Interesting comments from Welsh manager Chris Coleman. Whilst Bale for me isn't world class he is still a very good footballer and IMO the best British attacking player. One of the criticisms rightly aimed at Messi is his inability to perform for the national side, but we know the answer to that and it's simply because Xavi and Iniesta aren't Argentinian. Coleman has said he wouldn't swap Bale for anybody, not even Rooney. Come to think of it I think he has a fair point. For me, Bale is a superior player to Rooney in most aspects of the game. Rooney is a good player but is overrated, but monstrously overrated by the British media. He took far too much of the credit for Valencia/Ronaldo/Nani etc who were pretty much the supply line for him. Now United have signed a genuine world class striker (The first since Van Nistelrooy) it's no surprise to me he's getting completely overshadowed. I don't think Rooney has ever been able to carry a team like Bale has with this current Welsh side. If Bale can cut out the diving and cheating he can go on to be something close to a World Class player. As good as Rooney is I don't think he's ever had that potential. Sadly for Bale, his opportunities on the big stage are limited due to the fact Wales are a poor team at the moment but on the big International stage I'm sure he'd do a lot more than Rooney ever has done. England at the moment are infinitely better than all of the other Home nations put together but there is a touch of irony that the best midfield player is Welsh and the best Centre Forward is Scottish.
I've never understood the blind faith this country puts in Rooney for International tournaments. 4-5-1 isn't suited to him at all. City, United, Chelsea, Everton, Spurs, Arsenal and possibly Liverpool/Newcastle all have First XI's comfortably better than England's. It's very difficult to see how Chris Coleman is wrong given the performances of the two players at all 3 levels of the game: Champions League, Premier League and International. To be fair to Bale, he doesn't often go missing in the big games like Rooney does. Much like Hazard, often opposition double and triple up on him whereas Rooney almost has a free role where he drops deep (often in the CM).
If you remember when Rooney burst onto the scene, he looked world class in Euro 2004, scoring 4 goals and run ragged a french team, leaving everyone in football believing they had witnessed the next great player to emerge in the game. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18502348 For whatever reason, Rooney since then hasn't been able to carry on his form at international level, yet at club level he has progressed and become a player with world class ability, yet its hard to call him world class when you compare him with players like Messi & Ronaldo. Also, lets not forget, England have been dire in recent years, there is a real lack of talent in this country, so as teams keep the ball at International level, there is only so much you can expect/demand from Rooney, considering his team mates can't string two passes together.
To be fair, Rooney has a lot more pressure on him to perform than Bale; as whilst Bale is clearly Wales' stand out player, Wales aren't expected to qualify and compete for major honours like England are. Rooney is seen as Englands top guy, the one who should make the difference between us getting far in tournaments and not. Rooney however is vastly over rated on the international stage when you consider the performances for England post Euro 2004. He was Englands worst starter at 2010 and second only to Ashley Young at the recent Euros as England's worst player. He is only still getting picked on reputation. If Bent or Defoe had played as badly as Rooney has for the last 2 tournaments, they'd never get near the squad, let alone the first 11, again. Rooney is a good player, as is Bale but not even close to the likes of the top stars at Madrid and Barca.
Bale is superb, we all know that. All this talk about "Bale going to a bigger club" is way off the mark. Spurs is a big club, and if the likes of Ramo, Pepe, Alonso, Kaka, Benzema, or Morata want the honour of playing alongside him, they'll have to come to us. We have ambitions to be the best in Europa, and we start by getting and keeping a handful of world class players, and then, through them, we encourage other world class players to join us on our juggernaut ride to glory.
Nah, Rooney's a great player. I'm not sure he's playing as well as he was 2/3 seasons ago but Bale's not consistent enough yet. Bale gets double marked but at the sametime teams don't tend to get pinned back down that flank worrying about him. It's also worth remembering that it was Scotland that he tore apart, not Spain. Great player too though
Until Spurs can compete for titles and european honours, their bigger players will always be in danger of moving on. I think there is no rush for Bale as he is still young but if Spurs aren't title contenders in the next couple of seasons it is inevitable he will move on if his developments continues. Lets be frank, Real and Barca haven't shown much interest, if they do you'll have little hope of keeping him ala Ronaldo, Alonso, Fabregas and Modric.
I see Bale as another Hoddle/Ledley/Matt Le Tissier, etc - ie. a highly talented player who settles on one particular club and is content to remain there for the best part of his career. It does happen. Hell, look at Gerrard! He must know that he is now playing for, at best, a mid-table side, but he won't move.
Bale better than Rooney Bale carries Wales who have zero expectation and are minnows. Rooney is expected to drag England to world and european glory on his own. Something that in a game which is a team sport happens to be almost impossible. Rooney gives his all for England, its not his fault the players around him are either massive piles of ****, worst enemies or managed by idiots ( Capello, Sven, Mcclaren ). The quality players england do have are swamped by ****e. Its as simple as that. Rooney on a bad day can still be a match winner at United. Players he knows, players who work hard for each other. United are often underrated due to people thinking we have an average side yet its our ability to play as a team that is our best asset. If England had the team spirit of United we would be a far far better side.
Yes, he does, but he simply cannot deliver against the very best of teams, or when England need him most.
No english player does, theres 11 of them on a pitch at anyone time. As DL pointed out.. Nor can Messi. Football = Team game no individual sport. Bale wont be getting Wales to any major tournament, players on his level have failed before, miserably.
But look at what those two players gave to you. You probably benefitted from their individual frustration at international level.
Bale has the potential to be an extremely good player for any team he joins, Rooney was, is and always will be hugely overrated, and at his best, well below world class. The only smart thing he ever did was join Man Utd, so any criticism of him will disappear.
