Niall Quinns Discopants wrote:Blue Blood wrote:Barry is a great player but for me his best years are behind him, still has a role here just not sure if its as first choice.
Sorry mate but "great" is what Gareth Barry never was and will never be. He was "very good player" who is just "good" these days. I thought Barry signing was good and I do think he has contributed. I would also love to keep Barry as a back up. However he was consistently the weakest link in our passing game and forward movement last year. Especially as we have De Jong who offers very little going forward, we just can't have player like Barry with him on the side. As De Jong has cemented his place on the team during last season's brilliant defensive performances, there's no taking him off the side so it's Barry who has to be sacrificed.
Also, his retarded handballs piss me off BIG TIME. But that's just me being my petty self.
Read all that, still think he's a great player.
Barry will consistently perform to a good level for us, he does the boring jobs and keeps things ticking in the mid, he is valuable asset.
While maybe not reaching the heights of "great" status with city, across his career he has played at all levels and captained a club, as well making 500 apps at club level, nearly 50 internationally.
I'd say all in all he's been a great player, declining into good territory now though, hence a need for Nasri imo but overall a great player.