Bale. Bale. Bale.
PFA Player of the Year. PFA Young Player of the Year. And now the FWA Player of the year. Hattrick.
An exceptional footballer who has truly progressed in stature and impact in the past two seasons from a pulsating left-winger with devastating pace to one that has encompassed a more central, free-roaming role which he will no doubt refine over the coming seasons. This is only the start. That's pretty scary. From left-back, to no-win jinx to Inter hattrick. Having to cope with the hype, the expectations and being double marked. This has been a sensational journey. If he's this good at twenty-three, I can't wait to see him at the very peak of his powers.
I hope he gives us another season. I hope Daniel Levy blocks Zinedine Zidane's mobile number. I hope Bale keeps his feet on the ground, appreciates what he has with us and what we could potentially do with him the at the forefront of our march. The Premier League and Tottenham can't do without him. From our perspective, another season could be the one that sees our own stature and impact rise up to the next level allowing both club and player ambitions to fuse together.
The hurtful irony is that we've always sold our very best player. We've always had that one outstanding performer in the side. The catalyst. The galvaniser. The game-changer. The player everyone wants. With varying degrees of lust. Carrick. Berbatov. Modric. They all moved on. Tottenham are a different beast these days, one that needs to be unleashed rather than caged. We'll survive, pretty much how we always do if we lost Bale tomorrow. But in this modern age where loyalty is career driven, just how satisfying would it be to achieve something truly tangible by bucking the traditional trend and breaking the mould of what quantifies as success? The dynamic needs changing and in Bale we have a player that is capable of it.
You can only achieve such ambitions if you hold onto your best players. The variables that go into the deciding factor will not doubt make this a dizzy summer. I probably shouldn't be too concerned. Andre Villas-Boas today correcting the mistakenly written quotes attributed to him last week that Bale could leave if the price was right.
The player is here to remain. Bale won't be sold no matter where we finish the season. Bold words.
We'll wait to see how long it takes for the next batch of misquotes to arrive. Best to just ignore everything and everyone that isn't Tottenham.
As for the man of the moment, it's been a privilege to watch him play in Lilywhite. 29 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions. Hoping he gives us more to shout about between now and the end of the season.
I'm now out of office until Monday late evening. Enjoy the weekend. Regulars, try to keep the entertainment light in the comments section.
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