I read that according to The Telegraph, Walker's shot that hit Tremmel in yesterday's game was measured at 87 mph. Again, according to a list compiled by The Grauniad, that would make it 5th on the list of the fastest ever measured shots in football. Sounds like Tremmel is lucky he didn't end up with a dislocated shoulder.
BBC has stats for league games with and without bale please log in to view this image This is why I'm personally not a great fan of stats as you can adjust them and look at them in different ways to suit an opinion, but when you look at the stats from league games , they are using 3 league games in which he missed, which isn't enough to suggest we we're a one man team, as who else was missing for them games? but theres no doubt Bale is key to our attacking play as our backup options don't offer the same attacking intent. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20748561 Robbie Savage talking tactics so try not to laugh too hard.
We've done all this before re Bale. However, I feel that his value to us lies not just in his sometimes uncanny ability, but in the implied threat that he presents. Opposition defences are only too aware of the damage he is capable of doing, and in many cases you can almost hear the alarm bells go off when he gets the ball, whilst in space. The point is you treat him like any ordinary other opposition player at your peril. He very frequently occupies 2-3 defenders as soon as gets the ball. Worst way round, that has to leave space elsewhere on the pitch.
Good points however on the subject of us being a "one man team", take out defoes goals this season, and where in the league would we be? there aren't any stats to suggest who would score in his absence so effectively if we're a one man team, then Defoe is that man, not Bale. Also what about Dembele, of the games Bale missed, how many games did Dembele miss? I don't see us relying on Bale to produce an attacking display but this season Dembele, Lennon, Defoe & Bale are all key, so take one out and we don't look the same team, but the focus is on Bale this season by the media and he is seen to be our main man!
I wouldn't disagree with what you say. Dembele is a player I've rated for a long time and, IMO, £15mil was an absolute steal for a player of his ability. Similarly, Defoe is, to my mind, one of the best out and out strikers in the PL. with the added bonus that he seems to be far more aware of what's going on around him this season. AVB has done a good job with him. However, the threat of Bale is his ability to make something extraordinary out of almost nothing. As good as the other are, they don't quite carry that same threat.
No, individually they aren't as talented in an attacking threat but as an attacking unit, if you take out each player they are all key, especially Dembele as he is vital in keeping the central unit together and starting a move. If you said to me we had a key game coming up and Bale was starting but dembele was injured, i would be worried. If you said we had a key game coming up and dembele was fit and on form, and bale was injured, i would be disappointed but not as worried. That is just because I view the central aspect more important in winning a game as its where games are won & lost and normally where moves start. I love Bale as a player but he is just a part of our attacking play and we shouldn't feel we have to rely on him.
I think that the absence of Assou-Ekotto exaggerates Bale's importance to our game. If Dempsey's deputising, then having a full-back that's willing to overlap and provide width is extremely important. Naughton simply doesn't offer that.
To summarise, No, no one player is crucial to us. Some are always going to be missed more than others. Bale is one of those players for the reasons I have already given.
well said NSIS. For a counter attacking side like us, It's only going to leave Lennon, Dembele and Defoe in acres of space as a result. - Not an ideal position for any opposition to leave themselves in!
This may have been the win where Spurs looked most like AVB's team: pressing hard the whole game, staying well-organized and patient. Dembele and Sandro controlling the midfield is getting to be both old news and an understatement. I continue to like Swansea, whatever their histrionics. They're a team playing big-time football without big-time players. Whipping Arsenal at the Emirates and losing to us does nothing to dull the feeling. Thanks for the stat, THFC. That was about what I thought. The reason, I think, is that an attacking forward star like Bale takes up a lot of both the ball and the responsibility. Without him, other players may thrive from having more of both. Dembele, who's been the key to our season, on the other hand, determines (along with Sandro) whether we have the ball and are able to get it forward, which is why we've suffered when he and Sandro have been out. I thought Gylfi was good, again, in his cameo (along with Townsend). I think the criticism of him has been unfair. His goal/assist per minute is third on the team, I think. He always seems to create good opportunities, even if he does have a way of looking awkward at times.
It's amazing how one flukey, deflected, and offside goal can change, not only a result, but also peoples perspective of a game. Swansea came with an obvious gameplan. Keep things tight for 70 minutes and then have a go, same as against Arsenal. Spurs were limited to half chances and speculative efforts, the best of them being Walkers 30yd blast. Other than that was Tremmel really tested before the goal? How many times did we hear the commentators saying how frustrated and lacking in offensive creativity Spurs were in the second half, and how comfortable Swans were in defence. This was a game of our defence versus your attack, and our defence was having the better of it. But hey this is football, lucky goals happen, and dropping a deserved point away from home in the Prem isn't the end of the world.
But it's not amazing that support for a team can change peoples perspective of whether a goal is offside or not.
monty that was a long sleep after drowing your sorrows but im glad you never woke up feeling bitter as i knew when i defended swansea that your fans would show some class.
I think a 1-0 to us was about right. We always had far more attacking inclinations than you ever showed. However, I do agree we lacked creativity and for so long we were naive and then predictable and there can be no doubt your defence were excellent on the day. I don't know if our goal was offside, from where I was sat in the ground, it definitely looked as if it was, but I haven't seen a replay so can't say for certain. You have a reputation for playing good football, so I hope you do well, but we didn't see too much of it on Sunday. .
Very reasoned reponse. I should have said that my OP was aimed at those on here making it sound like Sunday was a walk in the park for you guys. I would have said that our defenensive display was good enough for a point. Had that goal been ruled off side I wonder what the headlines would have read. Saying that though, we were too negative, and even if our defence was good enough to earn us a point IMO, it is not the way I like my team to play.
The fans which felt it was a walk in the park are fans that were expecting swansea to come and play an open attacking game. As you decided to play a more defensive approach, and take advantage of us switching off as the game progressed then its natural for home fans to say your being negative when your gameplan never worked. Laudrops job is to make sure you get enough points to stay up and be comfortable so i dont see a problem with him using different gameplans as the last thing he wants is for you to come away from home and get thumped for being too.open.
From the T.V. Replays, the decision could have gone either way. But, as they're supposed to give the benefit of any marginal decisions to the offensive side, I'd say the call was right.
