Former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson says that Gareth Bale must follow Cristiano Ronaldo’s lead and adapt his game to try and earn a place in Jose Mourinho’s Spurs side – but admits he is not currently getting the chance to do that.
The 31-year-old is over halfway through his season-long loan from Real Madrid, but has made just seven appearances in the Premier League, from which just two were in the starting XI.
Bale has played a larger part in Europe, starting every one of Spurs’ Europa League group stage games.
But Robinson says that Spurs are not seeing the best of Bale so far, and the attacker will not be content with cameo appearances in the league.
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“It’s a strange one,” Robinson told Gambling.com. “He’s so far down the pecking order. Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn and Erik Lamela all seem to be ahead of him.
“He’s not been given game time which is no fault of his own when he’s fit and able to play. I think he was brought in with a huge loan fee and wages so it surprises me that the club have paid so much for somebody who has played such a little part.
“At the start I thought it was just a case of getting him fit and getting him ready, not wanting him to break down so they could get a full season out of him, but at this stage it just seems like he’s playing a bit-part.
“I don’t think he will be happy with 10 or 20 minutes at the end of a game, or to be an unused sub, he needs a proper run of games because he’s not had that for so long.
“Him sitting on the bench and then coming on for cameo roles every now and then isn’t going to suit a player who has been out for so long.
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“If you’re going to utilise him well, then he needs a run of games to get up to 100% match fitness so Spurs can get the best out of him, and I don’t think they’re getting the best out of him using him the way they are at the moment.”
Robinson admitted that Bale needs to adapt his game as he gets older, much like former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo did, but says the Wales international is not being afforded that opportunity at Spurs.
“Everybody has to adapt their game as they get older, especially top players like Ibrahimovic and Ronaldo for example, and I would put Gareth Bale in that category,” Robinson added.
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“But we’re not seeing enough of him to see if he can adapt his game. Spurs have got an abundance of attacking quality but you would think a player of his quality would be the first name to come in if the likes of Kane or Son [Heung-min] are unavailable.
“Instead, we’re seeing many others ahead of him in the pecking order and he’s not getting the game time so we’re not able to see if he is able to adapt his game, but it’s through no fault of his own because when he does come on I think he’s played well at times.
“But he’s not been given the opportunity to get himself into any sort of rhythm to get himself going.”
