Gareth Barry

[kinkylola]

i don't think there's any reason to get rid of garcia at this point. Besides the fact that we do need cover in midfield, and that a player, just like a manager, may not always have the smoothest first season. I am fully behind judging a player on their second season at a club, with pre-season and experience behind them. I don't believe Garcia is on massive wages, not that that even really matters it seems, and I don't think it can hurt to have him in as an option ... unless we are bringing someone truly quality in to mid.

I think Garcia is a good player, possibly even a very good one, but he doesn't look like a Premier League player so far & if we are bringing in more players for that position, someone will have to go. It's much better to fire Garcia than Barry imo.

When Pellegrini had Garcia as a player last time, he apparently fucked him off within 6 weeks.

Well that would be a good indication of where garcia might go ... but I wasn't necessarily looking at it as a garcia vs. barry. I think unless we are bringing someone else in midfield in (or pelligrini wants rid), then we should hang on to garcia.

I also don't think we should get rid of barry by any means, but I am concerned that he is the center piece of a system that I do not believe gets the most out of our team or gives us the best chances of reclaiming the prem title or advancing farther in europe. I'm definitely open to being proven wrong on any of those counts though.

I liked the look of Chelseas team at the start , we dealt with them 3 times this season, Barry was awsome, our 11 points against the top 4 I think was the best and sorry for being a sulking cunt this break-up will be a mistake that will see players gone as a direct reult of this some of which we know have done it. Barry was fucking immense at the scum but shit happens and it will with Pelli coming in. SWP was a victim of being surplus to the manager, when he should have been retained for the same reasons Barry should. Good pro and could be invaluable in a long slog.

You could very well be right, and we could make some mistakes if this transition from mancini to pelligrini isn't handled the right way. Just to be clear, I don't want rid of barry, but I don't want an over reliance on the system where he is the central figure. Which to me would mean he stops being a starter. But that's just my opinion, I want us to evolve from what I saw this season ... we definitely had some high points and I don't know if your stat is right, but if it is, then it's great. Fact is though, we finished 11 points behind the scum, and it wasn't necessarily because of our performance vs. the other top 4/5. That tells me we need to be able to mix it up with different systems.

[Hazy2]

Like Barca have defensive probs, we have a legs issue a lack of em at times add a narrow game plan and we are like against Wigan twice denied the ball and shut out, a Modric or a Bale, Mora, gives us a problem against us and threat we lack, an area Berigistain will be targeting leaving YaYa back where he was at Barca, holding and the above style of player left to run on as Jack did Sunday.
Isco will be that man.

[Ted Hughes]

Like Barca have defensive probs, we have a legs issue a lack of em at times add a narrow game plan and we are like against Wigan twice denied the ball and shut out, a Modric or a Bale, Mora, gives us a problem against us and threat we lack, an area Berigistain will be targeting leaving YaYa back where he was at Barca, holding and the above style of player left to run on as Jack did Sunday.
Isco will be that man.

If that's the plan, I recon we are totally, utterly fucked.

[roblues]

Like Barca have defensive probs, we have a legs issue a lack of em at times add a narrow game plan and we are like against Wigan twice denied the ball and shut out, a Modric or a Bale, Mora, gives us a problem against us and threat we lack, an area Berigistain will be targeting leaving YaYa back where he was at Barca, holding and the above style of player left to run on as Jack did Sunday.
Isco will be that man.

If that's the plan, I recon we are totally, utterly fucked.

Agreed, and fully agree with your earlier post summing up exactly why Barry has been a key starter for the last few years. That famous thread, 'What does Yaya Toure actually do?' would have been less controversial if reworded as 'What does Yaya Toure actually do in defence?'

[Cocacolajojo1]

Ok, but let's just say that Barry implodes this summer. Yes, he implodes and disappears from the face of the earth. What do we do then? Do we play someone from the club in his position or do we have to get someone else? In that case, why?

[Ted Hughes]

Ok, but let's just say that Barry implodes this summer. Yes, he implodes and disappears from the face of the earth. What do we do then? Do we play someone from the club in his position or do we have to get someone else? In that case, why?

