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Every time i see de jong start or even come on iv thought he's made barry look average and lazy. i dont no wether its just because he gets stuck in more that i notice him but i think he should be our starter along with ireland. for me barry has been a huge let down

Different styles of player in different roles. But Barry isn't playing great for sure.

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:Different styles of player in different roles. But Barry isn't playing great for sure.

IF IT,S HIS GROIN WHICH IS THE CAUSE TO HIM PLAYING WELL BELOW PAR THEN WHY DO YOU THINK WE CONTINUE PLAYING HIM?

Whilst Barry hasn't been in decent form if he is over injury and just needs to get back upto match fitness then id prefer both to play and Stevie to come on as with Tevez, Robi and Adebayor playing Ireland hasn't really mastered the playing deeper role and there isn't room for 4 or 5 attack minded players imo.

Atleast while the defence is shaky and were going into a tough away at Spurs, hopefully in a few games we have found the right balance to being solid at the back and then we could add that front 5 like;

.............NDJ
SWP......IRELAND...ROBI
.......TEVEZ.....ADE

With nige doing what he does best infront of back 5.

Some of the posts on here occasionally defy belief.

Gareth Barry is:

a) carrying an injury and
b) out of form

He was one of our best players in the opening games....by a bloody mile too. He has not suddenly become a shit player....some of you lot come out with some absolute guff. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't think he should be rested....he should IMO. Get him operated on and sorted out. Let Ireland play with De Jong in a deeper lying role and bring Barry back when he is sorted

carl_feedthegoat wrote:

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:Different styles of player in different roles. But Barry isn't playing great for sure.

IF IT,S HIS GROIN WHICH IS THE CAUSE TO HIM PLAYING WELL BELOW PAR THEN WHY DO YOU THINK WE CONTINUE PLAYING HIM?

The groin problem he has must not be deemd to need an op. It's somethinhg he has had a problem with before and played through it with Villa. Personally I don't think he should be playing with it. It should either be oiperated on or he is rested for a while giving someone else a chance.
As for him playing below par yes I think he is but not always as much as some would suggest. He has become another one of those for fans to have a real go at for some reason. Yesterday I didn't think he was that bad and got into some good forward positions ( so did Stevie ) . One of his weaknesses , and always has been , is that he is slow and now when he has to get back quickly it becomes noticeable and he gets extra stick.

Agree

I actually think Barry was ok yesterday. Not at his best still but not a bad performance by any means IMO

he dosent want the operation but continues to play with a twinge in his groin. For me if the club wants to be going for the top 4 we need 11 fully fit raring to go players. Barry do the club , england and yourself justice get the op recover and come back firing!

Gareth Barry is a fantastic player,but i do think he's had one game too many and needs to recuperate.Especially while carrying a groin strain.
As for the the OP i could not pick between the two.They both have there advantages in certain games,tactics and formations.
There both vital to the City cause and i luv the pair of them.

ant london wrote:Some of the posts on here occasionally defy belief.

Gareth Barry is:

a) carrying an injury and
b) out of form

He was one of our best players in the opening games....by a bloody mile too. He has not suddenly become a shit player....some of you lot come out with some absolute guff. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't think he should be rested....he should IMO. Get him operated on and sorted out. Let Ireland play with De Jong in a deeper lying role and bring Barry back when he is sorted

Spot on Ant - amuses me how short some peoples memories are!

One minute its "Ade only plays against Arse or Chelsea" ignoring his great run of goals before his ban and now Barry - Agree he needs surgery and I'd have it done now to get him back for the semi-finals.

Bemuses me how some managers/players/fitnessstaff/Doctors seem to put off treatment of these kinds of injuries, same with Torres for the bin-dippers he'd probably be 100% figting fit long before now if they'd have operated on his hernia thing ...

for everyone talking about how quickly the fans turn or how short there memories are i havent turned at all iv always liked de jong over barry and have always prefered that style of play i think we need him more then barry because

1: if you take barry out of the team we still have enough going forward and de jong and irelands distribution is just as good
2: with barry in the squad i dont feel as confident when were being attacked, especially countered

but with de jong i think it gives the defence abit more confidence with the extra cover

They are not a straight swap for my money.

