'Explosive' Bale is my player of the season, says Capello

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Fabio Capello has nominated Gareth Bale as his player of the season and will have to come up with a way of stopping the Tottenham left winger when England face Wales in their next Euro 2012 qualifier at the Millennium Stadium on 26 March.

Speaking this week, the England manager did not try to conceal his envy at Wales having Bale at their disposal. A big admirer of the depth of Tottenham's squad, Capello hinted that he will take special measures to contain Bale when England go to Cardiff.

Capello said: "He [Bale] is my player of the season so far. For me he is a fantastic player because when you prepare for a game you have to prepare to defend when he receives the ball.

"His style is very explosive. Physically, he is strong. But he is also so good technically. So fast with the ball. Every pass, every cross, every time he is on the ball he is dangerous. And he is so dangerous for opponents because he runs so fast."

Meanwhile, Harry Redknapp said yesterday that if Tottenham wanted to sign more elite players they will have to move stadium. "Most Champions League players are on massive wages," he said, "it's very difficult [to sign them]. We don't pay massive wages. We've got a stadium that holds 36,000 people. That's our problem at the moment, we can't make the next step. We're that close, but making that extra step is difficult, because top players demand top wages, that is a simple fact, and we can't put ourselves in a position where we pay that sort of money."

Spurs are hoping to move into the 2012 Olympic Stadium, and Redknapp believes a move would be beneficial. "If we had a 60,000 or 70,000 stadium it would be different. We can't go that extra yard at the moment. We've got a great squad of players, but if you start talking about getting a top striker in, they cost incredible money."