1. Gareth Bale Even Better Than Before
Let's be honest, this is what all Spurs fans want. And, more importantly, it's what they expect. The quotes attributed to Gareth Bale - a quite, unassuming and homely young man - which suggest he is demanding a move away from White Hart Lane seem like fabricated nonsense with a single purpose; to unsettle the player and manipulate a move to Real Madrid. Spanish newspaper Marca - a notoriously pro-Real Madrid outfit - are renowned for this kind of behaviour. It is beyond belief that people believe what they have to say on the subject of Gareth Bale and even more surprising that other media outlets are buying it and considering it to be worthy, genuine news material.
Marca have attributed the following quotes to the Welshman:
"You made me a promise. You promised me if we didn't qualify for the Champions League and a good offer turned up you'd listen to it. Well that offer has arrived and I want to play for Real Madrid. So keep your word and negotiate".
The problems here are threefold: Gareth Bale is not that kind of guy. As much as his head may have been turned, these aren't the kind of things he would say. Marca have absolutely no way of knowing what may or may not have been said in a private conversation between Levy and Bale. To print these entirely made-up quotes is nothing short of slander. Finally, and most importantly, those exact quotes (literally word for word) were attributed to Luka Modric last year when he genuinely was pushing for a move to Madrid. It's a blatant re-hash of an old story. The fact that people are buying it is beyond staggering. So, with that in mind, Spurs fans expect Bale to come back better than before. Until Spurs or Bale officially state their intention to have the player move on, he is indeed a Spurs player (and Daniel Levy really can't afford another fan backlash - he must dig his heels in on this one). That's not to say Bale will
definitely stay, but the fact is that Marca are talking nonsense and, as things stand, Gareth Bale will be walking out in a Spurs shirt at Selhurst Park on the opening day of next season and, if that's the case, an improvement on his 21 league goals (and 26 in all competitions) would be most welcome. And, at his age, an improvement is to be expected.
Do you agree with this article? What do you expect from Spurs next season? Have your say in the comments box below! And feel free to follow me on Twitter.