2013
By Kevin Palmer, White Hart Lane
As Bale added two more superb goals to his collection and guided his team into pole position in the race for a top-four finish, the superlatives required to pay tribute to his brilliance were a little thin on the ground. When someone is this good, finding words to do justice to his performance is not easy, yet this is the script Bale scrawls, time and time again.
Oozing with pace, power, clinical finishing and boasting a fear factor that puts him in a class of his own in the Premier League, this was another example of the 23-year-old Welshman coming to the boil in thrilling fashion. Saudi Sportswashing Machine could be forgiven for having no answer to his genius.
From his magnificent fifth-minute free-kick that opened the scoring to his 78th-minute winner that was never in doubt from the moment he raced clear of the Saudi Sportswashing Machine defence, Bale carried a Tottenham team desperately lacking a natural striker to a victory they would not have achieved without their one-man orchestra.
Relying on a solitary player to win you games is hardly a reliable route to long-term success, but when the player in question is playing at the level Bale has risen to, it is natural that Tottenham are relying on him to haul them to glory time and time again.
While head coach Andre Villas-Boas did his best to claim his team were much more than just the Gareth Bale show, he was overwhelmed with questions surrounding his star turn, whose price tag and attractiveness to the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona will have inflated after this latest wonder show.
"We are fortunate to have a player of such a dimension who is helping us to win games," the Spurs boss said. "Gareth is enjoying his football through the middle and he seems to enjoy it more than playing on the left flank, but we know he can play anywhere. There are always going to be questions about whether Tottenham can keep hold of him, but I have answered this many times. He is happy here, he is enjoying his football and we have no need to sell him.
"What I don't want is for this just to be just about Gareth because we win as a team. It was an important victory for us because it puts other teams under pressure and when you consider Saudi Sportswashing Machine's form, it shows what a great, great win this is for us."
Villas-Boas can thank his lucky stars that Bale is producing miracles for him because, without the intervention of his match-winner, the question marks over Tottenham's top-four credentials would have been the primary story emerging from this game.
As it stands, Spurs may well get away with their transfer market prudence as they have a footballer who is a little too good for the rest of the Premier League to handle right now, as Saudi Sportswashing Machine boss Alan Pardew was happy to concede as much.
"Bale is difficult to contain," Pardew said. "We tied him down in certain areas, but his first goal was a great hit and you have to hold your hands up and say the guy is a class act. We are not the first team to have problems with him and we won't be the last, I can assure you.
"The positive from this game is the overall performance of my team and the power we showed for long periods of the game. We felt comfortable until a small mistake handed them the chance to get the second goal. I have no doubt that we will be fine this season with the team we now have."
If Real Madrid and Barcelona were interested in Bale before his recent displays, their eagerness to pay the £50 million it may cost to sign him up will have intensified in recent weeks, yet such an outcome would not only be devastating for Tottenham as the Premier League brand is now also at stake.
While Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo deserve to be recognised as the two best players in the world right now, Bale is not be far behind them in the elite list and if he does join them in Spain next summer, England's top flight will lose the jewel in its crown.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Gareth Bale. The superlatives are running out to illustrate the brilliance of a player who is carrying Tottenham's season on his own. The Welshman is winning Premier League games week after week.
TOTTENHAM VERDICT: A one-man team maybe, but what a man. Robin van Persie's brilliance guided Arsenal into the Champions League last season and Bale is threatening to do the same for Spurs this term.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns...is-own?cc=4716
February 9, 2013
By Kevin Palmer, White Hart Lane
As Bale added two more superb goals to his collection and guided his team into pole position in the race for a top-four finish, the superlatives required to pay tribute to his brilliance were a little thin on the ground. When someone is this good, finding words to do justice to his performance is not easy, yet this is the script Bale scrawls, time and time again.
Oozing with pace, power, clinical finishing and boasting a fear factor that puts him in a class of his own in the Premier League, this was another example of the 23-year-old Welshman coming to the boil in thrilling fashion. Saudi Sportswashing Machine could be forgiven for having no answer to his genius.
From his magnificent fifth-minute free-kick that opened the scoring to his 78th-minute winner that was never in doubt from the moment he raced clear of the Saudi Sportswashing Machine defence, Bale carried a Tottenham team desperately lacking a natural striker to a victory they would not have achieved without their one-man orchestra.
Relying on a solitary player to win you games is hardly a reliable route to long-term success, but when the player in question is playing at the level Bale has risen to, it is natural that Tottenham are relying on him to haul them to glory time and time again.
While head coach Andre Villas-Boas did his best to claim his team were much more than just the Gareth Bale show, he was overwhelmed with questions surrounding his star turn, whose price tag and attractiveness to the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona will have inflated after this latest wonder show.
"We are fortunate to have a player of such a dimension who is helping us to win games," the Spurs boss said. "Gareth is enjoying his football through the middle and he seems to enjoy it more than playing on the left flank, but we know he can play anywhere. There are always going to be questions about whether Tottenham can keep hold of him, but I have answered this many times. He is happy here, he is enjoying his football and we have no need to sell him.
"What I don't want is for this just to be just about Gareth because we win as a team. It was an important victory for us because it puts other teams under pressure and when you consider Saudi Sportswashing Machine's form, it shows what a great, great win this is for us."
Villas-Boas can thank his lucky stars that Bale is producing miracles for him because, without the intervention of his match-winner, the question marks over Tottenham's top-four credentials would have been the primary story emerging from this game.
As it stands, Spurs may well get away with their transfer market prudence as they have a footballer who is a little too good for the rest of the Premier League to handle right now, as Saudi Sportswashing Machine boss Alan Pardew was happy to concede as much.
"Bale is difficult to contain," Pardew said. "We tied him down in certain areas, but his first goal was a great hit and you have to hold your hands up and say the guy is a class act. We are not the first team to have problems with him and we won't be the last, I can assure you.
"The positive from this game is the overall performance of my team and the power we showed for long periods of the game. We felt comfortable until a small mistake handed them the chance to get the second goal. I have no doubt that we will be fine this season with the team we now have."
If Real Madrid and Barcelona were interested in Bale before his recent displays, their eagerness to pay the £50 million it may cost to sign him up will have intensified in recent weeks, yet such an outcome would not only be devastating for Tottenham as the Premier League brand is now also at stake.
While Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo deserve to be recognised as the two best players in the world right now, Bale is not be far behind them in the elite list and if he does join them in Spain next summer, England's top flight will lose the jewel in its crown.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Gareth Bale. The superlatives are running out to illustrate the brilliance of a player who is carrying Tottenham's season on his own. The Welshman is winning Premier League games week after week.
TOTTENHAM VERDICT: A one-man team maybe, but what a man. Robin van Persie's brilliance guided Arsenal into the Champions League last season and Bale is threatening to do the same for Spurs this term.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns...is-own?cc=4716
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