Gareth Bale

Aye, I know, but if you can count chances, you can count up who creates them, surely.

Would actually really like a stat to prove rubbishness of wingers' decision-making (i.e. the Aiden McGeady/Giorgio Samaras statistic) , but that's not actually possibly.

only by watching, really. Lennon's regressed quite a bit since his injury but at least he was taking guys on the last night again.

McGeady - having seen the first half last night, I endorse everything anyone's said about him in the last three or four years.

http://www.studs-up.com/comics/2010-11-04.jpg

anti-semite there

antisemite sam

A+

its bounced nicely and i've only just hit it and it's gone straight in innit

Inter Coach Rafa Benitez has likened Tottenham wing-back Gareth Bale to a Ferrari while comparing his defenders to Volvos.

The Wales international once again ripped Inter apart, this time at White Hart Lane, inspiring Spurs to a historic 3-1 victory.

“We have played many times against Bale,” Benitez said. “We know that he is quick and difficult to mark.

“It's not a question of the wide players covering him, but the problem was that we were losing.

“We needed to attack and when we lost the ball, Bale was quicker in the space and it was tough to contain him above all because he concentrated on the flanks.

“If I drive a Volvo against a Ferrari on a straight, I lose. The Volvo is a good car because it's our sponsor, but the Ferrari races faster.

“It's not a question of help from the wide players. Coutinho and Biabiany have worked a lot to improve in defence and I am happy with them, but they always have a defensive mentality.”

benitez is an expert at not having good enough players, it seems.

someone should maybe let him know that he TOOK OVER THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS and this shit wont wash anymore.

He didn't say he didn't have enough players, did he?

The Volvo is a good car because it's our sponsor, but the Ferrari races faster

This is awesome though.

i especially like
but the problem was that we were losing

he's certainly saying that he didnt have good players, matt.

Coutinho and Biabiany have worked a lot to improve in defence and I am happy with them, but they always have a defensive mentality.

That ought to read defensive I suppose. Enjoying this newly verbose and relatively laissez-faire Benitez, he needed a change of scene.

~~offensive~~

James Lawton wrote a whole shitty article about Rafa's lack of grace towards Bale too.........

just towards bale? That's micromanaging the issue imo

Maybe now Rafa is in Italy he's not giving press conferences in English, so the journalists are running what he says through Google Translate from Spanish to Italian to English, ending up with the sugar mountain volvo nonsense, but what he actually says is perfectly regular "the boy done well" platitudes?

Anyway onto more pressing concerns, which Bolton player do we think will break Bale's leg tomorrow?

love that rafa is an injury to the v. injury prone eto'o away from taking almost unbeatable triple winners to a team that cannot win anything in a season. i mean this is the most otm statement ever:

someone should maybe let him know that he TOOK OVER THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS and this shit wont wash anymore.

― cant believe you sb'd me for that (darraghmac), Friday, 5 November 2010 16:23 (35 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

srs moratti must be kicking himself in the balls. even moreso knowing zlatan will win ac the league.

paul robinson.

can only be paul robinson

will run from the left side to the right, pushing zat and gary to their arses just to do it.

antisemite sam

oh, good work

he just said bale was faster than his players...

you just gotta spoil everything...

fuckin have that

cool

he doesn't seem to be a complete bastard either

news made mention of cl performances, do we know is that meant to be a consideration tho?

Cos if not, hooray for unmerited awards

a lot more merited than giggs' pfa for being old

true for ya i guess

he did that one volley on like the first day of the season, that'll do.

http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp290/hammy106/Bale-Goal-v-Stoke.gif

also scored with his face in the same match

http://www.gifsoup.com/view1/1334932/gareth-bale-merkage-o.gif

seems nonsensical tbh.

i def agree, don't see how he won this. hope modric wins the spurs player of the year.

aye, not even the best player in a team that probably won't finish top four. usually i think pfa results are decent too. players having more of an eye for the less glamorous work.

u madd doggie

What about the team of the season? Would Bale make the XI?

I'd maybe float Cech for Van Der Sar and Baines for Cole. Modric for Wilshire? Parker for Nasri? Has Sagna really been any good? And WHITHER TORRES?!?

PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE YEAR: Edwin Van Der Sar (Manchester United), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Nani (Manchester United), Samir Nasri (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Gareth Bale (Tottenham), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United).

Front six is great, defence has a "can't be arsed" feel to it. Would put Hart in over VDS, Ivanovic or Rafael over Sagna, and yeah Baines over Cole.

           Van Der Sar
Sagna   Cahill   Kompany  Baines
       Wilshere  Modric
Nasri       Silva          Nani
            Tevez
Subs: Schwarzer, Vidic, Ivanovic, Modric, Adam, Berbatov, Odemwingie or Ba

imo.

I think there's some sort of unwritten rule that the team of the season has to be 442. Tradition and that.

ok replace silva with odemwingie.

Odemwingie has been great but going for him over Berbatov or even Hernandez is str8 challops.

no sagna, i like ivanovic meself

Bardsley maybe

Midfield ridic lightweight tbf

2-3-5 for team of the season please xp, I'll have no truck with these modern fads. It's not like they have to play anyone for real anyway - if they did, the official team of the season would get raked through midfield.