Club need to get Real over brilliant Bale

THE madness of modern football was laid bare in Cardiff on Thursday night.

Gareth Bale – shunted to the sidelines at Real Madrid and written off by the press in the Spanish capital as a ‘blood-sucking parasite’ – fires his first love, Wales, to within 90 minutes of the World Cup finals.

He produced two moments of the highest quality, settling a game that otherwise would have been a nip-and-tuck affair.

Bale (below) wasn’t fit for last week’s El Clasico, in which Los Blancos had their backsides handed to them on a plate by Xavi’s Barcelona.

He had a back injury. That healed quickly, didn’t it?

But it’s staggering to think that Real Madrid have not found a role for a man who still possesses the kind of quality he can serve up.

Carlo Ancelotti finds room for other ageing stars, such as Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.

It’s a mystery why Bale is scapegoated constantly for earning his £15million-a-year wage.

At least Wales will be grateful for keeping the 32-year-old ticking over ahead of the play-off final, whenever it comes.

You can bet that, given the latest dollop of unprovoked negativity from his employers, he will be 100 per cent fit for the Dragons.

THE FA Cup keeps being kicked around as if it’s a second-rate competition. In the last few years, replays have been binned and ties moved to midweek.

But holding the draw for the next round when there are ties that still haven’t been played from the previous one just saps the sense of anticipation.

There’s no good reason for this – get it changed.