Bale sale was a BIG mistake! Tim Sherwood says selling Welshman has cost us top-four

TIM SHERWOOD believes that if Tottenham had wanted to finish in the top four this season they should not have sold Gareth Bale in the summer.
Instead, he accused chairman Daniel Levy of selling Bale on the cheap after a failure to reinvest his £85million world-record transfer fee effectively left Tottenham short of genuine world-class players.

Sherwood sent Bale a congratulatory text after he scored an individual wonder goal to help Real Madrid beat Barcelona to win the Copa Del Rey on Wednesday night.

But the Tottenham manager could not help but think how much better off his side would have been this season if the club's board had had the strength to insist Bale stay at White Hart Lane, just as Liverpool did with such remarkable effect when Luis Suarez attempted to land a move to Arsenal.

"Give me Gareth Bale and we might have been realistic challengers for the top four this season," Sherwood said. "You saw what Gareth did last year - eight winning goals last season out of 21 goals and seven assists. If you put them on to our season it would have a different complexion.

"But that was a decision made by all parties at the time. It was the one Tottenham decided they wanted to go with.

"His fee looks cheap now. If he is going to deliver Real Madrid the European Cup, which it looks like he might, then that looks good business. He's a freak of nature.

"Look at his goal on Wednesday. When he was forced onto the running track he had to run past three old ladies eating a hamburger and come back on the pitch. And he was still fastest to the ball. And that was playing against Barcelona. He's had a great season.

"The club made the decision that the money being offered was a lot. I think it was a record, wasn't it?"


Sherwood also pointed out the added frustration that Real's second-best player in the latest instalment of El Clasico was Luka Modric, another former Tottenham player.

It is one thing letting your star men go, but Sherwood feels the club was just as culpable in the calibre of the player brought in.

Sherwood laughed off speculation he was under pressure to starting picking £30m misfit Erik Lamela by revealing that a back injury will prevent him playing any further part in the campaign. Etienne Capoue has also struggled with injury since his arrival.

Of the other five - Roberto Soldado, Paulinho, Vlad Chiriches, Nacer Chadli and Christian Eriksen - only the latter has shown any signs of settling in the Premier League.

With just four games to go, all seven of the players brought in last summer are still one short of the club-record tally of 21 Premier League goals that Bale managed on his own in 2012/13.

"The players signed are all good," Sherwood said. "But the fans know it themselves... is there any world-class Gareth Bale-type players? No, there is not.

"Some of the guys are quite similar in the way they play. We need different types of midfield player for instance.



"But it is unfair to compare anybody to Gareth. He is exceptional, isn't he?"

Although it was previous manager Andre Villas-Boas in charge when Bale was sold, Sherwood was at the club as technical director.

However, he was at pains to point out that he was not involved at any stage in the decision-making process.

"Bale wanted to go," Sherwood conceded. "Once a player wants to go, it is very difficult to keep him. Unless you are Liverpool of course.

"But no, it is not up to me to hire or fire people at the club. Otherwise they would all still be here!"