Tottenham forward Gareth Bale isn't carrying his Spurs team-mates, they help lift him to greatness
Gareth Bale is the shining jewel of the Premier League and driving Tottenham Hotspur towards a top four place in what appears a personal crusade.
So many times this season Bale has inspired Spurs towards three points with a magical swing of his left boot and his price tag is now conservatively estimated at £60 million.
He is the man of the moment, a player admired by all the glamour clubs in Europe and securing Champions League football next season is surely the only way Spurs will manage to keep him.
But the question of whether Tottenham are a one-man team is disrespectful to the other players and one that Andre Villas-Boas' dressing room would certainly take umbrage with.
It would be churlish to try and downplay Bale's achievements in any way this season, such is his vast influence to the team but he would not have the time and space to weave wonders without his supporting cast.
Eric Cantona once famously dismissed Didier Deschamps as a "water carrier", the implication being that the midfielder did all the dirty work to enable him to perform miracles with a football.
And while the likes of Scott Parker and Lewis Holtby's qualities are without question, they perform the similar role that allows Bale such freedom to wreak havoc on the Premier League.
The performances of Moussa Dembele cannot be ignored either, for he has provided crucial protection for Bale in the absence of the injured Sandro.
Villas-Boas also deserves credit for constructing a game plan that allows Bale the platform and free role to terrorise at will.
The Wales international's magnificent winner against West Ham on Monday night lifted Spurs up into third and Bale is now being mentioned in the same company as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Real Madrid are expected to chance their arm with a bid this summer whatever the outcome of Spurs's top four hopes though chairman Daniel Levy is a notoriously tough negotiator and the prospects of a transfer will be like pushing water uphill.
Levy certainly has Bale to thank, for the midfielder's recent performances have eased the scrutiny on the Spurs boardroom.
The pressure on Bale to score more goals only increased after Levy's failure to sign Internacional striker Leandro Damiao in January, with Jermain Defoe's injury at West Brom earlier this month only serving to illustrate how badly stocked they are with forwards.
Emmanuel Adebayor is arguably the only specialist striker on the books and less said about his input at Upton Park the better. But when Villas-Boas has a player with the brilliance of Bale any potential problem can be overcome.
It could have all been so different, too. Three years ago Bale was targeted by Nottingham Forest in an audacious attempt to take him on loan, with Harry Redknapp apparently quite happy to let him go.
Bale was not prepared to drop down to the Championship, though, and the move was aborted. Alex McLeish, then at Birmingham City, also considered a £3 million bid for Bale as Redknapp initially struggled to know what to do with him.
Now, however, Bale has emerged as the most outstanding player in the land of cash and controversy and is odds on to win the Player of the Year award. But just don't call Spurs a one-man team.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...am-mates-they-help-lift-him-to-greatness.html