Garcia

[Slim]

Garcia has been better lately, although there can be no hiding from the fact he's been largely shite for us, whether playing in defence or midfield.

Even with his improved performances, he's still a far inferior player to Barry and letting Barry go, but keeping Garcia, was a massive cock-up by the club.

With our current options, and if Pellegrini was resting Fernandinho or Yaya, then Milner is a better centre midfield option than Garcia.

That's the problem though. Keeping Barry was never an option, he was a starter since he arrived and with Yaya and Fred in the middle, he was always going to play second fiddle. I think we were given the option of an unhappy player on the bench or letting him go on loan.

[aaron bond]

Garcia has been better lately, although there can be no hiding from the fact he's been largely shite for us, whether playing in defence or midfield.

Even with his improved performances, he's still a far inferior player to Barry and letting Barry go, but keeping Garcia, was a massive cock-up by the club.

With our current options, and if Pellegrini was resting Fernandinho or Yaya, then Milner is a better centre midfield option than Garcia.

That's the problem though. Keeping Barry was never an option, he was a starter since he arrived and with Yaya and Fred in the middle, he was always going to play second fiddle. I think we were given the option of an unhappy player on the bench or letting him go on loan.

Would he have been unhappy though? Granted he wouldn't have been first choice under Pellegrini but from the interviews Barry has given since leaving it seems he was told before Pellegrini arrived that he was surplus to requirements, without being given a chance to challenge for a place. Due to the number of games, squad rotation and injuries, the majority of the squad has seen plenty of game time, and considering the number of games Garcia has been involved in (both as a starter and coming on as a sub), I think Barry would have been happy enough considering it would probably have been his last chance to win some trophies.

[zuricity]

I can't say i have seen an improvement in Garcia .Then again he hasn't got worse either.

He's a workhorse for the more offensive midfielders, just like Barry.

[Foreverinbluedreams]

Garcia has been better lately, although there can be no hiding from the fact he's been largely shite for us, whether playing in defence or midfield.

Even with his improved performances, he's still a far inferior player to Barry and letting Barry go, but keeping Garcia, was a massive cock-up by the club.

With our current options, and if Pellegrini was resting Fernandinho or Yaya, then Milner is a better centre midfield option than Garcia.

That's the problem though. Keeping Barry was never an option, he was a starter since he arrived and with Yaya and Fred in the middle, he was always going to play second fiddle. I think we were given the option of an unhappy player on the bench or letting him go on loan.

Would he have been unhappy though? Granted he wouldn't have been first choice under Pellegrini but from the interviews Barry has given since leaving it seems he was told before Pellegrini arrived that he was surplus to requirements, without being given a chance to challenge for a place. Due to the number of games, squad rotation and injuries, the majority of the squad has seen plenty of game time, and considering the number of games Garcia has been involved in (both as a starter and coming on as a sub), I think Barry would have been happy enough considering it would probably have been his last chance to win some trophies.

I agree that Barry is a superior player but Pellegrini did give him the choice, well according to Pellegrini at least “If he wants to go because he has better options, it depends on what he wants to do.”

I do wonder how effective Gaz would've been with just a bit part though, it's never easy to maintain form when you're not a regular.

[Nige]

The bottom line for me is he's much too slow over the first couple of yards which means he's easy to play passed by anyone in CM. that's why he drops so deep to avoid such embarrassments.

I know how he feels and do something similar at Six a side with my mates, but I'm 41 playing against 20 year olds!

[Alioune DVToure]

That's the problem though. Keeping Barry was never an option, he was a starter since he arrived and with Yaya and Fred in the middle, he was always going to play second fiddle. I think we were given the option of an unhappy player on the bench or letting him go on loan.

I suspect this was completely the case. Nobody forced Barry out. The boss will have respectfully made it clear that league starts would be harder to come by and given him the option of staying as a squad player or finding a decent club.

Fernandinho - not García - has filled Barry's boots. García is a straight up holding player who will do a different job for us when called upon. He's also five years younger than Barry. There are a lot of people who think we should've kept GB and it's a reasonable argument; I just don't understand why Javi has to get a kicking as part of the argument.

There's room for improvement and he is improving. Fair play to him.

[Alex Sapphire]

Fernandinho - not García - has filled Barry's boots. García is a straight up holding player who will do a different job for us when called upon. He's also five years younger than Barry. There are a lot of people who think we should've kept GB and it's a reasonable argument; I just don't understand why Javi has to get a kicking as part of the argument.