We need to sign players for that position imo, preferably ones who are quicker than Barry. If we dump Barry, we need to sign at least two because Yaya won't do that job, & Garcia probably can't.

[Hazy2]

Ok, but let's just say that Barry implodes this summer. Yes, he implodes and disappears from the face of the earth. What do we do then? Do we play someone from the club in his position or do we have to get someone else? In that case, why?

We need to sign players for that position imo, preferably ones who are quicker than Barry. If we dump Barry, we need to sign at least two because Yaya won't do that job, & Garcia probably can't.

Mate this is why Busqettes or Martinez are so vital to a team, power and quality on the ball, Garcia had the reputation at Benfica, his season must be a worry and was bombed from Madrid under Pelli, I feel sorry for him with Yaya who was a squad player so he is either gonna adapt or be a pain in the arse. His driving runs seems to have been put away for next season.

[Ted Hughes]

Ok, but let's just say that Barry implodes this summer. Yes, he implodes and disappears from the face of the earth. What do we do then? Do we play someone from the club in his position or do we have to get someone else? In that case, why?

We need to sign players for that position imo, preferably ones who are quicker than Barry. If we dump Barry, we need to sign at least two because Yaya won't do that job, & Garcia probably can't.

Mate this is why Busqettes or Martinez are so vital to a team, power and quality on the ball, Garcia had the reputation at Benfica, his season must be a worry and was bombed from Madrid under Pelli, I feel sorry for him with Yaya who was a squad player so he is either gonna adapt or be a pain in the arse. His driving runs seems to have been put away for next season.

Neither Busquets or Martinez are an upgrade on Barry imo, in fact I think either of them would look exactly like Garcia if stuck next to Yaya Toure in our team. They play in better organised teams & have an easy job imo. Martinez for Bilbao, when they put him back in midfield, was very very similar to how Garcia looks now at City. He has Barry's pace & Yaya's stamina. In Bayern's team, he does a kind of Didi Hamman style comfort zone job, but as soon as his protection goes & he has to run,, it's knee high leg breakers & rugby tackles as he can't catch anyone. If we played like Bayern, he would suit that job, but so would Barry. It would be easy for him compared to the job he has to do now.

Yaya did that job for Barca & was miles better than Busquets or Martinez.

[Piccsnumberoneblue]

I appreciate what Barry brings to the side. His reading of the game is uncanny. But like Kinkyola, I feel tgat his influence on the side is a big part of why we look so slow in transition from defence to attack.
He gives the ball away every now and then and is too slow to rectify the danger he has caused.
Furthermore, Barry and Garcia in the same starting line up means having virtually no creativity. It's hard to win when you never look like scoring. Thats been the case too often this season.

[Chinners]

From todays bollox ....

Unsung hero of the season
Gareth Barry. There is something about his presence amid a galaxy of more ostentatious stars which causes him to be overlooked. Many Manchester City players have gone backwards since the title-winning campaign. Few have improved in the way Barry has. Without him, a difficult season would have been worse.

[Hazy2]

Ok, but let's just say that Barry implodes this summer. Yes, he implodes and disappears from the face of the earth. What do we do then? Do we play someone from the club in his position or do we have to get someone else? In that case, why?

We need to sign players for that position imo, preferably ones who are quicker than Barry. If we dump Barry, we need to sign at least two because Yaya won't do that job, & Garcia probably can't.

Mate this is why Busqettes or Martinez are so vital to a team, power and quality on the ball, Garcia had the reputation at Benfica, his season must be a worry and was bombed from Madrid under Pelli, I feel sorry for him with Yaya who was a squad player so he is either gonna adapt or be a pain in the arse. His driving runs seems to have been put away for next season.

Neither Busquets or Martinez are an upgrade on Barry imo, in fact I think either of them would look exactly like Garcia if stuck next to Yaya Toure in our team. They play in better organised teams & have an easy job imo. Martinez for Bilbao, when they put him back in midfield, was very very similar to how Garcia looks now at City. He has Barry's pace & Yaya's stamina. In Bayern's team, he does a kind of Didi Hamman style comfort zone job, but as soon as his protection goes & he has to run,, it's knee high leg breakers & rugby tackles as he can't catch anyone. If we played like Bayern, he would suit that job, but so would Barry. It would be easy for him compared to the job he has to do now.

