Naismith's Barkley Warning

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GrandOldTeam

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Steven Naismith has warned fans to give Ross Barkley time to learn and develop.

Naismith:
“It’s the normal kind of British mentality where he is expected to be a world beater as soon as he comes in, young players are going to be hot and cold for many years. It’s not until they hit their mid-20s they will be very consistent.

“It’s always going to be difficult for him. He is a terrific talent and he’s got a lot going for him, but he’s got a lot to learn and after the World Cup there was a lot of expectation.

“Ross has suffered from a bit of that. He’s got all the talent in the world but he’s got a lot to learn and you just have to give him time to learn.

“He will make mistakes and he will maybe come on in games and be effective or he will come on and lose the ball. He needs to learn the times when he does go forward and do his bit and the times to keep it simple. But that will come with experience.

“He will work as hard as he can, he will do extra training and that’s all you can ask. I think in the coming years if we are patient with him he will be a terrific player for Everton and England.

“When he plays as a No.10 or a bit further forward he has less defensive responsibilities, whereas [against QPR] he had to switch on and be more defensive-minded. I thought Ross and Mo Besic, who are both quite inexperienced did fantastically well.

“You have to keep reminding him but again you look at our club and we have got great players who can mentor him for playing a bit more defensive or going forward, like Gaz Barry and the other experienced boys at the club.”

http://www.grandoldteam.com/2014/12/17/naismiths-barkley-warning/

Some wise words there.

Similarly to Lukaku, they're both 21 and with that, they'll have a greater tendency to have off games.
 

You just can't stop loving that Scottish guy. He is absolutely spot on here. Just rememeber how we all thought how good footballer was Naismith when he signed in his first season... Barkley is going to be a top top player and hopefully he will spend all his career playing for us.
 
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Naismith has returned more recently than Barkley from a similar'ish stretch out with serious injury. It will be an acknowledgement of the work and hard times behind the scenes rehabilitating that is part of what is being addressed here. That steadfast determination to make it back and then fight for fitness without letting the prospect of months of recovery undermine self confidence and lead to the excesses that have claimed so many other footballing talents.

Having so many internationals (especially home countries internationals) they'll all have similar types of pressure and media interest in the day to day lives. The capacity to go past that and focus on the game and the improvement therein is something that will hopefully keep squad morale up.

Anyway, expectation is something we have been lectured on before, so its always good to keep grounded in that respect.
 

Hold on, Naismith cautioning anyone about losing the ball, let alone Barkley.

Last 5 games both Barkley and Naismith have been involved in:

Naismith 159 successful passes out of 215 made (74%)
Barkley 194 successful passes out of 224 made (86%)


Does Naismith really feel he's entitled to offer advice on retaining possession? The feller is the worst in possession in the whole team.

Laughable.
 
Hold on, Naismith cautioning anyone about losing the ball, let alone Barkley.

Last 5 games both Barkley and Naismith have been involved in:

Naismith 159 successful passes out of 215 made (74%)
Barkley 194 successful passes out of 224 made (86%)


Does Naismith really feel he's entitled to offer advice on retaining possession? The feller is the worst in possession in the whole team.

Laughable.

Oh No ! Its the ghost of Christmas past................
 
Let's hope that getting some points on the boards gets some of the agitation out of the fan base.
Everyone needs to show real patience with Barkley, Lukaku, Stones, Besic, even McCarthy. If they are allowed to developed in a nurturing environment they'll all be immense.
 
Hold on, Naismith cautioning anyone about losing the ball, let alone Barkley.

Last 5 games both Barkley and Naismith have been involved in:

Naismith 159 successful passes out of 215 made (74%)
Barkley 194 successful passes out of 224 made (86%)


Does Naismith really feel he's entitled to offer advice on retaining possession? The feller is the worst in possession in the whole team.

Laughable.

Only Leon Britton is allowed to offer advice to our Ross!
 

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