I would have thought it hails back to pre-season when Garcia was automatically getting the nod ahead of Barry and not putting in the perfomances. That's what "forced him out" and made some peoples' minds up.
I'm now watching a player growing into English football and starting to like his performances. But we've had to be very patient and that's tested when Barry is getting on the scoresheet/putting in MOTM performances in an overperforming team.

[Slim]

Fernandinho - not García - has filled Barry's boots. García is a straight up holding player who will do a different job for us when called upon. He's also five years younger than Barry. There are a lot of people who think we should've kept GB and it's a reasonable argument; I just don't understand why Javi has to get a kicking as part of the argument.

I would have thought it hails back to pre-season when Garcia was automatically getting the nod ahead of Barry and not putting in the perfomances. That's what "forced him out" and made some peoples' minds up.
I'm now watching a player growing into English football and starting to like his performances. But we've had to be very patient and that's tested when Barry is getting on the scoresheet/putting in MOTM performances in an overperforming team.

The plus side of going to Goodison this year will be the fact they have relied on him heavily this season.

[Benjay]

The plus side of going to Goodison this year will be the fact they have relied on him heavily this season.

....and they will hopefully miss him when we play there. I assume he cannot play against us.

[Ted Hughes]

That's the problem though. Keeping Barry was never an option, he was a starter since he arrived and with Yaya and Fred in the middle, he was always going to play second fiddle. I think we were given the option of an unhappy player on the bench or letting him go on loan.

I suspect this was completely the case. Nobody forced Barry out. The boss will have respectfully made it clear that league starts would be harder to come by and given him the option of staying as a squad player or finding a decent club.

Fernandinho - not García - has filled Barry's boots. García is a straight up holding player who will do a different job for us when called upon. He's also five years younger than Barry. There are a lot of people who think we should've kept GB and it's a reasonable argument; I just don't understand why Javi has to get a kicking as part of the argument.

There's room for improvement and he is improving. Fair play to him.

Fernandinho has done a better job of filling Barry's boots than Garcia, & covered more areas, but neither have successfully done Barry's job; Fern because he is more creative & doesn't cover like Barry, Garcia because he has missed all the signs of danger & failed to see situations building like Barry used to do.

Barry got loads of shit for the World Cup incident where he missed a challenge v Ozil & was left for dead. We didn't see Barry do that very often for City; usually he saw the situation coming & just stepped in & took the ball. Many people still to this day don't even realise he did these things because he did it so smoothly, the situation never happened, so to them; he didn't do anything. It wasn't flying into tackles in desperation, it was genius for reading the game. Half of it won't even be on camera on tv.

We have seen Garcia fail to do it in 95% of the games he has played for us & be left trailling, desperately running toward his own goal trying to catch a faster player, because he never saw the danger coming. Barry would just do a diagonal jog, & the ball would sail forward straight onto his chest as if it was passed to him deliberately. Garcia would be trying to nick it off someone, miss it, & leave a 20 yard hole in midfield.

In recent games, he has been sharper getting in challenges, & a bit more savvy at when to do it. He has also been dominant in the air, which Barry wasn't & tbf that gives us a different dimension.

Whether he can ever be the kind of smooth operator Barry was though, is yet to be seen.

[sheblue]

Barry is a more intellegent footballer than garcia. Intellegence comes naturally.

[Benjay]

Garcia has had a fair share of game time this season. Barry probably would have been ok with that amount of time. For me Barry is better or at least I would feel more confident with him in midfield than Garcia. Maybe Pellers likes the fact that Garcia plays at the back too.

[Rag_hater]

That's the problem though. Keeping Barry was never an option, he was a starter since he arrived and with Yaya and Fred in the middle, he was always going to play second fiddle. I think we were given the option of an unhappy player on the bench or letting him go on loan.

I suspect this was completely the case. Nobody forced Barry out. The boss will have respectfully made it clear that league starts would be harder to come by and given him the option of staying as a squad player or finding a decent club.

Fernandinho - not García - has filled Barry's boots. García is a straight up holding player who will do a different job for us when called upon. He's also five years younger than Barry. There are a lot of people who think we should've kept GB and it's a reasonable argument; I just don't understand why Javi has to get a kicking as part of the argument.

There's room for improvement and he is improving. Fair play to him.