Yaya did that job for Barca & was miles better than Busquets or Martinez.

Bollocks.. have a nice day Ted.

[Mase]

From todays bollox ....

Unsung hero of the season
Gareth Barry. There is something about his presence amid a galaxy of more ostentatious stars which causes him to be overlooked. Many Manchester City players have gone backwards since the title-winning campaign. Few have improved in the way Barry has. Without him, a difficult season would have been worse.

How can he be unsung when most of you love him? There's about two of us who think he's crap.

[Chinners]

From todays bollox ....

Unsung hero of the season
Gareth Barry. There is something about his presence amid a galaxy of more ostentatious stars which causes him to be overlooked. Many Manchester City players have gone backwards since the title-winning campaign. Few have improved in the way Barry has. Without him, a difficult season would have been worse.

How can he be unsung when most of you love him? There's about two of us who think he's crap.

It's from a season review by a reporter in today's Independent. I don't love him but he's certainly underrated imo

[Cocacolajojo1]

Ok, but let's just say that Barry implodes this summer. Yes, he implodes and disappears from the face of the earth. What do we do then? Do we play someone from the club in his position or do we have to get someone else? In that case, why?

We need to sign players for that position imo, preferably ones who are quicker than Barry. If we dump Barry, we need to sign at least two because Yaya won't do that job, & Garcia probably can't.

Mate this is why Busqettes or Martinez are so vital to a team, power and quality on the ball, Garcia had the reputation at Benfica, his season must be a worry and was bombed from Madrid under Pelli, I feel sorry for him with Yaya who was a squad player so he is either gonna adapt or be a pain in the arse. His driving runs seems to have been put away for next season.

Neither Busquets or Martinez are an upgrade on Barry imo, in fact I think either of them would look exactly like Garcia if stuck next to Yaya Toure in our team. They play in better organised teams & have an easy job imo. Martinez for Bilbao, when they put him back in midfield, was very very similar to how Garcia looks now at City. He has Barry's pace & Yaya's stamina. In Bayern's team, he does a kind of Didi Hamman style comfort zone job, but as soon as his protection goes & he has to run,, it's knee high leg breakers & rugby tackles as he can't catch anyone. If we played like Bayern, he would suit that job, but so would Barry. It would be easy for him compared to the job he has to do now.

Yaya did that job for Barca & was miles better than Busquets or Martinez.

Bollocks.. have a nice day Ted.

Come on, Yaya in Barcelona was one of the best holding midfielders in the last decade or so. I can't say anything about Martinez but Busquets has nothing on Yaya, nothing. Busquets is a mediocre player hidden among a group of star players who conceal his weaknesses. Yaya on the other hand shored up their midfield almost singlehandedly. He was very disciplined back then as well, which I guess explains why he's tired of having to do defensive work nowadays.

[Foreverinbluedreams]

From todays bollox ....

Unsung hero of the season
Gareth Barry. There is something about his presence amid a galaxy of more ostentatious stars which causes him to be overlooked. Many Manchester City players have gone backwards since the title-winning campaign. Few have improved in the way Barry has. Without him, a difficult season would have been worse.

Have to disagree with that assessment. I've always been a fan of Barry but he's on the decline this season. That said, he still performed better over the course than the majority of the squad.

I've been reading this thread with some interest, like I said I'm a Barry fan but I'm on the fence now as to whether he still has what it takes at this level. Pellegrini may not have a role for him in his set up, guess we'll have to wait and see.