De Jong performs 1 aspect of the game better than anyone at the club.

Barry performs that aspect to a lesser degree while performing many more that De Jong cannot.

As good as De Jong is the fact is he has never scored a goal or even looked like doing so, that kind if centre mid should not be needed in every game IMO and should be used away and against top 4 opposition at home or brought on to hold a lead.

Personally I think Barry has been, and will again be a crucial part of our side. Even in this 'dip' he's had, there have been some great performances in among them like last week against Chelsea. He looks lacking in pace and urgency sometimes but he has an exceptional passing range, which I thought despite being below par yesterday, he still offered. He's also our best set-piece deliverer.

The problem is that he and Ireland just don't seem to have hit it off. When de Jong plays, he tends to stay hovering around in our half of the field which allows Ireland to roam and wander, and basically do what he does best. But because Barry is a little more 'box to box' than de Jong, it prevents Ireland from focusing on attacking. In that sense I think de Jong actually brings the best out in both of them...so it's not just his influence but the influence he has on the rest of the team that make him crucial to our success. I'd go with de Jong and Barry for games like Chelsea, where they were so impressive, and de Jong with Ireland for the games where the onus is more on us to attack.

Long story short- de Jong playing every game with either Barry or Ireland alongside.

Colin the King wrote:Personally I think Barry has been, and will again be a crucial part of our side. Even in this 'dip' he's had, there have been some great performances in among them like last week against Chelsea. He looks lacking in pace and urgency sometimes but he has an exceptional passing range, which I thought despite being below par yesterday, he still offered. He's also our best set-piece deliverer.

The problem is that he and Ireland just don't seem to have hit it off. When de Jong plays, he tends to stay hovering around in our half of the field which allows Ireland to roam and wander, and basically do what he does best. But because Barry is a little more 'box to box' than de Jong, it prevents Ireland from focusing on attacking. In that sense I think de Jong actually brings the best out in both of them...so it's not just his influence but the influence he has on the rest of the team that make him crucial to our success. I'd go with de Jong and Barry for games like Chelsea, where they were so impressive, and de Jong with Ireland for the games where the onus is more on us to attack.

Long story short- de Jong playing every game with either Barry or Ireland alongside.

Yep, that sums up exactly what I think too.

On form since the beginning of the season, in my opinion, it's De Jong. Barry has been a massive disappointment for me. I expected him to dominate the midfield and he has been shadow dancing since he came to city.

zuricity wrote:On form since the beginning of the season, in my opinion, it's De Jong. Barry has been a massive disappointment for me. I expected him to dominate the midfield and he has been shadow dancing since he came to city.

I think he started off very promising but recently has faded which I believe down to loss of form and/or his hernia problem. He needs resting until he's 100% fit in both body and mind and gone in for the surgery then he'll be cooking on gas.

We have plenty of players that can play midfield in his absence. Ireland, De Jong, Kompany, Zabaleta, SWP, Weiss. Bellamy, Richards and Tevez could as well at a push.

edge275 wrote:

zuricity wrote:On form since the beginning of the season, in my opinion, it's De Jong. Barry has been a massive disappointment for me. I expected him to dominate the midfield and he has been shadow dancing since he came to city.

I think he started off very promising but recently has faded which I believe down to loss of form and/or his hernia problem. He needs resting until he's 100% fit in both body and mind and gone in for the surgery then he'll be cooking on gas.

We have plenty of players that can play midfield in his absence. Ireland, De Jong, Kompany, Zabaleta, SWP, Weiss. Bellamy, Richards and Tevez could as well at a push.

That's true, we have enough cover. I can't see the logic behind playing someone who has lost his form - or if you're looing for an excuse , carrying an injury.

Hello

Villa fan here. re Barry, you're seeing what a lot of us VIlla fans saw for years, that Barry has a tendency to go missing for great chunks of the season.

It is all very well seeing him do the business for England, which he invariably does, but he was very frustrating for us - especially last year - when doing his disappearing act.

