Gareth Bale: Best Goals

 

The love is mutual, Gareth

Everyone seems to be talking about the speedy Welshman nowadays, as his performances have set the English Premier League alight almost on a weekly basis. Love him or hate him, his ability and apt for the beautiful game is undeniable.

What many don’t know is that the 23-year old proved to be somewhat of an initial drag for Tottenham as his first 24 appearances for the London side went without a single victory.

AVB has undoubtedly brought out the best in the left-footed magician and it is no surprise that clubs like Real Madrid are hot on his heels hoping to acquire his prestigious signature. He is now drawing comparisons to Portuguese world-beater Cristiano Ronaldo, and rightly so.

Before Moussa Dembele’s late wonder-strike against Lyon mid-week, Bale has scored Tottenham’s last 6 goals, which led many to believe that Spurs were most certainly a ‘one-man’ team.

But he is not at the same level as his Portuguese compatriot as of yet, although Bale is not too far off. His 17 goals thus far this season are testament to his stellar performances and his unflappable consistency, which has eluded him at times throughout his short yet illustrious career.

A strong candidate for Barclays Premier League Player Of The Season and a shoe-in for Team Of The Season, the future holds a lot for Tottenham’s pace-merchant.

Down the years, Bale has scored his fair share of belters. His left foot is probably the most powerful on the planet as of now, and his free-kicks are also on par, if not better than Cristiano Ronaldo’s.

Take a look at what I feel are Gareth Bale’s top 5 goals throughout his career, and vote for what you think is the cream of the crop. Apologies if I miss out on one or two, so leave your thoughts or personal favourites in the comments section below.

1. Gareth Bale vs Stoke (2010-2011)

My personal favourite from the flying Welshman. A lofted ball in from Lennon ends up around head height for the left-winger, but the height is not a problem for Bale. The execution and technique used to dispatch this volley into the top right corner is awe-inspiring, and jaw-dropping is an understatement. Struck so clean that the ball is always rising. How he even managed to get his foot around that ball is beyond me. Majestic from the left-back-come-winger.

2. Gareth Bale vs Lyon (2012-2013)

Gareth Bale’s free-kicks have been marveled over countless times by various pundits and fans this season. His first attempt vs Lyon in the Europa league was one of his more exceptional efforts, and that’s an understatement. The manner in which the ball got over the wall and dipped so quickly was enough to make even Ronaldo googly-eyed at this insane finish from the Premier League’s best left-sided player. Take a bow son.

3. Gareth Bale vs Norwich (2012-2013)

This goal shows everything that Gareth Bale has to offer in his huge armoury. A considerable amount of pace, a controlled first touch, immense strength and an ice-cool finish all feature in this epic solo effort from the former Southampton man. His first and second touch are what make this goal, without these two perfectly measure pieces of skill the ball would not have ended up in the back of the Canaries’ net.

4. Gareth Bale vs Inter Milan (2010-2011)

(Excuse the poor quality)

How could one of his memorable hat-trick goals not feature in this compilation? A virtuoso performance from the attacker earned him well-deserved plaudits from all corners of the globe, and his immeasurable talent was finally realised on this fateful night at the San Siro. The night that made him the player he is today. The night that he personally tore the world’s best right-back Maicon to shreds all of his own accord. His first goal was what opened the floodgates for Tottenham to push on and help him score two more, and this is why it is his best. Another masterful solo run resulting in a thunderous strike past Julio Cesar, who is merely a passenger in this second-half trio of goals courtesy of Tottenham’s Welsh Maestro.

5. Gareth Bale vs West Brom

Maybe not his best goal, but a cracking strike nonetheless. With Jermaine Defoe and Adebayor failing to net consistently enough for the London side, Gareth Bale has taken up a large portion of the goal-scoring mantle for most of this season. This powerful effort helped Spurs claim a well-deserved 3 points against the Baggies, and this goal is certainly one to remember for Bale.

Anfield: What Fortress?

 

Disappointment yet again for Liverpool

 A result no one could have predicted. An evening nobody could have foreseen, not even the most pessimistic Merseysider, or the most optimistic Albion fan. Liverpool resorted back to their habits of old, missing chance after chance for the best part of what were a tense 90 minutes inside Anfield. Not even a soft penalty awarded to the reds could save their day, as ‘Mr. Reliable’ Steven Gerrard side-footed his lacklustre spot-kick into the path of West Brom’s star man Ben Foster, who made an immeasurable number of fine saves to help the Baggies to their first win of 2013 in the Premier League. Euphoria for the travelling Albion fans, heartbreak for the Anfield faithful.

