Ross Barkley

Baines' left foot · February 2, 2017

DanB90 said:
Should have sent him out on loan yesterday.

Can we loan you out?

DanB90 · February 2, 2017

Baines' left foot said:
Can we loan you out?

I'll be honest mate, I wasn't being serious.

catcherintherye · February 2, 2017

As people have said below his best yesterday alongside most of our attacking players. Hopefully the next two home games he can play to potential and make chances.

I'd be tempted to go for a 4 3 1 2 formation. With Davies/Schneiderlin/Gana or McCarthy behind him and give in the freedom of the pitch.

TrixyStevens · February 2, 2017

In games like last night, it's important not to give the ball away. He shielded it well at times and drew fouls but his passing in the 2nd half was wayward and he got caught in situations where he was on his own against two.
I put that down to not having enough movement in front of him, maybe Lookman can be that guy for him.

atypicalusername · February 2, 2017

TrixyStevens said:
In games like last night, it's important not to give the ball away. He shielded it well at times and drew fouls but his passing in the 2nd half was wayward and he got caught in situations where he was on his own against two.
I put that down to not having enough movement in front of him, maybe Lookman can be that guy for him.

Spot on analysis this. Would only add that a lot of wayward balls seemed a mix of fatigue and lack of movement.

hetion · February 2, 2017

Credit where credit's due. For years his detractors said they didn't mind if he had occasional average games going forward as long as he out a solid shift in and he is absolutely doing that. I don't think I've ever seen him work as hard as he is every game now - consistently - and his fitness is like night and day. It's great.

Logans run · February 2, 2017

catcherintherye said:
As people have said below his best yesterday alongside most of our attacking players. Hopefully the next two home games he can play to potential and make chances.

I'd be tempted to go for a 4 3 1 2 formation. With Davies/Schneiderlin/Gana or McCarthy behind him and give in the freedom of the pitch.

His next match may be some way off

TrixyStevens · February 2, 2017

atypicalusername said:
Spot on analysis this. Would only add that a lot of wayward balls seemed a mix of fatigue and lack of movement.

Yep, he chased a lot without the ball which probably led to fatigue, both physical and mental and wouldn't have helped his pass in Stoke's half or the final ball.

Sennott Street · February 2, 2017

II McColl II said:
He looked lost when we switched to 4 at the back again, after recent performances it really seems 3 at the back suits how he plays in midfield then with the switch i couldn't tell if he was supposed to be playing out wide or more centrally and it just didn't connect up properly.

For me he still needs to take control of games more, he has the ability on the ball but i don't get that feeling that he demands to be involved he seems more happy to wait for the game to come to him.

Good shout, that. Maybe it's due to Coleman and Baines being further forward with a back three, which gives Ross more options.

Connor · February 4, 2017

For anyone who says he doesn't create chances and we need to replace him with someone who can:

Deco · February 4, 2017

Barkley is 5th in the league for average "key passes" per game. More than the likes of David Silva, Hazard, Gylfi, Pogba.

Imagine how good he'll be when he "reaches his potential"?

Or if he was more "intelligent" lol.

Some false claims that get made about him are hilarious.

Boss Rarkley.

CahillsCornerFlag · February 4, 2017

Top player who has kicked on since the turn of the year, sniff it moaners.

andy4efc · February 4, 2017

Connor said:
For anyone who says he doesn't create chances and we need to replace him with someone who can:

For the last few seasons though he hasn't.. Because he enjoys taking too many touches, delaying as long as he can, slowing play down.

He seems to be listening and more importantly playing off his instinct again. When he's forced to make a quick decision he makes the right one, when he has a little bit more time he just stalls and wastes it. Thankfully Koeman et al are getting through to him and he's been much improved this season, a lot less dilly dallying!

His work rate is vastly better too.

BLUEBERT · February 4, 2017

£5 on Ross first goal !! buying money.

Simon baker · February 4, 2017

Deco said:
Barkley is 5th in the league for average "key passes" per game. More than the likes of David Silva, Hazard, Gylfi, Pogba.

Imagine how good he'll be when he "reaches his potential"?

Or if he was more "intelligent" lol.

Some false claims that get made about him are hilarious.

Boss Rarkley.

I'm a big fan of stats and have been ill in bed for a couple of days so did some research on squawka comparing him to countinho alli & lallana. Nothing to surprising he stacks up against all of them what I was surprised at is that he Has the highest % of duels won per 90 minutes. He was better by a big margin too they all attempt more tackles per 90 however when he does tackle he wins far more than any of them.

His take ons i.e dribbles are miles ahead of them but he could do with improving his shooting accuracy.