Calling him the best footballer in the world might have been a little premature, but Gareth Bale is on a seriously hot streak at the moment.
Around this time last year, Gareth Bale was being widely touted as the best thing since sliced bread and one of the best players in the world.
A couple of spectacular goals in the Premier League and a brace in the San Siro against an Inter Milan team that had completely switched off after racking up a four goal lead and suddenly Bale was the hottest property on the continent.
A price tag of £50 million was slapped on his primitive-looking head and all the big clubs were falling over themselves in their efforts to sign him, conveniently forgetting that only a year or so previously, the Welshman was a second choice left back that was regarded as something of an unlucky charm by Spurs because they always seemed to lose when he was in the team.
Once the hyperbole died down a little, it soon dawned on everyone that Bale was indeed a very good player, but to speak of him in the same breath as the Messis, the Ronaldos, the Xavis, the Iniestas and the Robbie Keanes was premature to say the least.
He enjoyed a very solid start to this season and has played in every single minute of Spurs’ ten games so far, but he has caught fire spectacularly in recent weeks. In the last two games alone, Bale has picked up 27 points thanks to three goals, an assist and five bonus points, making up for an extremely dry spell which saw him score over three points only once in his other eight games.
Spurs are on a roll with seven wins in their last eight and at home against a Villa side struggling for consistency, you’d fancy them to continue that run on Monday night. Similar to Wayne Rooney, Bale is something of a streaky player and tends to produce a string of good performances before retreating back to mediocrity for a while.
As well as scoring in his last two games for Spurs, he’s scored in his last three for Wales, including an effort in the 4-1 battering of Norway in a friendly on Saturday. Unlike the majority of international teams, Wales were spared having to go through the rigours of a midweek game and with Spurs not in action until Monday night, Bale should be fresh and raring to go.
The best footballer in the world? Hardly, but at £8 million, he’s certainly worth a shot at the moment.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Frank Lampard (£11.7 million). Tough one for Chelsea against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, but the fat one has scored five in his last five and also nicked one for England against Spain at the weekend.
Mid-Range: Gareth Bale (£8.0 million). For the reasons explained above and the fact that he is reasonably priced at £8 million, Bale should be at the top of most shopping lists at the moment.
Bargain Basement: Chris Eagles (£5.4 million). One of the shining lights in what has been a terrible start to the season for the Trotters, Eagles has provided three goals and four assists since the start of the season and scored 35 points in his last four games.
Irish Pick: Jonathan Walters (£6.3 million). There’s a few very tough looking fixtures facing the Irish lads this weekend, but on paper, the man with the most chance of getting a decent haul is Walters, with Stoke playing at home to Fulham on Saturday. That’s provided he’s fully recovered from the celebrations of Tuesday night, of course.
Captain’s Pick: Robin van Persie (£12.6 million). It’s a tricky one this week considering we’re just over the international break, but we’re sticking with the Dutchman, who has scored 68 points in his last six games.
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