For me, the day started and ended at an ungodly-like hour. Rising bright and early at 6:15 on Monday morning, I was buzzing in anticipation. This was to be my first trip to Anfield, a day which I would have hoped would live long in my memory, for all the right reasons. After four hours on the ferry to Holyhead, and a further 3 hours in the car, I arrived at Liverpool around 4 in the afternoon. Excitement was now proving difficult to mask, and after wandering around Liverpool One for a short while, we drove to Anfield Road, where we would take our seats. Eagerly anticipating the team news, I found my heart sink a little when seeing that our main man at the moment, Daniel Sturridge, had failed to overcome a thigh injury picked up last week against the Citizens, and he paid the price for playing on with a niggling injury against his former club.

The West Brom fans were sat to the right of us, and not even they could have dreamt of such an emphatic result against England’s most decorated club.

After singing Liverpool’s anthem in unison, the game got underway. Liverpool looked lively from the off, although there was something in the air that night at Anfield. An air of uncertainty, unease. The travelling fans immediately recognised the cumbersome atmosphere in Merseyside, and began to chant ‘Where’s your famous atmosphere’ much to the embarrassment of the home crowd, who could barely muster up a response.

But there was one man, sat three rows in front of me who somehow managed to make the spectacle worthwhile, as he chanted countless unpleasantries at the Baggies fans’, much to our amusement. ‘Fuck off Albion’, ‘You’re just a shit team from Birmingham’ and ‘He’s just a Chelsea fucking reject’ (aimed at Lukaku) were amongst his endless array of chants. I was in stitches for half of the game, cracking up at whatever he came out with next.

Gerrard’s miss was the turning point

This man, although seemingly intoxicated, sang proudly until the 90th minute. Unfortunately, he was alone, as most of the people seated around him were only tourists, die-hards were in the Kop. But not even they could lift the spirits inside the walls of Anfield, bar the odd ‘Liverpool, Liverpool’ chant every 20 minutes.

For large parts of the game there was an eerie silence echoing around Anfield, the Liverpool fans guilty of this. No matter how much the man sat in front of me sang songs of disapproval while pointing his middle finger at Albion fans, the mood still wouldn’t change.

The fact that I’ve managed to write this much material on a fan merely chanting is almost depressing, as that was probably the highlight of the match for me. He was more entertaining and enticing than Liverpool were in their build-up play.

Immaturity from the 20 year old

Certain players were singled out after last night’s poor showing, Jonjo Shelvey being the main culprit of these condemning comments made about his, and his side’s performance. ‘Keyboard warriors’ as Jonjo calls them, took to Twitter angrily minutes after the final whistle, and sent abusive tweets to all the players who donned the red jersey that night, and Jonjo did not take too kindly to this, as he expressed his feeling in a rather immature tweet shortly after the match.

Daniel Agger also took to the social networking to express his thoughts on the game the morning after, and in doing so, offered a much more plausible response to criticisms he received from fans.

A more mature outlook on the result

Maybe it was just one of those days for Liverpool. No matter how hard they tried, it was just simply not going to happen for them. But to be a top 4 side, these are the games that the reds will need to capitalise on. They have still not managed to defeat a team currently residing in the top 10 of the league, and sitting in 9th place is surely something that will have Brendan Rodgers questioning his and his players methods. An inspired performance by Ben Foster all but claimed the three points for the away side, and West Bromwich Albion have now moved ahead of Liverpool into eighth position. It was the first time in nearly 50 years that the Baggies managed to do the double over Liverpool in the league campaign. What makes the defeat even more painful is that West Brom’s manager is Steve Clarke, Liverpool’s assistant manager of last season.

 Amongst all the madness, there is still plenty to look forward to for Liverpool fans. Two appetising Europa League clashes with Zenit St. Petersburg of Russia in the next 10 days could help ease the pain, as Liverpool very regularly manage to pull out all the stops against the big sides. All that has been missing from Brendan Rodgers’ side in the big games this season is the ability to close out a game, defending their goal until the 90th minute and beyond.

Inconsistency has become Liverpool’s middle name, and until they manage to rid their squad of the ‘at least we tried’ attitude, there will not be a notable progression in the coming months. A project is underway at Liverpool at the moment, a project which will see us hopefully competing in Europe again in years to come, although fans might have to wait a little bit longer until they see any signs of improvement. Maybe we have to accept that Liverpool just aren’t a top 4 side anymore, and that results such as these against the seemingly worse teams aren’t always upsets.

