http://hereisthecity.com/2013/10/01/real-madrid-have-bought-a-one-dimensional-player-in-gareth-bal-1/?

Already? LOL. Feel free to advise Perez to sell him to us for 30m, or something. I think we have the money, for some reason that escapes my memory...

A record signing from Tottenham Hotspur, Gareth Bale is unbelievably attracting a small dose of criticism in Madrid already.

Gareth Bale's move from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid was the big story which dominated the summer transfer window, culminating in a world record transfer.

When it came to media coverage, Spanish newspaper Marca was the outlet which shouted loudest - vociferous in trying to unsettle the player and undermine Tottenham's attempts to keep him.

So it should come as a surprise - or perhaps it's inevitable really - that a journalist from the publication is the first to question Bale's aptitude to Madrid.

Quickly some context; Bale has had a stop-start beginning to his Madrid career due to fitness issues, scoring on his debut against Villareal - but has not started the three following games. Bale came on as a substitute in the second half against rival Atletico Madrid, but could not spark them into avoiding a 1-0 defeat.

In a time of mini-crisis at the Bernabeu, which occur all-too regularly, Marca's assistant editor Santiago Segurola has questioned whether Madrid invested their mone wisely.

He writes: "I might be wrong, because Gareth Bale has joined late and has barely had a pre-season, but he seems to be a one-dimensional player, who is not so involved in the dynamic side of the game."

He prefaced this by criticising the sale of Mesut Ozil to Arsenal, stating: "The sale of Ozil is an historic error. Real Madrid has got rid of its second best player. He's a 24-year-old player who brought out the best in everyone around him, especially Cristiano Ronaldo."

It's real knee-jerk reaction comment, but Bale's ineffectual display in the derby was also picked up on by Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

Jouralist Jesus Galindo wrote: "The man who cost just € 101 million contributed nothing to the team in its debut in the derby.

"He showed desire, but lacked speed, one of his main features, and did not look comfortable on the right wing, where he had been placed by Carlo Ancelotti. His attacking edge was limited to a left-foot shot from the edge of the area stopped by Courtois.

"Besides that drew applause from the stands when they saw him on the field, otherwise Bale debut at the Bernabeu went virtually unnoticed . The 101 million euros that Florentino Perez invested his signing , were not reflected in his game.

"Although it is too early to make any assessment of Bale, on Saturday, to the disappointment of the fans to see the poor image provided by your computer, some doubt the Welshman and whether the investment is worth it."

Its going to be Beckham Part II. Just without the increased shirt sales.

Too early to tell. But this sort of this was expected. The only players who could justify such a price tag are Messi and Ronaldo.

true raimondo, bale is not Iniesta, Messi, Ronalda class and the switch to liga BBVA can be hard for some

^ Everyone please just ignore knibi's comment, becase it may start an argument.

I'm actually very bored now of this war , between Messi and CR7.. When people talk about football stars in Spain they mostly get linked to Messi or CR7. Its now kinda getting boring and i hate when the fanboys make trouble with each other about who is the better player. For me its CR7 but i think Messi is as good as him but for some people he is better (everyone his opinion)

Fred nailed it.

@Iraqi_Madridsta - funny how you find it boring, but yet you still had to go in and state who you think is better. Kind of contradicted your first statement.

^ It's also amazing how no-one else was talking about it, either, until he did. ;)

Lol

Just because La Liga is not seen as the best league in the world, people mistaken it for being easier to play in than the EPL. They think the teams are weaker because their reputation is little to none. This could be very much mistaken especially if you are a player coming from the EPL. The EPL is a lot more direct and quicker, which is Bale's style of play. La Liga requires you to be more technical, smarter in your moves. I think Bale will take some time getting used to it, just like how Modric had to take some time but now he's adapting very well. We all shouldn't say he's a flop just yet. But which ever way this situation goes, the price tag will NEVER be justified, unless he turns into one of the best players to ever have lived, then sure.

However, I'm liking that all the pressure is on Bale and not on Neymar, allowing Neymar to adapt and develop with barely any pressure, haha :)

@tdot

Oh, there is plenty of pressure on Neymar as well. Don't forget that he cost nearly 60 million euros. ;)

But you nailed it on the part about La Liga being extremely technical. It will indeed take Bale time to fit in. But the problem is, he is expected to live up to the standards of Cristiano Ronaldo himself. Ronaldo came in with a similar price tag over his head, and playing in the exact same style and position as Bale (inverted winger), and Ronaldo has responded with 208 goals in 206 games. Poor Bale is expected to beat that with his price tag.

And this is why I didn't want Bale coming in. The only thing it would do is cause chaos to Madrid. And selling Ozil was the Makelele Mistake 2.0.

@tdot: "I think Bale will take some time getting used to it"

I think Bale simply needs to be started, and told to express himself. Right now he's expected to copy Di Maria and slow his game down, under the pretense of being more 'technical'. There's nothing wrong with his technique. He just needs to be unleashed as a figurehead, and fed the same way as Ronaldo.

