For The Sake of English Football Bale Must Stay

There is this rumour doing the rounds, you might have seen it at some point. In case you have been lucky enough to miss it, or you have opted to spend the summer in a lead lined fridge avoiding the nuclear fallout from limited live football, here it is: Gareth Bale may depart for mainland Europe. According to many sources teams that have been bankrolled by the black stuff are stuffing multiple suitcases with cash.

It’s hardly the most surprising rumour ever. The best player in England currently on holiday with his partner, AVB-ette and granny, is being linked to clubs who have a history of more money than sense. It’s the kind of news that makes the summer unbearable.

Phil McNulty noted angrily on Twitter that journalists hate being called lazy. In honour to a man I follow and enjoy reading, I therefore will opt for slothful. These headlines and quote lacking pieces are entirely sloth-like and show that journalists like many of us, are in desperate need of column inches.

Editor: We have a page to fill!!
Journo: Hmm Bale to Monaco and or Madrid?
Editor: Brilliant! England has been knocked out of the Euro Under 21’s we have a page to fill tomorrow?
Journo: What about AVB to Paris?
Editor: Isn’t she currently with Bale? Fantastic!! PSG swoop in on father and daughter.

This summer scrolling through general Twitter nonsense the possible departure of Bale has grown in its significance. Should the Welshman depart, it wont only be Spurs be left reeling, but the whole of our domestic game.

The general perception of the English game will be irrevocably damaged; SKY, BT and thousands of billboard poster-sticker-uppers will be affected. There is also the small matter of the 36,000 or so that squeeze into White Hart Lane, who will be left with a Bale sized gap to fill.

This season watching Bale fire in howitzers from all angles has been one of my most enjoyable Spurs experiences.

I have come to terms that we won’t be trotting out to Tony Britton’s masterful adaptation of Handel’s, Zadok the Priest, I have even accepted that we won’t sign Edinson Cavani or any other player of similar ilk. Fate has been accepted, rather like the £47 quid that whizzed its way from my account straight into Joe Lewis’ wallet.

What I can’t accept though on a purely selfish reason is the prospect of losing Bale. He may not really have been born to play for Spurs, but there is no denying that his style suits the ethos of our club and has made us globally recognisable.

When I went to Colombia in 2008 and football came up in conversation it was rather like this:

Him: Who do you support?
Me: Tottenham (said Tot-nham)
Him: Who?
Me: Tott-ing-ham, you know,  Ledley King? Ossie Ardiles?
Him: Are they close to Chelsea?

In 2011

Another Him: Who do you support?
A Wiser Me: Tot-ing-ham
AH: Ahh!!! Bale!! What a player!!
AWM: I love him.

It was a common theme. Despite being the first club to do this or that, Glory Glory Hallelujah and other things we take so much pride in, the truth is, it’s the Welshman that has given us a profile. Bale is that type of player that you can feel proud of, he is that good and he is still getting better. He along with help from Modric, VDV, Hugo Lloris and Jan Vertonghen have increased the profile of our club.

Of course Spurs existed before Bale, and we will exist after he has swaggered off to somewhere thousands of miles from his granny, but there is no denying he puts us on today’s global football map. Football as we see by the astronomic rise in TV revenue is now a global game and personally I like having a player good enough that even in a remote part of Indonesia, a nippy 7 year old with big ears being inspired.

The possible departure of Bale would have a serious affect on the credibility of not only Spurs but also the Premier League.

So far this summer we have seen some of Europe’s best players avoid the PL. Colombians, Portuguese midfield generals, rising German stars and Neymar have opted against a move to our shores.

Is this down to money? Surely Man City and Chelsea would not allow a newly promoted AS Monaco out bid them? Why then are the English paying public missing out on the best players?

The truth is these stars chose something else other than money to not come to the Premier League. These snubs coupled by the fact that the rest of the worlds best players are all abroad only serves to make the tag: The Best League in the World, seem more outlandish than ever. As the Americans do with baseball, we should just give in and call it the Premier World Series League.

The PL is left with only a handful of stars: Bale, Luis Suarez, a 30 year old Robin Van Persie and an overhyped/inflated Wayne Rooney.

Suarez can be found currently using his mouth in more ways than one to orchestrate a move away from Liverpool, whilst Rooney heralded in 2004 as the new global star of football would be happy to move anywhere willing to pay him.  This would leave only Bale and RV-OAP.

There are some clubs attempting to stop the flow of talent heading off to Europe. Chelsea has powered up a DeLorean to 88mph in order to recapture past glories, but even that reeks of decline. Pep Guardiola the man who Roman Abramovich has a major man-crush on left him hanging, with no other option he returned to his ex-ex³ manager Jose Mourinho.

Up north Man City have lit a small beacon of hope and splashed of £50 million on Jesus Navas, a 27 year old who suffers from homesickness, and 28 year old Fernandinho, who in one of the worst Seleção pools in recent years, has been unable to collect more than five caps for Brazil. That noise you hear in the distance isn’t the rest of Europe quaking in fear, but the sound of sniggers being muffled.

There is a vast difference in the business being done here and what is going on in France, Germany, Spain and even cash strapped Italy.

The greatest league in the world? Perhaps briefly once, but not anymore.

The Premier League is on the wane and the national teams are wobbling, attendances are down and it’s imperative for SKY and BT that the Premier League keeps hold of at least one global asset.

They need Bale to stay as much as we want him to stay. If Bale left this year, not only would Spurs lose a fantastic and vital component, but it would signify the end of the Premier League as a force.

The best players will all be elsewhere, the fantasy and style that signifies a truly class act wont be on show at White Hart Lane, Old Trafford or Wonga Village. England, the Premier League, football fans and Spurs supporters all need Bale to stay.