Ross Barkley

[MartyMcFly]

I have some sympathy with this...in a roundabout way.

He WILL lose the ball a lot if he's played back in a CM two. And being stripped of the ball in that zone will prove costly (bound to happen a lot). But it IS his best position to play in...which sounds like a paradox. It's not though. Like a lot of our "family silver" players who were sold, he's at the club at the wrong time. He is a player that can play his best football deeper than he is now but only at a club bristling with talent in and around him and who can snuff out any danger that might come from shoddy defensive work to allow him the springboard to make things happen from the middle of the pitch. You basically saw that with England when he's been played (maybe not as a CM, but not as an ACM either...just allowed to loiter around the centre circle area with intent).

Sadly, this is going to be resolved with a move.

First thing any new club's manager will do is move him back and 6 months later we will all be shaking our heads in disbelief that we allowed him to leave.

The reason is no one would buy him to be a No 10.

 

[MartyMcFly]

Against City it'd be madness. As Simon baker says above: he's best left alone further up to do the damage he's done on them before.

But against the Burnleys etc of this world, he defo can drop back and have Gueye to play his launch pad for him.

I would prefer him there than aging legs of Barry because Guardiola's City will love it if we have Barry there. Watching Bournemouth do it to a midfield with Barry sends shivers to what might happen against City.

Hopefully McCarthy will be back by then. Actually this decision will tell us a lot about Koeman because Martinez could never drop Barry. He was like a safety blanket for him.

 

[MartyMcFly]

Apparently Barkley delivered the most accurate crosses of any player last week in the PL. Despite not playing at his best he has now developed a way to actually be effective when not on form. If you remember the season before last he couldn't do it then.

I thought his corners where good. Almost nice to see stats supporting what you see.

 

[carolinablue232]

I would prefer him there than aging legs of Barry because Guardiola's City will love it if we have Barry there. Watching Bournemouth do it to a midfield with Barry sends shivers to what might happen against City.

Hopefully McCarthy will be back by then. Actually this decision will tell us a lot about Koeman because Martinez could never drop Barry. He was like a safety blanket for him.

A healthy Barry is still one of our best players and should absolutely play against City. If he's injured like he was vs. Bournemouth then sit him, but if not, no way he should be dropped.

 

[MartyMcFly]

A healthy Barry is still one of our best players and should absolutely play against City. If he's injured like he was vs. Bournemouth then sit him, but if not, no way he should be dropped.

If he was injured? There's no confirmation of that and he was poor against Palace too.

Maybe after a rest he might be fine but any 35 year old would have problems against a Guardiola team. If we sit off them and let them get into their rhythm it's going to be a long day.

 

[carolinablue232]

If he was injured? There's no confirmation of that and he was poor against Palace too.

Maybe after a rest he might be fine but any 35 year old would have problems against a Guardiola team. If we sit off them and let them get into their rhythm it's going to be a long day.

Because Barkley is known to not sit off players and really get stuck in? But ok.

 

[Nil Satis Niasse Optimum]

Will be captain of Bury within the next five years imo.

 

[MartyMcFly]

Because Barkley is known to not sit off players and really get stuck in? But ok.

Because he plays as a No 10. Every time I have seen him play deeper he does. Not that's an overly large sample size of course.

 

[Baines' left foot]

Utter gash.

 

[GwladysPhil]

Seems to be the weak link, and due to his lack of quick thinking is premature ending attacking chances.

Still think there's a player in him but this needs to be addressed asap

 

[Simon baker]

Will be captain of Bury within the next five years imo.

Just as well your opinion is pretty much worthless then isn't it

 

[Nil Satis Niasse Optimum]

Just as well your opinion is pretty much worthless then isn't it

Well, in all honesty, it was a joke mate.

 

[davek]

"If after that expirimentation he's not happy, then the manager has the right to simply bench him"

Unfortunately, a period of experimentation that does not yield results can lose a manager his job.

"We have the players at our disposal to play different formations"

Yes we do, but surely a manager wants to employ his own system having players in his (and their) natural positions.

"very unimpressed with Koemans behaviour over RB. Instead of going very early on chewing him out in public"

Most people react well to criticism. Maybe not public criticism, but it's down to RB to show what he's worth now.

I for one think he hasn't the mental strength to get through this.

Koeman is early in his time here. He's going to have to experiment of necessity. All new managers do that to find out how they can best use the players they inherit...a point made by Koeman himself.

Systems: Koeman has played with three at the back, 433, as well as the 4231 he mostly adopts. His own system is quite fluid in that respect. And Barkley he sees as a player that can play a couple of roles, so no problem there either.

Public criticism: I don't think it's worked for Barkley. He should surely see that now and shelve any further public criticism. He's outspoken, Koeman, sometimes that's entertaining and ok to do if it's kept general in terms of (Everton) player criticism. It's a massive shock to hear an Everton manager individualise his comments though. By and large Moyes didn't and neither did Martinez. I don't like to hear an Everton manager speak out about our players.

 

[Goat]

Does anyone have any stats for how many times he has lost the ball that has lead to chance?

It's an often used phrase yet I rarely see him lose the ball in our own half. Further up it happens. Damn I wish it happened more because right now he plays so safe it hurts our attack. A player playing as a No 10 shouldn't be getting a pass % in the 90s.

Would really love to know if the "constantly loses the ball" is actually true. I never thought it was true back before he went to the world cup and it certainly isn't is true as far as I can tell now.

What do you need stats for?

Do you not watch all Everton games?

 

[davek]

I would prefer him there than aging legs of Barry because Guardiola's City will love it if we have Barry there. Watching Bournemouth do it to a midfield with Barry sends shivers to what might happen against City.

Hopefully McCarthy will be back by then. Actually this decision will tell us a lot about Koeman because Martinez could never drop Barry. He was like a safety blanket for him.

Look at the amount of damage Barkley has done to City in the past further up the pitch. It's a new set up at City, but I think there's such a thing as horses for courses and the reason why some players have great records against particular clubs. They just like playing them.