Bale: The real deal

Monday night. “He is playing at a tremendous level at the moment, he’s a terrific talent,” said the Spurs manager.
“He is certainly a contender for Footballer of the Year, he’s having a tremendous season.”

Bale had given Spurs an early lead before Andy Carroll and Joe Cole put the Hammers ahead. But substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson equalised with his first Premier League goal for the club before Bale’s blockbuster took Spurs above Chelsea and stretched their lead over fifth-placed Arsenal to four points ahead of Sunday’s north London derby.

Bale’s last-gasp strike was his eighth goal in six games. Manager Andre Villas-Boas said: “He is a very special player and his performances lately have given him the belief he can score.

“We were very persistent, we didn’t drop back after equalising, we kept on pushing for a winning goal and got it in the end.”
Bale said: “We knew after the Chelsea result that we had a massive chance to get third spot. We deserved the victory.
“I’m just enjoying my football. The most important thing is the team playing well. It is not about me it’s about the team.”

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said: “You’ve got to admire the goal, even though it is disappointing for us.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, you’ve got to admire a goal by a player who is the big difference for Spurs.
“You hear about Michu at Swansea and Robin Van Persie at Manchester United, but no one else is doing more for their football club than Gareth Bale.”

However, the Hammers boss said Mousa Dembele should have been sent off for persistent offending.
“A disappointing situation that I feel has to be pointed at by me, Howard Webb has to send Dembele off,” said Allardyce.

“The laws we’re told what they have to do, we are told they have to do – the foul on (Kevin) Nolan is a booking, then he fouls Mohamed Diame, and look at what our players have been booked for.

“Then early into the second half he pulls Joe Cole, the third one, then kicks the ball 20 yards away. All day long Mike Riley tells us that’s a booking, so it would be 10-men Tottenham.

“It is disappointing for me, but at end of all that we have given it our best shot, I’m very disappointed we haven’t got any points out of it.” —              Mailonline.