[Hazy2]

Yaya played 74 games for Barca in 3 yrs Pep did not want to lose him but did sanction his sale with regret, The rest is folklore and Barca hardly stood still with Busquets being central to the shape. The Yaya we saw last season was down to Mancini not Barca. He will be back to holding in our new system, Barry will be the victim IMHO. You need a weekend in Barca mate Busquetes is a 24yr old living legend with every trophy won a player from the ranks, If you need a refference to him search Xavi's comments on him. Yaya was a good un never ever a great, which at Barca is some going at 24. I am a socio member and I am telling you Yaya was liked but not in a million yrs rated like Sergio B is. Hey Ted he was on 1 leg at Bayern, it showed bigtime. He dives and cons but that is his nature his pass completion is beyond anything we have ever seen at City to even compare Barry to him mate is frankly a joke and I like Gareth, As for Martinez you have a blind spot which only you can explain. Bayern rate him and Pep is over the moon they have him as you know he offered 25 mill for him 2 yrs ago to replace Puyol at some point. Bilbao, held firm until Bayern paid the dough.
If you put Gareth up for sale he would be snapped up in the Premier I know he would the other two would have every top club paying 50 mill today. Martinez looks like a bargain now.

[Cocacolajojo1]

Yaya played 74 games for Barca in 3 yrs Pep did not want to lose him but did sanction his sale with regret, The rest is folklore and Barca hardly stood still with Busquets being central to the shape. The Yaya we saw last season was down to Mancini not Barca. He will be back to holding in our new system, Barry will be the victim IMHO. You need a weekend in Barca mate Busquetes is a 24yr old living legend with every trophy won a player from the ranks, If you need a refference to him search Xavi's comments on him. Yaya was a good un never ever a great, which at Barca is some going at 24. I am a socio member and I am telling you Yaya was liked but not in a million yrs rated like Sergio B is.

I'm sure Sergio B is liked more than Yaya but that says nothing about who's the better player. Barca fans see Sergio B as a living legend and better than Yaya? Fine, I see that as ludicrous. As defensive midfielders, overall midfielders, centre backs and attacking midfielders, Yaya surpasses Busquets in every department. Barry in many respects as well by the way.

Had Busquets not been a product of Barcelona's academy he would have lingered in a club like Seville or something like that. Relatively good but mediocre from our perspective.

[Ted Hughes]

Yaya played 74 games for Barca in 3 yrs Pep did not want to lose him but did sanction his sale with regret, The rest is folklore and Barca hardly stood still with Busquets being central to the shape. The Yaya we saw last season was down to Mancini not Barca. He will be back to holding in our new system, Barry will be the victim IMHO. You need a weekend in Barca mate Busquetes is a 24yr old living legend with every trophy won a player from the ranks, If you need a refference to him search Xavi's comments on him. Yaya was a good un never ever a great, which at Barca is some going at 24. I am a socio member and I am telling you Yaya was liked but not in a million yrs rated like Sergio B is. Hey Ted he was on 1 leg at Bayern, it showed bigtime. He dives and cons but that is his nature his pass completion is beyond anything we have ever seen at City to even compare Barry to him mate is frankly a joke and I like Gareth, As for Martinez you have a blind spot which only you can explain. Bayern rate him and Pep is over the moon they have him as you know he offered 25 mill for him 2 yrs ago to replace Puyol at some point. Bilbao, held firm until Bayern paid the dough.
If you put Gareth up for sale he would be snapped up in the Premier I know he would the other two would have every top club paying 50 mill today. Martinez looks like a bargain now.

I don't have a mental block over Martinez, I just started studying him months & months before they sold him, as I was convinced we were signing him. When I watched him casually & listened to commentators, all I heard was " Martinez again with a lovely interception " "great bit of play by Martinez" so I was really happy we were linked with him. After studying him playing at CB, the best I can say is that Norwich's third goal was like 4 Martinez clones defending, it happened to him over & over & over again, he was a lump of fucking wood & the bloke next to him was better than him.

I consoled myself that we would be playing him in midfield & when I'd seen him there, I thought he'd looked good especially for the Spain U21's. So I watched him jog down the middle of the pitch, spray iffily weighted passes to people & then have no energy to get back when he lost the ball, on occasion it was embarrassing. 'He must be injured' I thought. Nope same the week after & the week after that & the week after that. And yet all I heard was "great interception by Javi Martinez there'.

