On 25th May 2007 Gareth Bale signed for Tottenham Hotspur in a deal believed to have been worth an initial £5million, potentially rising to £10milion.
This subsequently allowed Tottenham to name the said player in their team to play football matches when he was fit and able to do so.
Therefore, I have to ask the question, am I missing something?
Since embarking on his devastating run of form since December the term “one man team” has consistently been thrown at the White Hart Lane club.
It’s sometimes made to sound as if Spurs are actually cheating by putting the player in their line up.
Surely it should be to the clubs credit that they were able to identify the player and then nurture and develop the talent that was obviously there when they handed the cash over to Southampton.
I don’t recall Manchester United being called a one man team when Ronaldo was banging in 31 goals in 34 league games for them.
Neither are these views expressed to anywhere near the same extent or with the same vigour about van Persie in the last two seasons or Suarez at Liverpool, even though these players influence on their teams has been more than comparable.
Although Bale’s form has been exceptional and he has received his personal awards for that, it shouldn’t be forgotten that other players in the Spurs side have also enjoyed excellent seasons, Jan Vertonghen and Aaron Lennon to name just two.
It’s easy but also lazy to call Spurs a one man team particularly as their record this season with and without the Welshman has statistically been pretty much identical.
Allen Whyte