Gareth Bale seemingly is etching his name ever so closely to becoming a truly great player. In American sports the player of the year in a league gets the MVP (most valuable player) award.
In England this award is called the ‘player of the year’ award. When I think about who should win the Premier League’s award, two players come to mind. Bale and Manchester United’s very own Robin van Persie.
Bale has had a brilliant season. The facts don’t lie. He has scored 19 goals including several assists which have been finished off by the likes of Clint Dempsey and Jermain Defoe. The other reason why Bale deserves to be up there alongside RVP for player of the year is that he has literally carried Spurs this season.
The best example of this was in Monday night’s clash against West Ham United. Spurs needed to win the game to keep their push for a top 4 place in the league going and to leap above Chelsea into third after the Blues had lost to Manchester City.
During the match Bale was going through players with poise and ease.
The Welsh wizard put Spurs ahead with a neat finish after 13 minutes and got his side back into the game after West Ham went ahead in the second-half, just like so many great players do when their side needs them. Bale had a hand in his team’s equaliser before scoring a fantastic individual goal from roughly 30 yards out to win the game.
When people think of Bale this season they are comparing him to Cristiano Ronaldo who famously scored 42 goals for United back in the 2007/08 season. Ronaldo won both the Premier League and Champions League that season winning many individual awards along the way including the prestigious Ballon D’or, the award that goes to the world’s best player.
As long as Bale keeps playing well, he is destined to win at least one award this season. If his good form continues then Spurs will qualify for the Champions League and could go far in the Europa League.
Good form will only increase his value in World football and make clubs like United, Real Madrid and Barcelona even more eager to sign him. As for RVP, if United go onto claim a historic Treble then surley he will claim individual awards as well, although the Ballon D’or may just be out of reach thanks to a certain Lionel Messi.
By Harold Hershman @hhdj89
