Gareth Barry

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Barry would get into most of the teams in the league. City fans would have him back in a heartbeat as well.

Do I think he should play every game going into next season? No I don't.

Will he still be an incredibly important player for us? Yes he will.
 
Im very keen to see how McCarthy and Besic do against Arsenal. The energy and drive they bring "on paper" at least makes them an idea combination to win the midfield battle.

Couple of key games coming up to see if they gel.

As for Barry, the issue i have with him is that when we are pushing up the pitch territorially and the opposition comes at us on the counter he is behind the play due to his lack of pace when we need him back covering in front of the defence OR makes a foul "for the team" which is code for "hes got to foul him as he has no pace to catch him so if he doesnt foul him hes given away a scoring chance".

Its not a slight on Barry, hes simply not blessed with pace....he may well be one of the best players in the side this season however thats the way were set up.

Setup a bit differently with top players in DM and CM and more energy and pace and we may see the team benefit more.

We will have some more idea of this against arsenal.
 
I'm glad he played for Everton and he did a very good job for us. Hopefully that continues next year.

After that, I would hope we have better options than a 36 year old. No disrespect intended.
 

Saint Domingo said:
Not true at all, couldn't have articulated these reasons any more times than I have. If you don't agree with them then fine. Instead I'm being mocked and misrepresented for essentially holding a different opinion to some that a 35 year old playing for s bottom half premier league team is not 'class'.
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Tbh don't think anyone is mocking you for having the opinion that you'd prefer to have a younger player and have a different set up without a midfielder playing deep and that Barry's lack of pace causes us problems at times.

Think it is that when he plays excellently, like both he and McCarthy did at the weekend, without any of his weaknesses (which all players have) being at all apparent, that you fail to give him one iota of credit. Many wanted someone better than Osman in previous years but when he did play a blinder were equally happy to say so, whilst still wishing for him to be upgraded.

It is particularly odd when you feel perfectly happy calling for other people to give credit where it is due.
Saint Domingo said:
One thing I would point out is that anyone blaming Lukaku for our previous underperformance due to his missed chances should be singing his praises today.
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Hellerad said:
I'm glad he played for Everton and he did a very good job for us. Hopefully that continues next year.

After that, I would hope we have better options than a 36 year old. No disrespect intended.
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Age is nothing but a number.

If the quality is still there it's irrelevant, given he is managed correctly in terms of gametime.
 
BlueToff said:
Age is nothing but a number.

If the quality is still there it's irrelevant, given he is managed correctly in terms of gametime.
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While decline is never uniform, it is readily apparent (subjectively and objectively) that Gareth Barry cannot move around the pitch as well as he used to.

I suppose this could be because he's grown lazy or is secretly carrying an injury. But more likely it is because players lose speed, agility, and dexterity with age. Luckily for players like Gaz Baz, he is smart enough to have adapted his game and has proven incredibly effective in his role.

But he won't keep that up forever.


Because of age.






Which was my point.
 

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