Monday 9 March 2015 14:48, UK
After the weekend defeat to Athletic Bilbao, Gareth Bale has now gone seven games without a goal or an assist - his longest run in a Real Madrid shirt. Adam Bate tries to get to the bottom of the Welshman's recent struggles...
Cross or shot? Act of brilliance or a mistimed swing of the boot? The irony of the debate over Gareth Bale's intentions when he struck the woodwork late on in Bilbao on Saturday is unlikely to be lost on Real Madrid supporters. This is the world-record signing who was castigating for shooting too much but now seems cowed by the criticism with his conviction being questioned.
Publicly, Bale insists nothing has changed. "I haven't really adapted my style of play," he told Sky Sports after Real's first leg win in their Champions League tie against Schalke last month. "In certain games, if a sight of goal has opened up I'll take it." However, Sky Sports pundit Thierry Henry has a different interpretation of what he's seen lately from the Welshman.
"I don't know if he's trying to overcompensate but when you play with a big man like Cristiano Ronaldo, we've all been in that position where you have to feed the guy of the team," said Henry. "I had to do it with Sonny Anderson (at Monaco) and he was letting me know when I wasn't giving him the ball.
"He's looking to assist Cristiano Ronaldo and he did the same thing against Deportivo the other day. He looked like he was making sure he wanted to give a goal to someone, maybe to stop people talking. We've all had to feed the man but you have to find the right balance there - to not upset him sometimes but also to play your game."
It's an extraordinary turn of events that has seen Bale go seven games - and over 10 hours of football - without contributing either directly or indirectly to a Real Madrid goal. He's not gone longer than this without a goal or assist since the 2010/11 season. It's quite a change. The player Real paid a reported €100million for did not think twice before pulling the trigger.
In his final season at Tottenham, Bale had 165 shots in the Premier League at a rate of one every 18 minutes of play. Only Luis Suarez had more efforts that season and only Suarez and Mario Balotelli took a shot at goal more often than Bale. Real knew what they were buying and until recently, that's precisely how their acquisition went about his business.
Bale had a shot every 24 minutes for Real Madrid in La Liga last season. The fact that he didn't shoot quite so often as at Spurs being a reflection of the fact that he couldn't get his hands on the free-kicks quite so regularly with Cristiano Ronaldo around. Even so, only Ronaldo and Messi had more shots in Spain.
Sharpshooter?
In the 2014/15 season, ostensibly Bale's shooting hasn't changed. He still averages an effort every 24 minutes and ranks among the top 10 in La Liga for goals and completed dribbles as well being among the top 25 chance creators. But delve deeper and there are worrying signs that stem back to the criticism he has received from the Real support since the turn of the year.
The jeers that accompanied his decision to shoot rather than pass against Espanyol didn't appear to have an immediate effect on his confidence as Bale either scored or assisted in each of the next four games in January. But the furore has certainly taken its toll since the 4-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid last month.
Bale had only one shot in that game and failed to register a single effort in Real's next away game against Schalke - his very first Champions League start for the club in which he did not have a shot. In total, Bale has had nine shots in his last 540 minutes of action at a rate of one an hour. It's a stark contrast to the 90 shots at a rate of one every 22 minutes prior to the chastening experience in the Vicente Calderon.
The change of emphasis in his game scuppers the purpose of his presence on the right flank: why be stationed out there to cut in and shoot if you're not prepared to do so? However, not all of the problems that have seen Real win only two of their last five in La Liga, surrendering top spot to Barcelona in the process, can be attributed to Bale. Even Ronaldo has netted just two league goals in his last six games.
'Offensive problem'
"It is not a defensive problem, it is an offensive problem," said Carlo Ancelotti at the weekend having seen his team score one penalty goal in three hours of football. "There is no connection. There is too much individual play. We are looking for individual solutions. We need another way of attacking, more combinations between players, to try to play quicker and with fewer touches. It is quite confusing what we are doing when we are attacking at the moment."
There is no connection. There is too much individual play. We need another way of attacking.
Perhaps the solution is to get back to basics. Bale has the physical ability and the experience to take on defensive responsibilities. However, that was conspicuous by its absence in the Madrid derby. "Where I think criticism has become justified is that his work level was not as hard as the Spurs fans will have remembered, and not as hard as last season," Spanish football expert Graham Hunter told Sky Sports.
"Last season, Bale was tracking back, making four men in midfield, winning more challenges and this season there has been a decline in the amount of 'blue collar' tracking and tackling he does. When the rest of the team is low on confidence and a few key players are missing, that doesn’t go unnoticed." The stats show that Bale is being dribbled past almost three times as often this season.
Hard work would be a start. But Bale also needs to rediscover his belief, trust in the approach that got him this far and not be swayed. After all, he is not the first Real Madrid player to endure criticism and there is a lesson to be learned in the phlegmatic attitude of team-mate Karim Benzema. "I am a Real Madrid striker and that means I have to score in every game," he told AS in September after scoring just once in the first six games of the season. "That’s the way it is.
"I was booed last season. Iker Casillas has been booed. All of the great players who have played for Madrid have been booed. Ronaldo, Zidane... I don't let it get to me. I just concentrate on playing. I love football and I’m at the best club in the world." Over the next two months, Benzema went on a run of 11 goals in 11 games and needs one more against Schalke on Tuesday to notch up 20 goals for a fifth consecutive season at Real. That, surely, is the attitude Bale must adopt if he is to overcome this difficult period.
