The Effect of Gareth Bale's Central Move

Gareth Bale's new position in the centre has brought him great success in the six matches he has featured there so far, averaging a rating of 8.59. AVB's decision to move the once-winger into a position behind the striker is very similar to Guardiola's over Messi when he took over in 2008, where he made the transition from inside forward to false 9.
By positioning your most influential player in the centre of the pitch, you make him the heart of the attacking play, getting involved in everything your team does going forward, since if he himself doesn't have the ball, then it is just a short pass' distance away from him. When Bale was out on the left, Spurs would channel the majority of the play down that flank which would obviously result in the right winger (usually Lennon) seeing little of the ball. On the other hand, with the Welshman in the centre, the attack transitions will be focused through the middle of the pitch, which gives balance and brings every attacker into play.

*I just want to point this out for evidence of how unintelligent Redknapp is - he thought that Bale would have the most success as a left-back, a position that would give him the least amount of influence on the pitch*

This influence chalkboard clearly shows the effect of Bale's wide positioning on his teammates. Three of the most influential players are positioned on the left flank, this clearly has an impact on the opposite flank, where both Lennon and Walker's names are much less prominent, showing their small contribution the their team's play.

Unsurprisingly, Bale featured in all of Spurs' three most frequent passing combinations, but only created one chance, and made just three shots throughout the full 90 minutes.

Fast forward nearly a year, with a loss of attacking midfielders along with a change in management, and Bale has made a slow transition from left-back, up to playing in the hole behind the striker. Though on the diagram he has a smaller influence for his team, taking a more in depth look at the stats show completely the opposite...

Although Bale made 181% more passes in the Fulham game at left-back (60 - Fulham, 33 - WHU), at attacking midfielder he created an outstanding six chances compared to just one in the defence.

The then-left back evidently created a chance every 60 passes, but a year later against West Ham, he brilliantly created one chance every 5.5 passes.

This difference between games is even clearer, when you take into consideration that Bale made 10 shots at the same time as creating the six chances, whilst 2 of those attempts beating Jussi Jääskeläinen in the Hammers' net. The responsibility of creating the majority of chances whilst being the main goalscorer in a side is huge and makes it much more difficult to provide as he did last season, but Bale, in his new role, has definitely managed with it as you can tell.

His move central has really allowed him to use his dangerous distance shooting much more effectively, as before cutting inside to shoot would put him on his right foot, and now he can has many more opportunities to shoot on his left, as he is running directly at goal.

Bale's position also affected his teammates, as I mentioned earlier. In the Fulham game, the Welsh forward made 24 passes more than his teammate on the opposite flank (Lennon), or 167% more, whereas in the game against West Ham, he made just 11 more passes, much more balanced, at 150% extra.

Deducing from his performances in a central position, I think we can safely assume that this will be Bale's home for a while now, far away from his left-back role in which he started his career, and what Redknapp recommended not long before leaving White Hart Lane. The move doesn't just benefit Bale either, as it gives the team balance in attack and makes them a lot less one-dimensional, as they're aren't simply relying on one flank.

Thanks for reading! Not the best again I know, I'm getting much more enthusiasm in writing though so hopefully it should be improving soon!

Who else do you think could make a change in position similar to Bale's? And do you think his new spot in the whole will be his permanent? Say what you think in the comments below!

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Cheers,
Tom