I watched him for Bayern & he's only had to do about 20% of the work he needed to do at Bilbao (or would at City) & he's been rubbish in several games, but did a generally disciplined job v Barca, but even in that game still VASTLY overrated. People describing a couple of tackles & a couple of blocks as a 'magnificent' performance (but no mention of the diabolical passing or the rugby tackle when he was left for dead, or the knee high red card worthy lunge when he was also left for dead).

If Barry played in that position for Bayern, with that workrate & organisation around him, he would piss it. He could play on for ten years. If Martinez had to leg it around the pitch putting out fires for City, like Barry does, he would have no fucking chance; he can't do it. I've watched him try on many occasions & he is too big & cumbersome to maintain that level.

If we are going to play like Bayern or Barca, we could use Martinez or Busquets but imo there are, & will be, many many better options than those two & either would be a huge waste of money.

[Hazy2]

Yaya played 74 games for Barca in 3 yrs Pep did not want to lose him but did sanction his sale with regret, The rest is folklore and Barca hardly stood still with Busquets being central to the shape. The Yaya we saw last season was down to Mancini not Barca. He will be back to holding in our new system, Barry will be the victim IMHO. You need a weekend in Barca mate Busquetes is a 24yr old living legend with every trophy won a player from the ranks, If you need a refference to him search Xavi's comments on him. Yaya was a good un never ever a great, which at Barca is some going at 24. I am a socio member and I am telling you Yaya was liked but not in a million yrs rated like Sergio B is.

I'm sure Sergio B is liked more than Yaya but that says nothing about who's the better player. Barca fans see Sergio B as a living legend and better than Yaya? Fine, I see that as ludicrous. As defensive midfielders, overall midfielders, centre backs and attacking midfielders, Yaya surpasses Busquets in every department. Barry in many respects as well by the way.

Had Busquets not been a product of Barcelona's academy he would have lingered in a club like Seville or something like that. Relatively good but mediocre from our perspective.

All about opinions mate, Busquetes does it every game is there anything else to say other than Yaya does it for a minute every game if we are lucky, Yaya is defo a top player he is also a liability targeted IMO by teams looking to CA us, Barry has been his get out of jail card so many times, facts are facts Barca bombed him for mad money TO US WITH A PROFIT OF WHAT 25 MILL knowing they had the better team player and a future of 12 yrs with SB. I have seen very little from Yaya SINCE HIS NEW DEAL.

[Ted Hughes]

Yaya played 74 games for Barca in 3 yrs Pep did not want to lose him but did sanction his sale with regret, The rest is folklore and Barca hardly stood still with Busquets being central to the shape. The Yaya we saw last season was down to Mancini not Barca. He will be back to holding in our new system, Barry will be the victim IMHO. You need a weekend in Barca mate Busquetes is a 24yr old living legend with every trophy won a player from the ranks, If you need a refference to him search Xavi's comments on him. Yaya was a good un never ever a great, which at Barca is some going at 24. I am a socio member and I am telling you Yaya was liked but not in a million yrs rated like Sergio B is.

I'm sure Sergio B is liked more than Yaya but that says nothing about who's the better player. Barca fans see Sergio B as a living legend and better than Yaya? Fine, I see that as ludicrous. As defensive midfielders, overall midfielders, centre backs and attacking midfielders, Yaya surpasses Busquets in every department. Barry in many respects as well by the way.

Had Busquets not been a product of Barcelona's academy he would have lingered in a club like Seville or something like that. Relatively good but mediocre from our perspective.

All about opinions mate, Busquetes does it every game is there anything else to say other than Yaya does it for a minute every game if we are lucky, Yaya is defo a top player he is also a liability targeted IMO by teams looking to CA us, Barry has been his get out of jail card so many times, facts are facts Barca bombed him for mad money TO US WITH A PROFIT OF WHAT 25 MILL knowing they had the better team player and a future of 12 yrs with SB. I have seen very little from Yaya SINCE HIS NEW DEAL.

Yaya used to do it easily for Barca though because he rarely had to cover holes or sprint back. It's the team shape which makes the difference. We have nothing like the discipline, workrate & organisation of Barca, Bayern, Dortmund's midfield when we lose the ball.