That's not sour grapes, incidentally, I'd feel much happier were Barry still in our squad, and he is a good player, but he does exactly what he is doing for you at the moment - disappears, and for long periods of time.

I also think he has to be played alongside the right type of player. Alongside Petrov for us, our midfield looked incredibly one-paced. When I've seen him play alonside De Jong he's looked exactly the same for you.

I also wonder whether being removed from his comfort zone is affecting him. I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that when we played you at our place, the booing got to him, you could tell a mile off. When he got booed at St Andrews for you, he reacted the same way - went into his shell.

In short, he's a decent player, but he's benefitted from a very benevolent media and footballing public. The same thing we hear now - Ashley Young is amazing for you, he's on fire (he isn't, he's had 3 or 4 decent games at most since February last year) - we used to hear abotu Barry - 'he is the heartbeat of your team'. Not true, he wasn't. People fall back onto tired cliches a bit too easily

Like I said, he's a good player, and I wish he still played for us, but what you are seeing now is precisely what we saw for a long, long time.

villain wrote:Hello

Villa fan here. re Barry, you're seeing what a lot of us VIlla fans saw for years, that Barry has a tendency to go missing for great chunks of the season.

It is all very well seeing him do the business for England, which he invariably does, but he was very frustrating for us - especially last year - when doing his disappearing act.

That's not sour grapes, incidentally, I'd feel much happier were Barry still in our squad, and he is a good player, but he does exactly what he is doing for you at the moment - disappears, and for long periods of time.

I also think he has to be played alongside the right type of player. Alongside Petrov for us, our midfield looked incredibly one-paced. When I've seen him play alonside De Jong he's looked exactly the same for you.

I also wonder whether being removed from his comfort zone is affecting him. I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that when we played you at our place, the booing got to him, you could tell a mile off. When he got booed at St Andrews for you, he reacted the same way - went into his shell.

In short, he's a decent player, but he's benefitted from a very benevolent media and footballing public. The same thing we hear now - Ashley Young is amazing for you, he's on fire (he isn't, he's had 3 or 4 decent games at most since February last year) - we used to hear abotu Barry - 'he is the heartbeat of your team'. Not true, he wasn't. People fall back onto tired cliches a bit too easily

Like I said, he's a good player, and I wish he still played for us, but what you are seeing now is precisely what we saw for a long, long time.

Thanks for the insight mate. I do still advocate though that Barry was one of the best midfield players in the prem last season.

villain wrote:Hello

Villa fan here. re Barry, you're seeing what a lot of us VIlla fans saw for years, that Barry has a tendency to go missing for great chunks of the season.

It is all very well seeing him do the business for England, which he invariably does, but he was very frustrating for us - especially last year - when doing his disappearing act.

That's not sour grapes, incidentally, I'd feel much happier were Barry still in our squad, and he is a good player, but he does exactly what he is doing for you at the moment - disappears, and for long periods of time.

I also think he has to be played alongside the right type of player. Alongside Petrov for us, our midfield looked incredibly one-paced. When I've seen him play alonside De Jong he's looked exactly the same for you.

I also wonder whether being removed from his comfort zone is affecting him. I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that when we played you at our place, the booing got to him, you could tell a mile off. When he got booed at St Andrews for you, he reacted the same way - went into his shell.

In short, he's a decent player, but he's benefitted from a very benevolent media and footballing public. The same thing we hear now - Ashley Young is amazing for you, he's on fire (he isn't, he's had 3 or 4 decent games at most since February last year) - we used to hear abotu Barry - 'he is the heartbeat of your team'. Not true, he wasn't. People fall back onto tired cliches a bit too easily

Like I said, he's a good player, and I wish he still played for us, but what you are seeing now is precisely what we saw for a long, long time.

fantastic stuff...stick around. we're the island of misfit toys. We've even collected a Hammers fan who posts on here a bit, so we'd love to keep hearing your opinions. Surely if he's ok then we're fine hearing what you've got to say as well.

Related: How would you feel if Brum kept Joe Hart permanently?

cheers