Yes, I was referring to the National Broadcasting Company (one of the three major US television networks) putting Bale at the forefront of their $230 million (?) investment in the Premiere League--sorry, should have realized that would be cryptic at best to people who don't live in the US. It's not just the poster. Both of the last two commercials have featured Bale much more than any player. The last began and ended with Bale's face. The current one ends with Bale's goal against West Ham and celebration. The degree to which NBC is hyping up Bale in the United States may be a factor in making the Bale rumor-mongering so intense.
And the US is exactly why Bale needs to stay (along with Dempsey too). Regarding the proposed Real deal - apparently now it's £51m + Di Maria + Coentrao I've always found the player involved in a cash + player deal never really plays well - would Di Maria, under normal circumstances, ever want to come to us? Not really no. He's also not even on the same page as Bale in terms of quality - 137 apps for Real Madrid, 25 goals (although he has got 53 assists which is decent). No way in hell is he worth £25m If Bale did go, we'd want cold hard cash (or maybe cash + Coentrao, who we have been linked with before). I could see us trying to get Bernard in again but the majority of it could then go towards the stadium. I still think he has to stay, for the good of the club (and let's not forget, Mr Levy won't want to lose face over this). On happier terms - Soldado is apparently due in London soon for his medical. I don't know how long 'soon' is though - I'd be kinda surprised if we haven't heard things by Tuesday/Wednesday but this is Tottenham so you never know.
http://www1.skysports.com/football/...-bale-odds-on-with-sky-bet-to-leave-tottenham Gareth Bale has for the first time this summer been backed into odds-on to leave Tottenham Hotspur amid talk of a world-record bid from Real Madrid. Sky Bet have been forced to cut the odds on the Welsh star moving to Real Madrid from 5/2 to 1/2 due to a run of significant bets. Spanish reports suggest the Spanish giants are ready to break the £80million world-record transfer fee set by their acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo by offering £86m for Bale. The 24-year-old enjoyed a phenomenal campaign last season, netting 21 times in the Premier League and winning both the PFA and FWA Player of the Year awards along with the PFA Young Player of the Year. Despite Bale's contribution, Spurs were unable to secure a top-four place in the Premier League, meaning they are unable to offer their prized asset UEFA Champions League football. The change in betting odds is in contrast to news coming out of White Hart Lane, with Tottenham insisting Bale is not for sale and talks over a new contract are taking place. Sky Bet Football Trader Chris Spicer said: "The majority of bets throughout the summer have been on Bale remaining at Tottenham, but we've seen a sudden shift in interest in him leaving and we now offer 7/4 on him staying at Spurs. "Reports suggest that Real Madrid have now made their move and that Bale is unhappy that it has been swiftly rebuffed. "Our punters now seem convinced Real will get their man and Spurs will have to settle for their sizeable compensation."
It's amusing that they forget who our chairman is when one of our players is being linked away, yet they continually mention it when we're trying to buy. Bale may want to go but there's a big DL shaped obstacle in the way and I reckon, like Modric, he'll stay for 1 more year.
£51M + Di Maria + Coentrao is an insanely good deal for us in terms of footballing issues. But given the marketing value of Bale I still think we will turn it down
It seems to me that if Levy is as angry about Real's tactics, as has been suggested, then he will replicate the stance he took with Chelsea over Modric. Unless Bale throws a hissy fit, like Modric did, then I think he may well be staying another year, whether he likes it or not. Either way, we should know more in the next few days. Bale apparently arrives back in the UK tonight and I suspect talks will follow soon afterwards.
Hypothetically, if we're going to do this deal, it needs to be agreed now, but kept quiet until deadline day where it goes through. In the mean time, we purchase the necessary replacements asap, whilst a) we've got some preseason remaining to gel the players together and b) whilst other clubs don't know we've got £60/80/90mill to spend. Bales cutting edge ability won us so many points last year. if he leaves, we have to purchase some awesome midfield quality and be brutal in who we sack off. He's too good not to replace instantly. We can't afford to wait and see if some of our midfielders come good, I.e Sig and Holtby. Both have potential, but neither are capable of stepping into Bale's shoes. we need creativity in abundance if he goes. Just my opinion.
A statement from Levy or Bale needs to be released ASAP. I'm getting ****ing tired of seeing the same story every single day. Even when we sign players the Bale story over shadows what should be a joyous moment. Take the Chadli signing for example, as soon as he signed all I saw on reports was "is this Bale's replacement?". I mean for **** sake can they not just give it a rest?! Everyone in the world, even those with no TV, Radio or ****ing Internet knows that Real Madrid want Bale, we don't need to be reminded day in, day out of this. How and why do these media outlets allow their journo's to continuously spout the same **** over and over again?! Rant over... For now.
this was what i was getting at in one of my posts yesterday mate. can't they just choose another player to bullshit about for a bit? It's the same bale bullshit over and over again, but just reworded slightly. Why the non-stop fascination with him? change the record FFS. It's all BS, so why not have some variety in the BS?!
It's a nightmare mate. Some of the stuff isn't even re-worded which makes it even more annoying! This is 10 x worse than the Modric saga.
It's a very clever offer is this, similar in value to the £81 million you have allegedly rejected, but offering you a top class LB, a position you are clearly looking to fill, and a decent, if inferior, replacement for Bale. It's a stunning offer in reality, but then, if you really wanna say 'we wanna win titles', you don't sell Bale. It is not possible to replace Bale with a better player, unless they wanna chuck Ronaldo in the mix maybe. Selling Bale even at such a great price, well it weakens you, that's the simple terms of it, losing Bale would weaken any team in the world.
I agree we wont get a better player than Bale, but it is possible we could be a better team without him. Everything (in the second half of the season) went through him last year, and so if he is off form or cleverly marked, we are stuffed. 2 or 3 players to replace him, plus giving Holtby, Siggurdsen and Chadli more responsibility, we could possibly be a better team. Add Paulinho and Soldado (possibly) then we might not miss him as much as we expect?
Lot of sense. Coentrao is a stunning attacking left back, who CAN defend as well. Di Maria, superb, but nowhere near as dynamic as Bale, not a stand alone match winner. Soldado would score goals in any side, I have watched the lad since he was at Getafe and he is just a finisher. It's a tough one though, selling a lad who's one of the top 5 , maybe top 3 in the world, how can that be positive? I feel the same about us selling David Vaughan to Crystal Palace....
I agree that we could be a better team without Bale, there is no doubt about that IMO BUT, the value to brand Tottenham puts that into the shade. There is no way we should sell Bale unless he wants to go.
