The last 20 years have not been particularly prosperous for Tottenham Hotspur in a trophy sense, but their fans have been blessed with some of the best footballers in the Premier League.
The likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min became one of the most dangerous attacking duos in the league’s history, while the eternally underrated Mousa Dembélé bossed midfield up and down the country, and the defensive partnership of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld looked unbeatable at times.
However, when it comes to out-and-out star power and the ability to get fans off their feet at any moment, one Spurs star stands above all others in the last 15 years: Gareth Bale.
So, when another up-and-coming attacker was compared to him in late 2013, there was understandable excitement, although to say that comparison has since been proven wrong would be a colossal understatement.
Gareth Bale's Spurs career
In May 2007, Spurs paid around £10m for an incredibly exciting 17-year-old by the name of Bale, who was still primarily seen as a full-back at the time.
The Cardiff-born teenager made a decent start to life with the Lilywhites, scoring three goals and providing one assist in 12 winless appearances, but a torn ankle ligament put an end to his season in December, and when he returned, things weren’t so easy.
The goal involvements dried up, and it took until his 25th appearance for him to be on the winning side, which had led to some in the game, including Alex Ferguson, labelling him a bad luck charm.
Fortunately, things did start to improve for the 6 foot 1 magician, and following a decision from Harry Redknapp to move him to the wing, he took off.
Overall, the Welsh icon scored 71 goals and provided 53 assists in 237 appearances for Spurs, equating to an impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.91 games.
Appearances
237
Goals
71
Assists
53
Goal Involvements per Match
0.52
However, it was in his final campaign, in 12/13, that he cemented himself as a world-class talent.
In just 44 appearances that season, the Lilywhites’ talisman scored 26 goals and provided ten assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.22 games, which helps to explain why Real Madrid paid a world record £85m for his services that August.
Bale was undoubtedly one of the best Tottenham players of the 21st century, so when an exciting youngster was compared to him just a couple of months after he left, there was more than a little bit of excitement.
The Spurs ace who was the next Bale
So, to get straight to the point, the player in question is former England international Andros Townsend.
The 33-year-old was a part of Tottenham’s academy system, and after four years of sporadic appearances and loan moves between 2009 and 2013, he was finally given a proper chance to impress in the first team and, to begin with, things looked incredibly promising.
For example, it was around this time that Roy Hodgson handed the then-22-year-old his first two senior England caps, and then, after a particularly impressive showing away to Aston Villa that included a goal from the winger, Spurs star Vertonghen made the comparison to the Welsh superstar, simply saying “Andros can be our new Gareth Bale.”
Now, while the centre-back might have been trying to encourage his teammate, all he did was hand him an impossible task, as over the following seasons, it became increasingly clear that the “fearless” Leytonstone-born star, as dubbed by former manager Andre Villas-Boas, would never reach that level.
In fact, it didn’t take long before he fell out of the starting lineup, and by the time he was sold to Newcastle United for £12m in January 2016, he had produced just 24 goal involvements for the club in 93 appearances.
The next nine years saw the 13-capped international become a regular starter for Crystal Palace and Everton before making a move to Luton Town as a free agent last season, where his four goal involvements in 27 league games were not enough to prevent the team from being relegated.
However, instead of going down with the Hatters and fighting to get back to the Premier League, Townsend made the surprise decision to join Turkish side Antalyaspor.
Crystal Palace
185
16
24
Tottenham Hotspur
93
11
13
Luton Town
32
1
3
Everton
27
7
4
Leyton Orient
26
2
1
Birmingham City
16
0
4
Ipswich Town
16
1
2
Newcastle United
13
4
2
Queens Park Rangers
12
2
2
Millwall
11
2
2
Yeovil Town
10
1
0
MK Dons
9
2
2
Antalyaspor
11
1
0
Leeds United
7
1
1
Watford
3
0
1
Unfortunately, despite having plenty of top-level experience, the 5-foot-11 attacker is struggling to make an impact with his new side and currently has a single goal to his name in 11 appearances, five of which have come off the bench.
Ultimately, while Townsend was able to make it in the Premier League and can boast a senior career most players would love to have, it would be fair to say that the comparisons to Bale in 2013 were miles off the mark.
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