Ross Barkley

[marty mcfly]

Bashing Barkley is clearly what all the cool kids are doing at the moment

Fair enough

Such people will probably only realise what we have with Ross when he moves on and does it for someone else

Rom scored so they can't bash him.

 

[marty mcfly]

He is has the potential to be class, showcased by performances and moments last season.

I dont care how many assists he gets, and neither should you at this point in his development. He is going to be a box to box midfielder because of his ability to run with the ball and beat men. You are right to say he isnt a long-term number 10 because he doesnt seem to have that subtly to his game in threading passes etc.

But you are still missing the point. Great players need games. Tadic and whoever else you are drooling over had time and games to find maturity consistency, both of which Ross like any other prospect is missing.

You are judging him now as a top talent, which he isnt. He's a raw but world class 'prospect'. Games like Arsenal away last season prove that.

And comparisons to Shelvey? Get a grip mate.

Shelvey is a good player.

 

[Pabbers]

Schweinstiger played for Bayern Munich. I think that was the reason why he didn't play CM. There where better players at the time there and he was being fitted into a team.

Barkley is being fitted around Stephen Naismith.

Nope, he played on the right for his development, they knew he would be the best central midfielder when he matured.

Naisy has nothing to do with Ross not playing in the middle of midfield.

 

[Moomin]

That Catalan clown is a joke, he won't play him centre midfield as he does not have the experience. How is he going to get the experience then.

That Real Sociedad manager is unbeaten, get him in for some Spanish flair.

 

[marty mcfly]

Nope, he played on the right for his development, they knew he would be the best central midfielder when he matured.

Naisy has nothing to do with Ross not playing in the middle of midfield.

I think there's players who coaches don't know their best position who get moved around. Others like Messi and Henry start on the wings initially due to having more senior players ahead of them but I think it's nonsense that players get played out of position to aid their development although I'm sure managers like to deflect and say that's what they're doing.

McCarthy was only 22 and he played every almost game for us last season at CM. Rom was 21 and the only time he got booted out wide was for tactics - something which causes Martinez to keep trying to get Eto'o into the team.

It's a myth it's being done for his development, he's being played out wide to accommodate Naismith and because Martinez doesn't fancy Atsu who is the only player left uninjured and it worked once or twice particularly against City.

 

[bluemangroup]

Bashing Barkley is clearly what all the cool kids are doing at the moment

Fair enough

Such people will probably only realise what we have with Ross when he moves on and does it for someone else

You aren't half melodramatic sometimes Mikey.

 

[neil999]

You aren't half melodramatic sometimes Mikey.

he's young and sweet, only seventeen

 

[SerenityNigh]

This is definitely true. Several times yesterday he used that little feign-feign-shimmy move whilst standing on the spot before playing the simple pass he was obviously going to make anyway. This offers nothing aside from slowing down the tempo, which can sometimes be useful but not particularly when Ross is doing it. It seems like he has an urge to prove himself every time he has the ball, rather than have the confidence to do the simple things when appropriate. You can tell the rest of the team don't really know what he's going to do: see the weirdly ambivalent movement of players around him as they wonder whether he'll pass or if they'll need to jump out of the way of one of his power-runs. Off the ball he should press a little harder and utilize his size.

I wonder if finding a blend of Martinez's 'express yourself' and the conservative Hodgeson-Moyes approach of getting him to consider the broader consequences of his game might in the long term be best. It doesn't seem like he's fully aware of the requirements of his role, and sometimes too much freedom can be unhelpful. People have expressed the worry he'll have his 'ability coached out of him' or something but the more he plays as a individual the more he becomes a luxury player that the rest of the team has to carry and compensate for, which should be the antithesis of Martinez's ideas.

Personally, I'd like to see him play deeper as a box-to-box midfielder in the not too distant future. It requires more responsibility, of course, but I actually think Ross should be given more responsibility and not be coddled with these 'best in a generation' and 'of course he'll lose the ball sometimes' comments. He has the potential skill set to control a game, and the inexperience, naivety and individualism will only diminish if he understands he has to remove them and not shrug them off as a by-product of his occasional brilliance.

Good comments; he looks overwhelmed, and doesn't look like he trusts effort to make a difference, but only cleverness and skill. The dive was shameful, but what stuck out to me was the tackle by the defender that never flinched when he was making his move on the right side. He looks like a player that is pressing, except that he hardly looks like he's giving effort in so many of the basics.

 

[ArtetaMoney]

The dive was boss, it won a freekick and wound Nolan up. Double win.

 

[SerenityNigh]

And nobody is calling Osman Iniesta, but lots on here talk of Barkley comparing him to Rooney, Zidane, Gazza, Ballack etc.

Overstating it mate. No one has called Ross such, but I have seen some suggest RoZiGazzAck would be a suitable nickname.

 

[SerenityNigh]

Look at the likes of Paul Pogba, Regular for France and Juve, Beast of a midfielder and only one year older than Barkley, Ross is light years away from being at his level imo

He's not 17 or 18 ffs

Different style player, and Ross missed a bit of time due to injury, if you're trying to make a fair comparison.

Apparently I'm not the first to make this point

 

[SerenityNigh]

Maybe he will, maybe he won't. He needs a couple of seasons with no major injuries and we will know a lot more about him. He's got a lot to offer us. I see where you're coming from with Tadic but you're comparing a player who is at peak form/coming into the peak age of his career with a lad who has effectively just finished puberty.

Bringing in another AM would mean less games for Naismith and Barkley, Barkley needs games to develop. If you want him to reach his potential then surely you understand he has to play games and he will make mistakes, so saying we should have brought in another AM doesn't really make any sense.

Between Barkley and Naismith, we have enough in that position imo and in the summer we had other areas to strengthen.

Don't get me wrong, having Tadic in the squad now would be a massive boost, we would have more points on the board, but long term Barkley has more potential and if he fulfills it will produce more down the line. For him to do that he has to play.

That's what I don't get about those wanting another ACM; the squad already has two in this position that don't fit in another position. Eventually, Barkley may fit deeper, but you'd think assists would come first as a sign that he's got an eye to move the ball around as required by the deeper role.

 

[Pabbers]

I think there's players who coaches don't know their best position who get moved around. Others like Messi and Henry start on the wings initially due to having more senior players ahead of them but I think it's nonsense that players get played out of position to aid their development although I'm sure managers like to deflect and say that's what they're doing.

McCarthy was only 22 and he played every almost game for us last season at CM. Rom was 21 and the only time he got booted out wide was for tactics - something which causes Martinez to keep trying to get Eto'o into the team.

It's a myth it's being done for his development, he's being played out wide to accommodate Naismith and because Martinez doesn't fancy Atsu who is the only player left uninjured and it worked once or twice particularly against City.

I didn't just make the stuff up, just have a quick google search. Even Did Hamann talks about Schweinstiger, and he was told about him when he was at Bayern. Future development is key, hence why they produce great players.

The Naismith thing is a different point, not sure weather you are getting mixed up.

Ross WILL play in the Central midfiled, were James McCarthy & Barry are playing, he is not yet becuase part of his game he needs to improve. To do that he needs to learn the game, and make the mistakes in order to put them right.

He should be played attacking centrally....BUT Naisy has been playing well, so Ross has played left. Not great, but still better than throwing him in the middle, as he can still learn.

 

[TomDixie]

I imagine he'll be playing at Number 10 on Thursday, against high quality opposition away in Europe.

Let's just see what happens game by game. I have confidence in him performing.

 

[ToffeeTownMilto]

Shelvey is a good player.

Shelvey is an alien