Alas, this will not happen. It will all continue to flow around Ronaldo, who is not likely to share.

Thus, he is doomed to be a 'flop', like Beckham, who could easily have been the rock the Madrid side was built around if they'd not been so snobby about it. Even Zidane told Beckham it had been an honour playing with him.

This is what you chose, Gareth. You gave up glory.

He needs to adapt as any EPL player, changing the style of play is not that easy. most of EPL stars struggled when comming to Spain, Modric, Henry, Owen, Adebayor, Bale...

At the same time, players comming from La liga adapt much better and do well in their first year, Silva,Mata,Cazorla,Yaya Toure, Ozil,Navas,Fabregas, Reyes,Xabi-Alonso....etc. It doesnt mean that Spanish style is more dificult than the English one, but one thing im sure is its easier to adapt when you re comming from Spain and going to England than the opposite.

In Bale s case, its even harder cause he went to a high pressure club, where everybody is fighting to get a place in the starting XI, so just give him time to adapt and some playing time, im sure he will do well.

^^ See, this is the problem, tiki. You're not just wrong, you're TOTALLY wrong. And that's what fuels these stupid arguments about leagues, because you guys never just admit that you're fuck.ing wrong.

Henry didn't struggle when he came to La Liga, at all. In his first (yes, FIRST) season at Barca... he was your TOP SCORER. Look it up. You know what he did in his second year? He (together with Eto'o and Messi) broke the all-time Spanish record for goals scored by a front 3.

In Owen's single season, at Real Madrid, he got the highest goals-per-minute ratio in the ENTIRE LEAGUE. This is why, when he left, the next season the Madrid fans had a song about how much they wanted him back.

Modric didn't 'start badly', he was played OUT OF POSITION for the first 6 months, and then when finally put back where he should have been all along, became Madrid's most prolific passer.

Bale, on his debut, goal a nice goal. On his European debut, got 2 assists.

Why can't you see this? Are you so determined to deny reality because it destroys your delusion about the Spanish league?

Look at Ronaldo, look at Fabregas. They slotted right in, and started destroying shit in La Liga.

As for players from Spain to England?

Navas has been unimpressive. Reyes turned out to be crap. For every David Silva and Juan Mata, there is a Luis Garcia who turned out to be a flop. Yaya Toure wasn't scoring goals for fun in his first two seasons, was he?

The only true success stories were Mata and Silva, with Cazorla as a possible addition. Notice how these players, the ones who succeed, are all midfielders, not forwards.

Your argument just simply does not hold water.

Bale needs to be played, where he's used to being played. Just like Modric, who is now a staple of the side. Modric could have been that staple a LOT faster if Madrid has been less stupid, and less snobby about it.

Just like Beckham.

You wanna know why so many players come from Spain to England, but not the other way around? Spanish teams cannot afford them, unless they are Barca or Real. Notice how there was no talk of Sociedad poaching RVP, or Atletico doing a coup for Suarez.

THAT's the difference. THAT's why you only get to see PL players at the pressure cooker of Madrid, who doesn't know what to do with them, or at Barca, who already have three of the best players in the world.

By contrast, the PL buys tons of players from Spain, every year, and only half of them turn out to be any good.

@Lodatz

You forgot Torres (before injuries ruined him), Michu, De Gea, Ozil, and a whole host of others. The La Liga and EPL transitions seem to work well for the most part. Of course there are exceptions (when aren't there exceptions?), but La Liga players seem to do well for EPL teams as well.

I'm not in the mood to argue with you over which league is better, but I'd just like to say that I'm fully aware of your point with Henry and Owen and the others. Luka was thrown in awkwardly in place of Khedira, Alonso, Ozil, and sometimes even di Maria or Callejon. This random positioning threw him off completely. He wasn't able to get into his stride. And now that he's finally in his proper position, he's been fantastic.

"You forgot Torres (before injuries ruined him), Michu, De Gea, Ozil, and a whole host of others."

No I didn't. There's just SO MANY players who have come from Spain to talk about, that someone can always toss in another name, and say: "Well, what about <insert name here>...?"

Like I said, for every success story, there is a flop, too. The PL buys tons of players, every year, and only about half of them turn out to be any good. DDG is a bit of a strange case to bring up, in fact, since he clearly struggled to find form in the PL. The same ratio cannot be pointed to for transfers in the opposite direction, but I DO grant that this is likely because of the expense.

If Sevilla were buying players like Welbeck, Sturridge or Altidore, for instance, then maybe they'd flop too. I guess we'll never know. But the simple fact is: only the top stars of the PL go to Spain, and then only for, let's face it, 2 teams (you know who they are). The economics involved are just not comparable.

As for Torres, yes. He was bloody amazing. But, he was also on the decline in the PL before he got his injury.

Anyways, I have no desire to slag off Torres; I think he is hugely underrated by English fans, and despite his silly little spat against Vertonghen, I'd have him in my side any day.

Besides all this, Marca are still being ridiculous. :p

Well, looks like you srated one anyway.