SPURS WOULD BE MAD TO HAND ANONYMOUS BALE A NEW DEAL
MUCH giddiness at Tottenham after the 4-0 win over one of the poorest top-division teams of all time last week. Sheffield United remain on course to be the first side not to complete a two-game unbeaten run in a season since Doncaster Rovers in Division Two in 1904-05. Having equalled the record for the fastest relegation in Premier League history, and broken the record for the most games without a win since the start of a Premier League season, with three matches remaining Sheffield United are also one short of the most defeats by any Premier League team and two short of the least number of goals. This was largely overlooked in the rush to acclaim Ryan Mason for setting Tottenham free after the dour Jose Mourinho era. It doesn’t take much for the hype machine to fire up and Jonathan Barnett was quick to make claims for Gareth Bale, his most lucrative client, who moved swiftly against Sheffield United to bayonet the wounded with three goals. ‘He had a tough ride and that shouldn’t have been necessary,’ Barnett said. ‘He came as one of the best players in the world. Sure, he had a few injuries and fitness problems, but once they were over, all he needed was to be played in the right position and consistently.’ Fast forward to elland Road on Saturday, when Bale, presumably once again in his right position, was largely anonymous and Tottenham went down 3-1. Tottenham have the chance to extend his loan and continue paying around £240,000 a week of his salary next season. They would be mad to do so. Bale let the plan slip when he talked of prioritising being fit for the european Championship this summer. If that’s his motivation, what is in it for him next year? Sadly, despite the expectation and excitement around his return, the only reputation that has been enhanced during Bale’s time at Spurs is that of Real coach Zinedine Zidane. It turns out he was right.