Ross Barkley

[Vaughan]

I think he could do with being played a bit deeper. Number 10 is the most difficult position to play and it seems clear that he struggles with aspects of the position. I'd like to see him bursting from midfield and spraying passes into the path of Rom and Bolasie, rather than having to pick a craftier pass higher up the pitch

 

[toffeejack]

one bad half? he stunk in the entire match v stoke - i was there. just because he had 4 shots at goal and the media were saying that big sam would be impressed by his mom display is ridiculous - if we had not won that match he would have been villified for his misses. He can't trap a ball, he can't pick a pass, in fact he passes it straight to the opposition sometimes and sets up their attacks.

the lad has gone backwards.

didn't watch stoke ha

 

[RFUS]

Personally I think we should loan him to Carlisle and have the word "failure" forcefully tattooed onto his forehead.

It's about time we stopped hampering the progress of world class players like Cleverley and get this terrible excuse for a footballer out of our club.

 

[Jonte]

Ross plays football like a kid playing three-and-in, which is probably why he ran into so many cul-de-sacs when playing last season. As a team player, though, he lacks foresight/ decision making.

I agree that it would be worth trying him out in a deeper midfield role.

 

[Steve Wigan]

It's a tricky one that. There's no knowing if it was the removal of Barkley (in isolation) that led to the win. Perhaps it was the inclusion of Ged that won it, and we would've seen the same improvement had Mirallas been subbed.

Just not sure you can pin the win directly on the removal of Barkley.

Barkley had to be the one to be subbed against Sunderland, he was awful, and his misplaced passes could have made it very difficult to win the game. The introduction of Geri was a game changer, and although Geri was not at his very best, the fact that he carried the ball forward and created havoc in the Sunderland defence made the difference. It was excellent management by Koeman,and it won us the game. It increased the effectiveness of our attack, and even though I'm not a fan of Mirallas, he was very effective in the second half.
I criticised Barkley last season, and my criticism was justified, I feel. He cannot or will not tackle, even Del is trying to get stuck in, and those who say the Barkley doesn't need tackling as part of his game are living in denial. The frustration which the crowd feel towards Ross must also be felt by his team mates. Ross does a heck of a lot of passing the ball straight back to the player who has passed it to him. You can see his indecision with the ball at his feet, and its not good. As Evertonians we would like one of our own to make it really big in the game, but unless Ross can improve his contribution this season, and make himself undroppable in Koemans eyes, I fear that he will not hit the heights we expected a couple of years ago.
We are at a new level now, and its obvious that we really mean business this year, the will be no room for much in the way of poor performance, and whichever player is the victim of Koemans determined policy, we should not complain, because strength in management is what we as supporters have been crying out for for years. I hope Barkley 'makes it' at Everton, but he has a hard job.

 

[Rob17896]

And neither will the opposite approach.

Remains to be seen

 

[BlueToff]

Barkley had to be the one to be subbed against Sunderland, he was awful, and his misplaced passes could have made it very difficult to win the game. The introduction of Geri was a game changer, and although Geri was not at his very best, the fact that he carried the ball forward and created havoc in the Sunderland defence made the difference. It was excellent management by Koeman,and it won us the game. It increased the effectiveness of our attack, and even though I'm not a fan of Mirallas, he was very effective in the second half.
I criticised Barkley last season, and my criticism was justified, I feel. He cannot or will not tackle, even Del is trying to get stuck in, and those who say the Barkley doesn't need tackling as part of his game are living in denial. The frustration which the crowd feel towards Ross must also be felt by his team mates. Ross does a heck of a lot of passing the ball straight back to the player who has passed it to him. You can see his indecision with the ball at his feet, and its not good. As Evertonians we would like one of our own to make it really big in the game, but unless Ross can improve his contribution this season, and make himself undroppable in Koemans eyes, I fear that he will not hit the heights we expected a couple of years ago.
We are at a new level now, and its obvious that we really mean business this year, the will be no room for much in the way of poor performance, and whichever player is the victim of Koemans determined policy, we should not complain, because strength in management is what we as supporters have been crying out for for years. I hope Barkley 'makes it' at Everton, but he has a hard job.

Barkley will make it at Everton.

Koeman will make sure of it.

Everybody needs to give their heads a wobble. He's a key player and will remain a key player. End of discussion.

 

[MikeH72]

Barkley will make it at Everton.

Koeman will make sure of it.

Everybody needs to give their heads a wobble. He's a key player and will remain a key player. End of discussion.

No one is untouchable. That's the message to the squad. About time too.

 

[Steve Wigan]

Barkley will make it at Everton.

Koeman will make sure of it.

Everybody needs to give their heads a wobble. He's a key player and will remain a key player. End of discussion.

I don't think you have the authority to end discussions on here. Unfortunately(and I hope I'm wrong) I think we're closer to the end of Barkley as an automatic choice, than we are to the end of the discussion about him. I suspect that Koeman and Walsh are having a look around at central midfielders with a view to er...'strengthening the squad' in January.....
Koeman is ruthless, but he is not stupid, so Ross has a chance ...but if he doesn't impress by Christmas, his time may be up.

 

[truebluejersey]

I think he could do with being played a bit deeper. Number 10 is the most difficult position to play and it seems clear that he struggles with aspects of the position. I'd like to see him bursting from midfield and spraying passes into the path of Rom and Bolasie, rather than having to pick a craftier pass higher up the pitch

i would like to see him do the same but somehow I don't think its going to happen

 

[truebluejersey]

I think we have got to face facts. This fella hasn't got the mental awareness to be a top player. I really wish he had but no amount
of coaching can sort that side of it out.

 

[Abraders]

What do you do, start him again the wknd or Del starts? Sure he knows he wasn't good enough on Monday and would have have a chat with Koeman.
Best way to put it to bed I suppose but what message that send out to players esp Del.
Very interesting to see how Koeman handles this one. Whatever it is il be behind him

Del tore Middlesbrough apart when we played last, think he deserves his chance to start and Barkley will come on as a sub hopefully to impact the game and increase our lead

 

[RomanReigns]

He hasn't and he didn't stink the place out against Stoke. And no he wouldn't have been vilified, just as Rom shouldn't have been for his misses.

People need to get a grip.

When he first came onto the scene he was an unknown quantity, now he has tow markers on him every game - and he still makes things look easy that other midfielders can only dream of doing - but we take it for granted because we're so used to it.

Improvements to be made and you can be sure he's working hard to get better. But the over-reaction from certain sections of our support is disappointing

someone's in love with Ross.

read the stoke thread and read some of the comments about him

I was at the game, I know what I saw with my own eyes and he was the worst player on the pitch that day.

 

[BlueToff]

someone's in love with Ross.

read the stoke thread and read some of the comments about him

I was at the game, I know what I saw with my own eyes and he was the worst player on the pitch that day.

I'm not at all. I was covering the game the other day for several huge websites - for the ratings afterwards I gave Ross the prestigious 'flop of the match' award...

I also watched the Stoke game - in full. I actually said after it that I thought he played just fine - always looked to make an impact and never hid away from the ball - things just didn't come off for him (IMO).

 

[BlueToff]

I think we have got to face facts. This fella hasn't got the mental awareness to be a top player. I really wish he had but no amount
of coaching can sort that side of it out.

There's literally no facts whatsoever to back up your argument