In recent times, the term “legend” has come to be grossly overused. However I am not one to use it lightly. I’ve increasingly started interacting with fellow Spurs fans over the last few months via social media. One of the debates that has divided opinion the most is the answer to a simple question – Is Gareth Bale a Spurs legend?

Some claim that he is, describing him as the best player Spurs have had for decades. Others, no doubt recalling his protracted transfer to Real Madrid and all the rumours that came with it, insist that he is not.

Personally I am in the first camp. I make no apologies when I say that he is the best player I have seen at Spurs in my lifetime (30-something years and counting). During his time at the club he developed into one of the top 10 footballers in the world.

For two or three years, he almost single-handedly won us game, after game, after game with sublime moments of magic, while powering us to a Champions League quarter final in the process facing the likes of Internazionale, AC Milan and Real Madrid along the way. Undoubtedly he was the catalyst for some of Spurs’ most memorable moments in recent memory.

He almost single-handedly won us game, after game, after game with sublime moments of magic

Anyone who attended matches at the Lane regularly during this time will know the sense of excitement and anticipation that used to infect the crowd whenever he picked up the ball and advanced towards the opposition goal. It was no different to the buzz that was brought on by Ginola or Waddle, Gazza or Hoddle.

He eventually moved for a world record transfer fee and this was through no coincidence or accident. He was – and still is – an amazing player and I am confident that he will be a future Ballon D’or winner. I am immensely proud that he spent some of his best years playing for Tottenham Hotspur. His time at the club has come to an end (for now), but I am prepared to forgive his desire to move as payback for all the good times he’s allowed me to experience as a fan.

So what are the cases against his status as a Spurs legend?

Many question his conduct at the time of this transfer and claim that he went “on strike” in order to get a move.

This despite the fact that:

Spurs £104m spending spree in the months before his transfer suggest the deal with Madrid was agreed a long time before it was made official. He was almost certainly not being used in pre-season friendlies to avoid him getting injured, rather than him refusing to play. To this day there have been no direct quotes or reliable news reports that prove his conduct was anything but professional at the time. In fact, Daniel Levy, who doesn’t suffer fools gladly and is not afraid to go public with it, closed his official club statement at the time with the words “We wish Gareth all the best in the future and he shall always be welcome at the Lane” – hardly the remarks of someone who has been disrespected. He just doesn’t seem that sort of guy. (NB: This is just a personal opinion, but it’s as valid as anyone else’s).

In the end, every player moves on sooner or later. This is inevitable. Jennings joined Arsenal. Hoddle and Waddle moved abroad for European football. Gazza left for Lazio. Teddy went to Man Utd in search of trophies. I don’t think any Spurs fan would question these players status as club legends. Why is Bale not afforded this luxury? Is it because he’s still playing in another team’s kit? Will that view change once he retires?

I am immensely proud that he spent some of his best years playing for Tottenham Hotspur

Gazza spent less time (4 years) at Spurs playing considerably less games (92 games) than Bale (6 years, 146 games) and achieving similar honours. Waddle, also, played less games than Bale (4 years, 138 games) and won nothing in the way of honours.

So why the bitterness when it comes to Bale and his perception amongst some Spurs fans? Is it due to the wall-to-wall sports media coverage these days that gradually wears down our affection towards our departing players? Is it the increased club tribalism these days that makes some of us hate any player that no longer wears our club colours?

Either way this is a sad reflection of the way that football is going and it doesn’t sit well with me. Only a handful of ex-Spurs players deserve the hostility that Bale gets from some quarters and he is certainly not one of them.

Whether we like it or not, Gareth Bale plays for another club now. While none of us can really begrudge him achieving a move to his dream club – and the current Champions League holders, I should add – it is understandable that some Spurs supporters may have little interest in his fortunes away from the Lane. But to disregard and forget the player he was while wearing our Lilywhite, is to disregard and forget the glorious way he played the game.