Not even the trickery or perpetual running from Luis Suarez could help Liverpool avoid defeat, and it was evident that they missed Daniel Sturridge. Badly. Jonas Olsson and Gareth McAuley aptly marshalled the Uruguayan for most of the fixture, and it was clear to see that Suarez missed his new partner in crime.

All in all, I wouldn’t dare call my trip to Anfield a waste of money and time, but rather just a disappointing result. Although it was an  interesting match, one that not many people could talk about so much in-depth. Being at the stadium, you really do hear and see things you wouldn’t at home. Travelling to Anfield is a unique, sometimes rewarding experience. An experience that I certainly won’t find easy to forget.

Patience is a virtue, and this saying largely adheres to Liverpool’s current state and philosophy as things stand.

Goal of the Season so far?

Who Made The Cut?

The Barclays Premier League is no stranger to seeing some belters rather frequently throughout the course of a season. This is largely down to the fact that it is the best league in the world.

In football, without wanting to sound like too much of a cliché, anything can happen. And in the Premier League, players who may be seemingly average in comparison to those around them happen to score some audacious efforts, ones they will be unlikely to ever repeat again in their careers.

Last season we saw our fair share of phenomenal strikes: Papiss Cissé vs Chelsea, Luis Suárez vs Norwich, and Peter Crouch vs Manchester City just to name a few.

This campaign has certainly met the high standards of last season’s criteria, and maybe even a little bit more.

Below are 5 of the current campaign’s best goals so far (in my view). Forgive me if I have missed out on any in an attempt to stay away from some of the more mainstream goals.

1. Adel Taarabt vs Fulham

QPR’s Moroccan magician gave his side a huge helping hand to help beat Fulham in a nail-biting 2-1 win at Loftus Road. Scoring a brace, it was clear that Taarabt was at the heart of everything good that QPR carried out, and the tricky African may well be the difference between his side staying and competing among Europe’s elite, or the Rangers dropping back down to the lowly nPower Championship. He has flourished this season, after enduring a painful first Premier League campaign last year. His second goal in the tie versus Fulham brought the genius many plaudits, and he almost single-handedly helped the London side claim their first 3 points of the season. What a goal it was.

2. Luis Suárez vs Newcastle

Liverpool’s Uruguayan striker has made the headlines almost weekly since his timely arrival in England. Controversies have overshadowed his stellar performances in a red shirt, and many fail to look beyond his misdemeanors, basing their opinion of his footballing ability on his unrighteousness. No matter how many goals the nutmeg-merchant adds to his tally, he is still looked upon by many as a pimple on the face of the Premier League, one FIFA representative went as far as calling him ‘a little bit of cancer in the game’. Although his antics seem to do him no favours, he does most of his talking through his insatiable hunger for the game. 17 league goals and counting this season, ‘El Pistolero’ has been a bright spark in an ever-faltering Liverpool side. His goal against Newcastle in 2012 was voted as Sky Sports’ goal of the season so far, so it’s no surprise to see it in this list. A sublime touch and a quick repositioning of the body followed by an elegant drop of the shoulder meant the forward went by Tim Krul with relative ease. It may have looked easy, but many others would have failed in a similar scenario.

3. Cameron Jerome vs Southampton

In the 90th minute, the substitute came on and scored an absolute worldie to see his side earn a 3-3 draw with struggling side Southampton. A fiercely hit volley is as aesthetically pleasing a goal as you’ll ever get, and this wonder-strike by the Englishman was no exception. What a hit.

4. Santi Cazorla vs West Ham

A personal favourite of mine from Arsenal’s midfield maestro Santi Cazorla. What a season he’s having at the Emirates, with 8 goals and 6 assists to his name, the Spaniard has almost surpassed his goal record in La Liga for Malaga, and it is only February. £12 million was never going to be a questionable fee to pay for such a talent, and he was widely regarded as the best player in La Liga outside of the two giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. Santi comes and goes at times, which can be frustrating, nonetheless his contribution to the London side has been duly noted by all onlookers of the Premier League. This goal in particular may not have been one of his trademark longshots, although it was an exquisite finish orchestrated by an Arsenal triumvirate, which resulted in a sneaky flick into the goal from the pouncing Cazorla. What a team effort.

5. Emerson Boyce vs Swansea

A goal that many would have forgotten about by now, considering it happened so early in the season. Emerson Boyce has scored two or three peaches for the Latics, and this goal was as innovative, unique and original as you’ll see all season. Such a complex finish takes extreme athleticism and audacity, something the Barbadian must have in abundance. An underrated goal, courtesy of an underrated player, yet a strong candidate for goal of the season. Take a bow son.

Vote for your favourite goal down below!