Metal,
There were about 6 or 7 reports in different papers, and they all said basically the same things,"we will find it hard to keep Bale next season" and they were all attributed to AVB. Why state the obvious?What we don't need is our coach allowing himself to be quoted in this way, thus allowing every man and his dog to speculate on Bales future, because all that that does is create a similar problem to the one that we had with Modric last season, and we all know how that ended up don't we.
Except at the end of last season Levy came out and stated "Our squad has top players at all levels and we shall continue to seek stability and to retain key players this summer and beyond.
"We are a club that is focusing on growth and moving forward." Saying all the buzz words and phrases you want to hear. Problem is they mean diddly squat! It does not matter what is said or not said in these issues, it depends on how the player feels (first and foremost, we may not like it but it is the way it is, then the manager (in a club that allows the manager to make decisions) then the chairman (if he agrees or believes in his manager). The big issue here is money, wages for the player, transfer funds for the club. Loyalty is a very rare commodity these days, unfortunately.
Playing silly mind games, that subvert the truth and is trying to be smoke and mirrors is a pathetic waste of time and energy. Anyone with a bit of common sense can see through it, so why bother? If you do what is always done, then expect no more that what you already have. Stop playing the game by the same rules and we may see a different, more valuable outcome.