Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order. As jokes go it’s aged about as well as the Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman who walked into a bar.
Gareth Bale, struggling to make an impact as Tottenham lose to Brighton, is not having the last laugh. Talent of the type he possesses cannot be turned on and off. Ask Eden Hazard, ask Alexis Sanchez. Talent must be nurtured, it must be fed, it must be well looked after.
The days Bale spent playing golf and not football, or sitting on the bench winding up the local media in Spain, have dulled him, blunted his instincts.