Just too much at stake, says Barry

[Mark (Blue Army)]

Gareth Barry admitted that the tension surrounding the battle for the final Champions League spot put paid to any chance of a spectacle in a drab stalemate against Liverpool.

The goalless draw between the teams placed fourth and fifth in the table at the start of the day provided few thrills for a frustrated sell-out crowd at the City of Manchester Stadium.

City midfielder Barry admitted: "It was one of those games with no real chances. There was a lot at stake and you could tell. We are slightly disappointed not to win as the home team.

"But anyone watching the game would sense that neither team wanted to lose. There was so much to lose if the other team got three points. It was very tactical out there.

"Shay Given only had one shot to save, and Pepe Reina only had the one shot from Emmanuel Adebayor. It was just so tight, because nobody on that pitch wanted to lose the game.

"You have to show Liverpool respect. They are not having as good a season as they would like, but they are still a hard team to beat. We will hopefully be able to build on a solid point."

One of the few incidents in the game saw Barry caught on the ankle by a rash challenge from Javier Mascherano, who had already been shown a yellow card by referee Peter Walton.

But England man Barry said: "I was facing the other way, so I didn't even see who it was. It was just a kick, it's nothing. I'm fine."

He also shrugged off midweek stories about a fall-out between manager Roberto Mancini and striker Craig Bellamy, who came off the bench for the latter stages against his old club.

Barry said: "We've had headlines all season. We're a club that's in transition and have spent a lot of money to reach the top, so we are going to be news. Headlines come with the territory.

"There was a slight difference in opinion, not a row. The manager and Craig Bellamy are both winners, and they both have strong opinions. That's got to be good for the club."

mcfc.co.uk

[blue 68]

Yawn, just replace one mind set with non scouse respect one, simples.............

[john68]

I think that piece by Gareth Barry is very interesting and extremely revealing, regarding the mindset that seems to permeate the club.

[center]".....neither team wanted to lose....."
".....too much to lose if the other team got three points....."
".....nobody on the pitch wanted to lose the game...."[/center]

Our club seems to be dominated by FEAR. Like an athlete saying..."I didn't want to run too fast in case i slipped"...or the mountain climber not daring to climb too high in case he falls. That piece by Gareth Barry is a very dissapointing window into the mindset at our club.
Trophies are taken home by those who dare to risk failure by trying to win. Trophies are taken home by those who are not encumbered by barriers in their own minds that they might fail. Trophies are taken home by WINNERS...Those who believe to the point of knowing, that they can succeed.

Those quotes By Barry say to me that the attitude at City is;
".....we must stop our opponents from winning, even if it means not winning ourselves....."

I am disgusted by that level of negativity and fear and if that is what is being taught to them...we have got major problems.

[ross.mcfc]

Really doesn’t inspire confidence does it. There are plenty games in the season left, this was not a cup final, winner takes it all situation.

Yet again we failed to take the opportunity bury the Scousers CL hope’s. I have a funny feeling at the end of the season that ourselves and a few others will be looking the usual top 4 ruing all the chances Liverpool have given us to put them out of the acquasion.

We should not be going into a game AT HOME against a side who we are on paper better than and have been below us for the majority of the season and are having a mare by there standard worrying about not losing.

Depressing stuff.

[CityFanFromRome]

I think that piece by Gareth Barry is very interesting and extremely revealing, regarding the mindset that seems to permeate the club.

[center]".....neither team wanted to lose....."
".....too much to lose if the other team got three points....."
".....nobody on the pitch wanted to lose the game...."[/center]

Our club seems to be dominated by FEAR. Like an athlete saying..."I didn't want to run too fast in case i slipped"...or the mountain climber not daring to climb too high in case he falls. That piece by Gareth Barry is a very dissapointing window into the mindset at our club.
Trophies are taken home by those who dare to risk failure by trying to win. Trophies are taken home by those who are not encumbered by barriers in their own minds that they might fail. Trophies are taken home by WINNERS...Those who believe to the point of knowing, that they can succeed.

Those quotes By Barry say to me that the attitude at City is;
".....we must stop our opponents from winning, even if it means not winning ourselves....."

I am disgusted by that level of negativity and fear and if that is what is being taught to them...we have got major problems.

Sorry but I don't agree. It's true that if you risk you may win, but that works well in cups. In the league, it's a matter of who makes the most points over the whole length of the league, so when you have to play your direct rivals for the spot you want, the first thing you have to ensure is that they don't win, because that would hinder your own run much more than drawing the game.

It's a game of chess if you want, and if you see an opening you will go for it, but if you don't then you keep your guard up and draw the match, which is better than losing it.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Most of our lads DID seem up for it. It was just Barry who was doing fuck all again.

