Just how good is Gareth Bale?

Gareth Bale is a player who divides opinion. Some claim he is overrated and not on the level of various other players he has been compared to, while others have suggested he is one of, if not the best player in the premier league. My opinion on Bale is quite specific, and one that I feel must be presented in article form.

I remember a game at the start of the 2007/08 season when I first truly noticed Gareth Bale. His runs were powerful, and he constantly stretched the Fulham defence that day. His impressive performance that day was rewarded with a goal that summarised the Bale we see today, a long and energetic run followed by a good finish although the game ended 3-3. However it was another two years before Bale really amazed me with a performance and that performance was against Arsenal towards the end of the 2009/10 season. At times, Bale looked world class and it made you feel very confident in his future.

Bale's real breakout season was definitely 2010/11, which included some excellent performances in the champions league, especially against the then reigning champions Inter Milan. In the away leg in Milan, Tottenham had an utterly rotten first half and at half time they were 4-0 down. The North London club were in need of inspiration and Bale gave them that, scoring a hat-trick, resulting in the game finishing 4-3. That was Bale at his finest, and he was fully capable of inspiring a team on his own. Bale terrorised inter Milan right back Macon again in a 3-1 win for Tottenham at home a few weeks after and all of a sudden there was a huge buzz about the Welshman. Some were predicting and or reporting a move to Barcelona or any other top European club and it appeared Bale had the world at his feet.

The anecdote just given is what annoys me about Bale. The media hype, and then the lack of impact after it. The rest of the 2010/11 season was relatively quiet for Bale, and he was anonymous in far too many matches. When Bale had one of these games, hardly any fuss was made, yet when Messi, Ronaldo and the like play below their potential, there is a large level of discussion. Inconsistency is the primary reason why I don't consider Bale as one of the world's finest players.

Bale's current run of fine form has led to many reevaluating their opinion of him. Some have come out with quite frankly, (at least in my opinion) ludicrous statements. Jamie Redknapp claimed Bale is as good as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, while well known (to those in the UK) Sky sports pundit Jeff Stelling went a step further, saying Bale is better than Ronaldo. The basis of his argument was Bale's versatility. Although I agree Bale puts in more of a shift defensively than Ronaldo does, Ronaldo is a far superior player in every aspect concerning technical and even physically ability.

Stelling even went as far as saying Bale was quicker and stronger than Ronaldo, both are strong but Ronaldo is a real physical specimen, and in my opinion, Bale simply is not. 

Chelsea's striker problems

Various word springs to mind when I think of Chelsea's season so far: chaotic, wild, unpredictable, inconsistent. The latter perhaps best summarises the way in which Chelsea's results have gone. The season started well with wins over Wigan, Newcastle and Reading, but a 4-1 demolition spearheaded by Radamel Falcao in the UEFA super cup against Atletico Madrid. After the oh so controversial sacking of Roberto Di Matteo and equally controversial appointment, Wins over Aston Villa, Norwich and Everton made it seem things were really on the up at Stamford Bridge. Yet again however, the positivity was disrupted after a shock 1-0 loss at home to local rivals QPR.

So what has caused all this inconsistency and vast but regular changes in the feelings of Chelsea fans. Well, one thing about Chelsea has been consistently poor: their striking options. Although Fernando Torres has shown glimpses of his best this season, he hasn't shown anywhere near enough of this form to justify his place in the team. Some would claim Torres deserves to be in the Chelsea starting line up week in week out due to his ability to score out of nothing as shown by his goal against Brentford, but goals like these have been far too rare. In fact, I can't remember a single occasion where Torres has scored a truly vital goal for Chelsea, and the goal against Barcelona, which was a chance that he couldn't really miss was the only goal I can remember Torres scoring against a real top side. Instead, his goals have come in matches against weaker teams such as Nordsjaelland, Brentford, Leicester, Reading and the like. Also, on most of these occasions, he has chipped in with a goal rather than be a heroic match winner, like he was many times during his days at both Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.

Chelsea fans, more and more of them, are becoming increasingly frustrated with Torres. Many fans are posting, saying and writing things reading messages such as: "Torres and Rafa out of our club". The reasoning behind this sentiment isn't as obvious and one dimensional as it appears. Contrary to popular belief, Chelsea fans' support for Torres has only faded somewhat since the sacking of Di Matteo and hiring of Rafael Benitez. Many Chelsea fans feel all the drama surrounding Torres has been the clear reason behind Abramovich's constant hiring and firing of managers, and that Benitez was only hired to help Torres find form.

