I'm still effing excited for him. He's blatantly been brought in and told "Barry's spot is yours for the taking. Work on your game, improve, show what you can do, and when he starts getting phased out, you'll start getting phased in." From interviews and that it's pretty clear all he wants to do is be the best footballer he can be and occasionally kill someone. So he's been shown this spot in the XI as motivation and I reckon he's going to work towards it like crazy. Once his decision-making settles - and that's completely understandable considering the fact that in his previous league if he made a mistake it wouldn't be punished so hard or he could fix it fairly easily - he could be really really excellent.
If he DOES come good and the partnership is McCarthy/Besic, that would be the hardest working central midfield ever. Imagine trying to get past them two with some more experience under their belt.
If he DOES come good and the partnership is McCarthy/Besic, that would be the hardest working central midfield ever. Imagine trying to get past them two with some more experience under their belt.