He is supposed to be box-to-box midfielders but offers absolutely NOTHING going forward and seems lazy. Not happy with his attitude at all and I personally hope that Vieira will replace Barry when he gets out of his suspension.

[ant london]

Most of our lads DID seem up for it. It was just Barry who was doing fuck all again.

He is supposed to be box-to-box midfielders but offers absolutely NOTHING going forward and seems lazy. Not happy with his attitude at all and I personally hope that Vieira will replace Barry when he gets out of his suspension.

absolute total rubbish

were you watching the game with your eyes closed?

he was good last night, much better than he's been for a while as I said elsewhere. He can play box to box but I am pretty certain he (and Nigel were under orders to lie quite deep and shield the defence (...pushing the ball on to Ireland for him to offer the midfield penetration).

As Doug (and others) has(/have) said, the problem with the midfield was the fact that, with the ball at their feet, none of the three central-lying midfielders advanced with the ball (again Stevie was the worst culprit). They were not drawing in their man (and thus taking the focus of one of their MFs away from SWP/AJ) but were getting rid of the ball like it was a hot potato and just putting the recipient under more pressure as a result.

They were all guilty of this to an extent but it seemed pretty clear to me that Barry was under orders to play in a certain way and he did that job very well last night. To suggest, that on the evidence we have seen so far, that Vieira would offer a more complete performance is laughable

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

So you say my post was 'absolute rubbish' and then go on to say that none of the central midfielders (Ireland was actually playing behind the striker by the way) were capable of bringing the ball forward. Isn't that exactly what I said?

Barry has been absolutely useless eversince Villa game and the team is carrying him.

[ant london]

So you say my post was 'absolute rubbish'

No, I think your post was tosh mate.

1 - It was just Barry who was doing fuck all again - absolute total rubbish (he worked pretty hard in my eyes)

2- He .....offers absolutely NOTHING going forward - absolute total rubbish (he ventured forward into limited areas but DID get forward)

3- and seems lazy - absolute total rubbish (he's been carrying an injury but I've never seen him go missing (a la Robinho, Petrov or even pre ACN Adebayor). He's always put in a shift)

4 - Not happy with his attitude at all - absolute total rubbish (what possible evidence do you have of a "poor attitude" from Barry? Or is this just based on the above interview?)

5 - I personally hope that Vieira will replace Barry when he gets out of his suspension - - absolute total rubbish (Vieira has looked ring rusty and a liability in general thus far. I think he does have something to offer us but on what we've seen so far, no way would I drop Barry for PV)

So, in my view, pretty much all of what you said was - absolute total rubbish ;-)

[john@staustell]

Barry was OK. The outstanding poor performer was SWP (again) as someone pointed out in the ratings thread. Everyone else pretty good.

[ENIAM NAM]

Comments like that do not bode well for the games against Chelsea, Spurs, Villa, Utd & Arsenal!!

[avoidconfusion]

So you say my post was 'absolute rubbish'

No, I think your post was tosh mate.

1 - It was just Barry who was doing fuck all again - absolute total rubbish (he worked pretty hard in my eyes)

2- He .....offers absolutely NOTHING going forward - absolute total rubbish (he ventured forward into limited areas but DID get forward)

3- and seems lazy - absolute total rubbish (he's been carrying an injury but I've never seen him go missing (a la Robinho, Petrov or even pre ACN Adebayor). He's always put in a shift)

4 - Not happy with his attitude at all - absolute total rubbish (what possible evidence do you have of a "poor attitude" from Barry? Or is this just based on the above interview?)

5 - I personally hope that Vieira will replace Barry when he gets out of his suspension - - absolute total rubbish (Vieira has looked ring rusty and a liability in general thus far. I think he does have something to offer us but on what we've seen so far, no way would I drop Barry for PV)

So, in my view, pretty much all of what you said was - absolute total rubbish ;-)

Can't agree more. I think Barry played very well and to say he has been carried by the team is a joke really.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

To get back to the OP I would agree with John that I find it worrying that a key player ( he certainly is in Mancini's eyes like it or not) is confirming the better not to lose than go for the win thinking.

In isolation the point against Lpool is a decent point gained with a decent hard working team performance. But looking at the wider picture we also have games against Villa and Spurs at home. Would we be happy with just a point in those games? All the teams around us would be dleighted if that's all we get. Wouldnt it be points lost for us and one gained for them away from home?

After the Pool game we are in basically the same position as before in that IF we don't up our game we can forget 4th position.For me the absolute key to upping our game is Tevez and Bellamy so lets hope Carlos is back soon.

