I do rate Bale. I think he's a scumbag but I also think he has special talent and could do a lot better playing for a better side. Maybe the messiah complex is a part of him but I think he also feels the need to take too much on himself because there's often little else in the way of creating goalscoring chances - depending on whether VDV fancied it that day.
I think if he was playing the role that Theo does for us or even in Podolski's position now, he'd be racking up same/better numbers and offering more in creating chances (than Theo/Gervinho. Than Podolski? Hard to say - we are still very early into Podolski's career in England so lets give him a chance to see what he can do over a season). But that's my gut feeling.
