Gareth Barry

[Saint Domingo]

This makes NO sense whatsoever.

So everyone else is not accountable for our poor league standing apart from-

McCarthy - who has been injured for key moments of the season
Barry - because you hate him.


Pardon?!

Not said any of that at all. Read it again.

 

[mkrudden]

Not said any of that at all. Read it again.

Will do. Skim reading as I should be working.
BRB

 

[LinekersLegs]

The stats are misleading in my opinion. Besic pushes up higher up the pitch forcing opposition players to pass back or go long. Barry lacks pace so retreats to the edge of our area, he gets more blocks and interceptions there but it's worse for our team shape.

I get the point about the widemen, I've said that many times on here. But Barry is forcing us to play super diligent widemen. Ideally you want 1-11 who can work up and down with pace and aggression. Barry can't do that so once again we change other areas of the team for him.

Besic does often play the role of Barry partner slightly differently to McCarthy, probably because Besic is a bit more confident in his forward passing but McCarthy also does quite a lot of foraging forward to harrass. But Barry sitting back allows both of them the freedom to go forward with Barry cleaning up stuff that they miss.

There are different ways to set up the midfield and some work better than others for different teams, but having one of the players playing deeper does tend to mean the fullbacks can push forward with pseudo back three behind to protect which suits Coleman/Baines/Oviedo who all like being attacking fullbacks. I don't think the setup is entirely driven by Barry's lack of pace which is what you seem to be claiming.

Will be interesting the see how the McCarthy/Besic partnership is setup in the next couple of games and whether we use a similar system with McCarthy in the deeper role.

 

[mkrudden]

Most games are won and lost in midfield. Leicester are showing how you can mask a decent defence and how you can give great service to good strikers.

Games are not mostly won over the midfield. That's so narrow minded. There are a magnitude of reasons why a games is won or loss.

Over the course of a season we struggle to control games, we struggle to defend well, we struggle to win the ball back and we struggle to break down teams who sit back.

How many games have we not controlled? 2? 3? Definitely agree on the inability to defend well, particularly set pieces. Doesn't help when the GK and Stones are woefully out of form and Coleman, Jagielka and Baines have all been missing at various times.

We can do it on a one off, but we struggle to do it regularly which is why we can put decent cup runs together but have poor league form.

How does what competition we are in make a difference when they are domestic competitions? It's just games in a row. We've been inconsistent, but that has nothing to do with having a different game plan because the match is in the league cup or the FA cup to the league.

Whilst of course it is a collective effort I put a greater share of the onus on midfield. Our attack is not out of place in the top 4, top teams would take our defenders, I think our midfield two is painfully average. You can see the different in class when Besic played v City. Barry and McCarthy just do not impact a game for me to a level anywhere near that.

Our defenders have, when together, been very poor at various times. Funes Mori can either head everything or head nothing. Baines and his distribution have been poor at times. Howard and Joel have both had their moments of face palm.

What I am getting at is, you look at the team with all of the inconsistencies and disregard them completely in favour of simply looking to McCarthy and Barry and saying 'i don't like them'. You can't substantiate the point because your point has no substance. Near enough everybody can see Barry has been brilliant and McCarthy is an integral part of the side. He made more tackles than the Chelsea midfield combined on Saturday... there was five of them!!

You don't like Barry and as a fellow blue no-one here dislikes you for that. We have our favourites and our least favourites. What you rightfully get grief for is your slightly bizarre basis for the critique. "He's too old, he doesn't pass well enough, he makes us play differently to how we would without him... yaddy yah"

It's just all a bit...well..bonkers.

 

[chicoazul]

Look at who's dug himself in the Barry bunker.

Come out and we won't raze you like Dresden. Just make sure you're wearing the black and white of Newcastle so we can identify your surrender.

 

[Sapie88]

@Saint Domingo is having an absolute mare, contradicting himself AOTS!

Cage has been well and truly rattled and he's seething.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Look at who's dug himself in the Barry bunker.

Come out and we won't raze you like Dresden. Just make sure you're wearing the black and white of Newcastle so we can identify your surrender.

Awful.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Games are not mostly won over the midfield. That's so narrow minded. There are a magnitude of reasons why a games is won or loss.



How many games have we not controlled? 2? 3? Definitely agree on the inability to defend well, particularly set pieces. Doesn't help when the GK and Stones are woefully out of form and Coleman, Jagielka and Baines have all been missing at various times.



How does what competition we are in make a difference when they are domestic competitions? It's just games in a row. We've been inconsistent, but that has nothing to do with having a different game plan because the match is in the league cup or the FA cup to the league.



Our defenders have, when together, been very poor at various times. Funes Mori can either head everything or head nothing. Baines and his distribution have been poor at times. Howard and Joel have both had their moments of face palm.

What I am getting at is, you look at the team with all of the inconsistencies and disregard them completely in favour of simply looking to McCarthy and Barry and saying 'i don't like them'. You can't substantiate the point because your point has no substance. Near enough everybody can see Barry has been brilliant and McCarthy is an integral part of the side. He made more tackles than the Chelsea midfield combined on Saturday... there was five of them!!

You don't like Barry and as a fellow blue no-one here dislikes you for that. We have our favourites and our least favourites. What you rightfully get grief for is your slightly bizarre basis for the critique. "He's too old, he doesn't pass well enough, he makes us play differently to how we would without him... yaddy yah"

It's just all a bit...well..bonkers.

Don't agree with most of that.

 

[mkrudden]

Don't agree with most of that.

Ok mate xxx

 

[Kiwi]

Don't agree with most of that.

When you talk about myopic opinions...

 

[chicoazul]

Awful.

Get those hands up and move slowly. You're mine now.

 

[Sapie88]

Just give it up mate, you're staggering around this thread now like a tramp with 6 cans of Skol.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Could understand this cockiness on some other player threads but really he's 35 and we're 12th in the league. I don't really need to keep going. Wouldn't get into many sides above us.

 

[Mikey_Fitzgerald]

Gaz The Baz is fantastic

 

[mkrudden]

Could understand this cockiness on some other player threads but really he's 35 and we're 12th in the league. I don't really need to keep going. Wouldn't get into many sides above us.

So it's about his age and the TEAM's league standing?

Makes sense....

Pardon?!