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Bale. Could we? Would we? Should we?

People said Aurier would disrupt the harmony, I think the harmony of our squad is less fragile than people think. Not saying it's likely to happen just that if it does happen, I for one will be excited. If Levy can make the finances work then I don't see a downside. Levy isn't going to unbalance a wage structure he is meticulous about. He isn't going to put the club in any peril.
 
Mosquito_Coasting said:
People said Aurier would disrupt the harmony, I think the harmony of our squad is less fragile than people think. Not saying it's likely to happen just that if it does happen, I for one will be excited. If Levy can make the finances work then I don't see a downside. Levy isn't going to unbalance a wage structure he is meticulous about. He isn't going to put the club in any peril.
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Plus Bale never struck me as one who'd disrupt squad harmony. As long as the wage issue is settled, that won't be an issue IMO. I'm more worried about his injury record and age - that's why I don't think we'll go for him unless we get a ridiculously good deal and assurations from Bale that he doesn’t expect to play whenever fit.
 
Robbo said:
Plus Bale never struck me as one who'd disrupt squad harmony. As long as the wage issue is settled, that won't be an issue IMO. I'm more worried about his injury record and age - that's why I don't think we'll go for him unless we get a ridiculously good deal and assurations from Bale that he doesn’t expect to play whenever fit.
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Fitness is an issue yes, but I think if he is happier he will play more. Seems he has lost his way in Madrid some. Even Bale for 20 games a season could be huge at the right price, (again this might well be pie in the sky with wages and transfer fee).
 
Mosquito_Coasting said:
Fitness is an issue yes, but I think if he is happier he will play more. Seems he has lost his way in Madrid some. Even Bale for 20 games a season could be huge at the right price, (again this might well be pie in the sky with wages and transfer fee).
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What is "the right price"? And what is the over all cost of getting him in?

And is that really worth 20 games a season?
 
The right price would be a straight swap for Eriksen or anything better than that. Wages same as Kane. Again this probably isn't realistic, Bale will want more. I don't care what the club spends, I'm sure Levy never puts the club at risk. Think it would be a better deal than Paulinho, Lamela, Aurier or any other number of deals we've done that haven't really worked out.
 
So its fantasy then.

Realistically Bales demands will be way beyond what we can afford, or - at least - blow our current wage structure out of the water.

Leading to our other top players looking for parity, and dissent to follow.

Just as, when fit Bale is guaranteed a start. So he'll be injured (he always is), someone will come into the team, and regardless of how well they do - they get the boot the second he is fit again.

That'll go down well Im sure.

And when he is playing, how lazy is he these days? Is he going to run his nuts off all game, or is he going to float in and out and then just go for glory?

Theres a lot more to this move than just "He's great itll be great".
 
All this about his injuries is a bit of a misnomer. He did play in 42 games last season (even though he was somewhat frozen out by ZZ) and 39 the season before that. That being said, it's still a probably no from me, given how we could invest the money we'd spend on him on players that will offer us more over the long term.
 
Last I checked his average appearance rate was around 55%. So almost half the time he isnt playing/available. Thats a pretty damning number, and its not all down to a manager liking him or not at all.

I dont think any player with that sort of record is worth buying, you cant rely on them.

Its for the same reason Id be open to Lamela moving on.
 
nayimfromthehalfwayline said:
Last I checked his average appearance rate was around 55%. So almost half the time he isnt playing/available. Thats a pretty damning number, and its not all down to a manager liking him or not at all.

I dont think any player with that sort of record is worth buying, you cant rely on them.

Its for the same reason Id be open to Lamela moving on.
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Not sure where you get your numbers from. In his entire RM career Bale has featured in 67% of all available matches. Considering a player playing for a club that averages 55-60 matches a season and who is fit will likely not feature in more than 80% of his team's matches, that is not a bad number. It means he's unavailable in one out of every 6 or 7 matches that you were planning on using him. And in his last two years he played in close to 70% of all matches.

So I do not subscribe to the injury narrative as a reason to not go after him. But I still would rather we invest elsewhere.
 
As memory serves I was looking at league fixtures, and it was absolutely at about 55% (and declining, I looked over 6 or 7 years and it wasnt a pretty picture).

And the fun thing is, its often long stretches at inopportune times. Its hardly like you can even rely on him for the run in, or the Christmas period, or that spell where you play all your rivals...

Could very well end up having him there to beast teams we'd beat anyway and then disappear when we could really use him.

And thats why his injury record is so crucial.

A player of immense ability, largely based on his physical prowess, with an injury history to make one blush and now hitting that 30 years old mark - its not a situation that looks likely to improve is it?
 
If we could afford him...so could a bevie of other clubs. Only chance of it happening is if Bale wants the move, and its doubtful. Byern, PSG, even manu (spit) would be attractive to his ego. We do have the stadium, training ground, MP, the promise of seeing him back at his best all on our side. But while its fun to dream, we know its highly unlikely - too expensive.
 
nayimfromthehalfwayline said:
As memory serves I was looking at league fixtures, and it was absolutely at about 55% (and declining, I looked over 6 or 7 years and it wasnt a pretty picture).

And the fun thing is, its often long stretches at inopportune times. Its hardly like you can even rely on him for the run in, or the Christmas period, or that spell where you play all your rivals...

Could very well end up having him there to beast teams we'd beat anyway and then disappear when we could really use him.

And thats why his injury record is so crucial.

A player of immense ability, largely based on his physical prowess, with an injury history to make one blush and now hitting that 30 years old mark - its not a situation that looks likely to improve is it?
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His league participation was 68% over the 6 years he's been at RM and 72% in the last 2 years, so it hasn't gotten progressively worse. If anything, in the last two years it has gotten better. And the numbers I'm quoting you don't even count how many times he was an unused sub. But let's not let wishy-washy facts get in the way, shall we? ;)

As for the long stretches at inopportune times, you think that's a player trait and not just dumb luck?! And by the way, any time you have a player out for 3-4 weeks it will be an inopportune time, because you are likely to have 1-2 important games during that period.
 
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