As for Vieira the jury is out. No doubt at all so far he has looked way off the pace but I will give him ( and Mancini on him) the benefit of the doubt.Others have said he is there mainly for his experience and influence in the dressing room. Again the jury is out as so far it hasnt helped and getting sent off as he did is hardly a good influence now is it?

[Ted Hughes]

I don't think he means that the players were instructed to play in a negative manner, I think he means that they realised the importance of the game & so it was in the back of their minds which may have affected them. I also think he played very well.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

I don't think he means that the players were instructed to play in a negative manner, I think he means that they realised the importance of the game & so it was in the back of their minds which may have affected them. I also think he played very well.

I hope that's what he means but I have a feeling it's a bit of both.

[john68]

I think that piece by Gareth Barry is very interesting and extremely revealing, regarding the mindset that seems to permeate the club.

[center]".....neither team wanted to lose....."
".....too much to lose if the other team got three points....."
".....nobody on the pitch wanted to lose the game...."[/center]

Our club seems to be dominated by FEAR. Like an athlete saying..."I didn't want to run too fast in case i slipped"...or the mountain climber not daring to climb too high in case he falls. That piece by Gareth Barry is a very dissapointing window into the mindset at our club.
Trophies are taken home by those who dare to risk failure by trying to win. Trophies are taken home by those who are not encumbered by barriers in their own minds that they might fail. Trophies are taken home by WINNERS...Those who believe to the point of knowing, that they can succeed.

Those quotes By Barry say to me that the attitude at City is;
".....we must stop our opponents from winning, even if it means not winning ourselves....."

I am disgusted by that level of negativity and fear and if that is what is being taught to them...we have got major problems.

Sorry but I don't agree. It's true that if you risk you may win, but that works well in cups. In the league, it's a matter of who makes the most points over the whole length of the league, so when you have to play your direct rivals for the spot you want, the first thing you have to ensure is that they don't win, because that would hinder your own run much more than drawing the game.

It's a game of chess if you want, and if you see an opening you will go for it, but if you don't then you keep your guard up and draw the match, which is better than losing it.

City Fan from Rome,
That post had a very sad ring to it and I don't suppose you noticed there was almost a contradiction in there. The team that amasses the most points undoubtedly wins the league. The team who waits for the openings and if there aren't any, settles for only 1pt from the game will NOT amass the most points.
A draw is only 1pts better than losing...A win is 2pts better than a draw. by drawing, you lose more.
With 3pts for a win andd only 1pt for a draw, it is true to say that the team that wins most usually wins the league.

[john68]

Most of our lads DID seem up for it. It was just Barry who was doing fuck all again.

He is supposed to be box-to-box midfielders but offers absolutely NOTHING going forward and seems lazy. Not happy with his attitude at all and I personally hope that Vieira will replace Barry when he gets out of his suspension.

Antti,
Sorry mate but i think you missed the whole point. What Barry was saying was that ALL the players that took part yesterday were of the same mindset. I don't care hoe the L'Pool players think, that is their problem to solve but I am interested in the minset of the City players.
I wasn't criticising Barry or in fact any player for their individual performance, i was bringing to light the attitude of the team to the game yesterday. I am pointing out the negativity of that mindset...not just Barry's, but the whole team.

[Chinners]

Shows how far we've come and Liverpool have fallen recently. 2 draws against Liverpool in one season in the past would, for alot on here, been beyond our wildest dreams.

[CityFanFromRome]

City Fan from Rome,
That post had a very sad ring to it and I don't suppose you noticed there was almost a contradiction in there. The team that amasses the most points undoubtedly wins the league. The team who waits for the openings and if there aren't any, settles for only 1pt from the game will NOT amass the most points.
A draw is only 1pts better than losing...A win is 2pts better than a draw. by drawing, you lose more.
With 3pts for a win andd only 1pt for a draw, it is true to say that the team that wins most usually wins the league.

I can see why you'd think there is a contradiction in there, but I said that in games against the teams closest to you you should first look to avoid losing, especially if they are below you in the table, and try to exploit any opneings they leave you. Of course in all the other games you have to push for a win, but in a season there will be three or four games which you have to first of all avoid losing to mantain an advantage over those below you.

[john68]

Look at it this way mate.
Before the game yesterday, there were 3 other teams around us chasing the position we held.
After the game we had got 1pt
L'Pool had got 1pt
Villa had got 3pts
Spurs had got 3pts

How did our stopping liverpool from beating us do us any favours when both Villa and Spurs won and each gained 2pts on us?
Merely stopping the other team from winning is a losing mentality. It shows a lack of belief in your own abilities to win and gain maximum points.