“He plays on the left, he plays on the left…..” chanted the spurs fans in response to Harry Rednapp tinkering with Gareth Bales position. I’m not sure most fantasy managers would agree as the 2nd top point scoring midfielder behind Clint Dempsey seemed more productive in the few games he played behind the striker. This is a player who thrilled viewers with his pace and power in seasons gone and after a rather slowish start exploded in to action. To me he was one of the view “undroppables”, a player who was totally fixture proof. Even when he wasn’t scoring points his base shooting and key pass stats never flinched and he was always just a bit of luck away from returning points. The charge against Harry’s lack of rotation worked for fantasy managers as you could always be relied on Bale turning up even for those juicy home games to Wolves and Blackburn. These are games that if you owned say Valencia, Young or Nani, Sir Alex would have you in sweats and a panic as the team sheet came up on your mobile while getting the beers in.
Here’s his stats:
Points: 195 (2nd behind Dempsey)
Games: 36
Points per game: 5.4
Goals: 10 (3rd behind Dempsey and VDV)
Goal every 3.6 games
Assists: 14 (4th equal behind Silva, Mata and Valencia)
Bonus: 21
Bonus % of total points: 11%
%owned: Top midfielder
Price range: Start £8.0m. Lowest £7.9m round 11. Highest £9.7m round 27. Finish £9.5m round 38.
In base shooting stats Bale was never far behind Dempsey although he probably shot outside the box more than the Fulham fan and didn’t really get the rewards he deserved.
For me he is still a strong prospect for next year due to his consistency and his ability to provide key passes and shots game after game. The position he will play in as crucial and Harrys view that he will end up a full back does worry me but he is a strong contender for my initial line up this year.
