When Wales play England on Thursday, not only will Gareth Bale be the best player on either side, but he talks the best game, too. Dai Sport columnist NEIL MASUDA says Bale’s remarks have already disturbed England and their manager Roy Hodgson.
You’ve got to hand it to Gareth Bale, he’s played a stormer against England – and that’s before they even set foot on the pitch in Lens.
Wales’ talisman has produced a performance to rank alongside the best of the smirking Master Mind Gamester, Sir Alex Ferguson.
His comments on England, said with that winning smile and his tongue firmly in his cheek, have rattled Roy Hodgson and his listless squad of underachievers.
But what Bale said was based on truth, particularly his comments about Wales having more ‘pride and passion’.
The Dragons play with a real commitment and passion, not just because this is their first historic tournament involvement for nigh on six decades, but because they watch each others’ backs, play as a team and burn with ardour to do well for their country.
Can you see that in England?
Harry Kane has been burning, sure, but is now burnt out.
Hodgson has been, correctly, much-derided for using one of his tallest players – and a striker at that – to take their corners, when he should be in the box on the end of them. What the lad really needs, though, is at least a month of rest and a holiday.
Hodgson also seems to be racking his brains to try to squeeze Jamie Vardy into his plans (Arsene Wenger, take note!).
The defence still looks jittery when under significant pressure or having to deal with incisive counter-attacks.
And, as for Wayne Rooney, he should at best be being used as an impact substitute, but not in a starting XI.
Hodgson had years to hone a proper team to make a mark at these championships and yet he ended up relying on a bunch of Tottenham players landing in his lap towards the end of the season, courtesy of Mauricio Pochettino, on which he has built his side.
Hodgson also doesn’t seem to realise that his side works best without Rooney in it – but that possibility seems impossible.
For Bale to say that none of the England team would get in the Wales side was also partly true.
The boys in red play as a team – Bale himself calls them ‘a band of brothers’ – whereas England lack that cohesive quality, where one player is constantly on the lookout for his team-mate.
Hodgson called Bale’s remarks ‘disrespectful’, a comment in itself that shows how lily-livered the England boss is. Where is his real passion and desire when he mumbles what a good side he has and how they rank among the best? It’s the sort of unsubstantiated claptrap that does it for the non-former players in their FA suits, but has never really resonated with the English supporters themselves.
Many rank Hodgson as a very good manager. For what? A few championships in Scandinavia? Stints abroad with various teams, but no real success, an abysmal time at Liverpool (where the fans soon found him out)?
He is clearly lacking in the fire-in-the-belly passion that Bale was talking about – even on the eve of a match that could decide his own future. Because even the dotards in the FA will have to take action, should England fail against the Dragons.
If it does come down to pride and passion when the two sides meet in Lens, the team that displays the greater of those qualities should prevail – and there can be little doubt which one has the current edge.