The question is not if, but rather how much and what we see in the minutes Gareth Bale does play on Sunday for Tottenham Hotspur after a sizable layoff.
If you are a Tottenham fan or even just a casual Spurs supporter, you must be excited about the return of Gareth Bale. Having left Spurs in search of silverware at Madrid, now he is back to help bring silverware home to N17 and Hotspur fans everywhere.
Expectations should be tempered and as any good coach would, Jose Mourinho is working to do just that in his barbs with the media, while Tottenham Hotspur twitter, is adding to the speculation that we will finally see Bale play on Sunday, with the classic provocative eye tweet.
https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial/status/1316642465923776512?s=20
Barring some unexpected set-back, the odds are Gareth Bale is going to play on Sunday against West Ham United, so what we want to know is how much is Bale going to play and what should we be looking for from the Welch marksman?
Enough, that is how much. Now how much is enough is a different story and only Jose Mourinho and Bale know for sure. What is likely is even if Gareth starts, he is not going to play for 90 minutes. The is just too much riding on his return to risk him by playing him 90 minutes when he has played so little football for the last year really.
If Not 90 How Much for Bale
Since the turn of 2020 Gareth Bale has made eight appearances in all competitions for club AND country. Six of those appearances were with Real Madrid for a total of 398 minutes, an average of just over an hour an appearance. The last time Gareth Bale went 90 minutes at the club level was January 4 of 2020. Madrid played 25 matches over that span, meaning Bale played less than 20% of all the possible minutes.
Internationally, Gareth Bale has twice captained Wales this year, his two matches in September; where he first played 45 minutes, then played 90 a few days later. Those were the last two matches Bale played and he has been recovering from the knock picked up on that September international duty ever since.
Given the layoff, lack of minutes, and return from injury to safe to say Bale will not go for 90 minutes on Sunday. He plays a half at most, but most likely just a 25-30-minute run out toward the end of the match. With Son, Bergwijn, and Moura all fit and not coming off injury or international duty why risk it. 30 minutes of Bale should be enough time, to get him acclimated to the pace and set him up for more minutes, possibly even an hour midweek with Europa League.
What Tottenham Want to See from Bale
If Gareth Bale is only going to play for some 30-odd minutes, that really is not a huge amount of time to put one’s imprint on the game, but it should be enough. Whether or not Gareth Bale scores, assists, or even makes the highlight real is not as relevant as seeing some of the trademark skills Tottenham are betting have not eroded. We know what makes him special, so what can he do to show us he still is?
Bale’s Speed
Gareth Bale is fast, like Kyle Walker fast, fastest player in the league fast. Or at least he, like Walker were fast like that. While Bale does not need to the be the outright fastest player in the league anymore, he does need to demonstrate he has that sixth gear only those with elite speed have.
It could be running back to catch an attacker on defense. It could be chasing down a longball that looked like it might go out of play. It could be Bale poking the ball past his defender in space and then running around him to get the ball and advance.
In the perfect world Bale might do all three and show off his speed, but as a fan I will settle for any one of them. The idea is not so much to make a big play, rather to demonstrate he still has that burst, which causes defenders to back off him and opens so much else in his game. Further, that vertical threat over the top – added to what Son already brings in that area – will give opposing coaches a lot to think about not called Harry Kane.
Bale’s Ball Striking and Touch
Speed is nothing if you cannot control the ball. Part of what makes Gareth Bale so dangerous is his ability to bring the ball under control at his feet and his options once he does so. Bale’s left foot is at times simply magical.
Whether striking a corner kick with the right verve, a free kick with the right bend, or a shot with the right pace or touch, Bale’s left foot is amazing. For most good footballers, the touch to bring a ball in and hit it exactly right is not really something you lose. Does anyone think David Beckham could not bend a ball around a wall right now? My guess is Bale still has a lot of thunder in that boot of his and it will be nice to see it unleashed in some way.
Gareth Bale in the Air
For all that Steven Bergwijn, Lucas Moura, and Heung-Min Son bring to the Tottenham attack, aerial prowess would not be high on the list for any of them. It is not that they are terrible in the air, they are just not built for winning high balls in the box or flicking punts on to runners. Heck they are the runners. Well Gareth Bale is both.
Not only has Harry Kane been the only Spurs striker since Fernando Llorente left after the Champions League final. Kane has also been the only real aerial target for Tottenham. That is a lot of pressure and stress on an attacker. Whose head are the wingers looking for, Kane’s; whose head is Lloris looking for on punts, Kane’s.
Gareth Bale takes some of the over the top pressure off Son and Bergwijn, just as he takes some of the target pressure off Harry Kane. Now Kane can look to run off Bale on a big, quick punt. Now Doherty or Aurier have two big targets to look for in the box. Whether head high, volley height, or behind him; Gareth Bale has shown the ability to use his feet and head to put the ball on target from the air with impeccable timing and accuracy.
So, when it comes to watching Gareth Bale on Sunday, keep your expectations in check. If he does not start and go 90 minutes, that is probably a good thing. If he does not have a hat trick and 4 assists, that is okay. If he does not score at all that can be okay too. If Spurs win and Bale shows he has the speed, touch, and timing to get back near the top of his game, Tottenham will see enough and so likely will the rest of the league.