So with Torres still misfiring and Chelsea fans becoming more and more impatient towards the Spanish striker, surely the conditions are ideal for Demba Ba to seize the role of Chelsea's best striker to play up top? Well, Rafael Benitez doesn't seem to feel that way. One game that summarises the whole Torres/Ba and the general Chelsea striker situation is the blues' game at home to Swansea in the capital one cup first leg a few weeks back. Torres regularly lost the ball, and couldn't seem to get hold of it, despite some decent crosses and passes. When Ba came on, things seemed to improve, but still no goals. Ba looks to be a threat when he is on the pitch, and hasn't really had a bad game in a blue shirt as of yet. But it appears Ba is doing something wrong, as he hardly ever seems to start. Since Ba joined the west London club in early January, he hasn't really started any of Chelsea's key games, to be precise, the games against Arsenal, Reading and both legs against Swansea.

To me, Benitez should stop playing Torres just to keep Abramovich happy. Ultimately, football is about winning matches, and as of right now, I feel Chelsea are more dangerous and more able to score goals with Demba Ba playing. Ba doesn’t have to play every week, or even be the distinct first choice striker, but I just feel that Torres is far too unreliable, and the more he is left on despite being what some would call lazy, and appearing exhausted almost constantly, the more the resentment of him and Benitez amongst a large proportion of Chelsea fans will grow. So please Rafa, give Ba a go as otherwise it may damage the whole atmosphere at Chelsea, as it is being slowly but surely damaged now.

Drogba joins Galatasaray

It has been quite a month for Galatasaray and their fans. Firstly, the somewhat surprise signing of Inter Milan's Dutch talisman Wesley Sneijder, swiftly followed by the news that Didier Drogba will now be joining the current Turkish champions, Galatasaray SK. Reportedly, Drogba has joined the club on an 18 month contract at a cost of £5 million from Shanghai Shenua, a mere eight months after joining the Chinese club.

So why has Drogba decided to leave Shanghai? Well, he has only made eleven appearances, but has scored eight goals in that time. Nicolas Anelka's move to Juventus which was confirmed just 24 hours before Drogba's was led to many expecting Drogba to leave the club too. Shanghai are in a poor financial state in actuality, despite being in a supposedly healthy one this time last year when they signed Anelka and in June when they signed Drogba. Despite good form, it is clear it was not quite right for Drogba being in China.

So what is Galatasaray reasoning behind their second surprise signing of the January transfer window? Galatasaray’s owners have proved in recent years that they are willing to splash the cash for players in their late 20's to early 30's that are experienced in Europe's top leagues, as shown by the signings of the likes of current club captain Hamit Altintop, Emmanuel Eboue and Johan Elmander, but few expected the signings of Drogba as well as Sneijder.

I feel Galatasaray are being somewhat disrespected though by both opposing club fans around the world and journalists. People talk as if Galatasaray and the Turkish league in general have no selling point, but the club and the league absolutely do. Galatasaray are a club with huge support both in Turkey and across Europe and the rest of the world. Although the club and its fans in particular have attracted a fair amount of negative press headlines, the majority of their fans are peaceful, but still passionate. The roar that comes from the Turk telecom stadium when they score is immense, while the Istanbul derby against long standing rivals Fernebache are must see games.

When I first heard about the signing of Drogba by Galatasaray, I instantly thought of how the former Chelsea man and club legend Didier Drogba would fit into this Galatasaray team. Well, it is pretty simple really; he will lead the line alongside Galatasaray’s main man, striker and goal machine Burak Yilmaz. Burak Yilmaz has been in magnificent form this season, especially in the UEFA champions league. It was on match day 4 when the Turkish striker almost singlehandedly destroyed CFR Cluj in the game in Romania, with Burak Yilmaz scoring all three Galatasaray goals in the 3-1 win. What really impressed me personally about this performance was the fact Yilmaz scored with a header, then with his right foot and finally his left foot, making his a perfect hatrick. With every goal he made it look so easy. Yilmaz also scored Galatasaray’s winner against Manchester United and their equaliser against Braga, and both goals went a huge way to securing round of sixteen qualification for the Turkish side. Yilmaz and Cristiano Ronaldo finished the group stage as equal top scorers.

Yilmaz, like Drogba is a tall, but deceptively quick finisher. Drogba is a lot more muscular and uses his upper body strength more than Yilmaz does admittedly, but the point is that they share many common abilities. One problem that this could cause is that both players may well feel more comfortable up on their own, or with the more technically sound and versatile Johan Elmander, the ex-Bolton and Toulouse striker. Drogba has previously struggled to be as effective and dangerous for opposition defences while with another striker, so Faith Terim may have to rearrange and reshuffle his side’s line up on a few occasions to compliment these two world class strikers.

Despite potential changes to the side’s line up and questions about Drogba’s ability to still perform on the world stage, I am confident he can help Galatasaray secure the Turkish league title (Galatasaray are currently five points ahead of closest rivals Fernebache who are in second) and perhaps secure some other trophies too in his time in Istanbul. With Galatasaray still in the UEFA champions league with two games against Schalke approaching, the club’s board are clearly aiming high. The idea of a midfield with Wesley Sneider and Hamit Altintop must have excited Drogba and they could be a team to really watch out for.