As with so many things, Sir Alex Ferguson put it best. When asked in the late 2000s about a young Welsh full-back called Gareth Bale, the Manchester United manager succinctly said: “You can’t pick him, he’s jinxed.”
Many figures within the game would have nodded at this assessment. While it is easily forgotten now considering the player Bale developed into, his early days at Tottenham would have tested the patience of any individual.
Having signed from Southampton in 2007 for an initial £5million, Bale went a record 24 Premier League matches without appearing on the winning side – a run that encompassed two years, three managers, frequent swapping of positions, 1,533 minutes and the possibility of a loan deal to either Birmingham City or Nottingham Forest.
To suggest then that Bale would become the world’s most expensive player, represent Real Madrid and captain his country to the semi-final of the European Championships would have seemed fanciful. Instead, most observers regarded his prospects with the optimism of a cat peering through the gates of hell.
📆 #OnThisDay in 2007
Tottenham signed a teenager called Gareth Bale ⚡pic.twitter.com/jOii2gGQeg
— GOAL (@goal) May 25, 2020
Even this assessment masks the fact that Bale’s career at White Hart Lane started with initial promise. Having moved to north London aged just 17, Bale was regarded as one of British football’s hottest prospects. His first few appearances reflected this belief.
Starting his first Premier League match away at champions Manchester United, Bale tormented Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic throughout the game from the left wing.
One movement, when he cut through the United defence like hot butter through a lactose intolerant and slid the ball to Dimitar Berbatov, should have resulted in the game’s opening goal. However, the Bulgarian striker was denied by a goal-line clearance.
Spurs went on to lose 1-0, a result that ominously set the tone for Bale’s early experiences with the club. In his next game, away at Fulham, Bale coolly slotted home after a fine solo run to put his team 3-1 ahead. Alas, Tottenham showed their age-old commitment to shooting themselves in the foot and allowed Fulham to pull level at 3-3.
Following this, Bale opened the scoring in the north London derby with a delicious free-kick. Again, Spurs lost comfortably. While this run of form was attributed to the complexities of Martin Jol’s rapidly ending regime, things would get worse for…
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