Fernandinho has done a better job of filling Barry's boots than Garcia, & covered more areas, but neither have successfully done Barry's job; Fern because he is more creative & doesn't cover like Barry, Garcia because he has missed all the signs of danger & failed to see situations building like Barry used to do.

Barry got loads of shit for the World Cup incident where he missed a challenge v Ozil & was left for dead. We didn't see Barry do that very often for City; usually he saw the situation coming & just stepped in & took the ball. Many people still to this day don't even realise he did these things because he did it so smoothly, the situation never happened, so to them; he didn't do anything. It wasn't flying into tackles in desperation, it was genius for reading the game. Half of it won't even be on camera on tv.

We have seen Garcia fail to do it in 95% of the games he has played for us & be left trailling, desperately running toward his own goal trying to catch a faster player, because he never saw the danger coming. Barry would just do a diagonal jog, & the ball would sail forward straight onto his chest as if it was passed to him deliberately. Garcia would be trying to nick it off someone, miss it, & leave a 20 yard hole in midfield.

In recent games, he has been sharper getting in challenges, & a bit more savvy at when to do it. He has also been dominant in the air, which Barry wasn't & tbf that gives us a different dimension.

Whether he can ever be the kind of smooth operator Barry was though, is yet to be seen.

Think this nostalgia for Gareth is sad.
The half they show on tv is enough.
Think if Javi had been given Gareths job to do he would get tackles in and cover space but that role has been given to Ferno.
And all this bolloxs that he has last week was his best game for us is bollox of the highest order.It's because he was playing well the boss has begun to trust him enough to play 90 mins.

[Foreverinbluedreams]

That's the problem though. Keeping Barry was never an option, he was a starter since he arrived and with Yaya and Fred in the middle, he was always going to play second fiddle. I think we were given the option of an unhappy player on the bench or letting him go on loan.

I suspect this was completely the case. Nobody forced Barry out. The boss will have respectfully made it clear that league starts would be harder to come by and given him the option of staying as a squad player or finding a decent club.

Fernandinho - not García - has filled Barry's boots. García is a straight up holding player who will do a different job for us when called upon. He's also five years younger than Barry. There are a lot of people who think we should've kept GB and it's a reasonable argument; I just don't understand why Javi has to get a kicking as part of the argument.

There's room for improvement and he is improving. Fair play to him.

Fernandinho has done a better job of filling Barry's boots than Garcia, & covered more areas, but neither have successfully done Barry's job; Fern because he is more creative & doesn't cover like Barry, Garcia because he has missed all the signs of danger & failed to see situations building like Barry used to do.

Barry got loads of shit for the World Cup incident where he missed a challenge v Ozil & was left for dead. We didn't see Barry do that very often for City; usually he saw the situation coming & just stepped in & took the ball. Many people still to this day don't even realise he did these things because he did it so smoothly, the situation never happened, so to them; he didn't do anything. It wasn't flying into tackles in desperation, it was genius for reading the game. Half of it won't even be on camera on tv.

We have seen Garcia fail to do it in 95% of the games he has played for us & be left trailling, desperately running toward his own goal trying to catch a faster player, because he never saw the danger coming. Barry would just do a diagonal jog, & the ball would sail forward straight onto his chest as if it was passed to him deliberately. Garcia would be trying to nick it off someone, miss it, & leave a 20 yard hole in midfield.

In recent games, he has been sharper getting in challenges, & a bit more savvy at when to do it. He has also been dominant in the air, which Barry wasn't & tbf that gives us a different dimension.

Whether he can ever be the kind of smooth operator Barry was though, is yet to be seen.

Think this nostalgia for Gareth is sad.
The half they show on tv is enough.
Think if Javi had been given Gareths job to do he would get tackles in and cover space but that role has been given to Ferno.
And all this bolloxs that he has last week was his best game for us is bollox of the highest order.It's because he was playing well the boss has begun to trust him enough to play 90 mins.

I don't agree he would get tackles in the same manner as Barry, he's not quick enough over a couple of yards.

I think his best game for us was either Arsenal away last season or Bayern away this.

It's refreshing to see a debate on Garcia rather than the usual 'he's shit' brigade.

[Ted Hughes]

That's the problem though. Keeping Barry was never an option, he was a starter since he arrived and with Yaya and Fred in the middle, he was always going to play second fiddle. I think we were given the option of an unhappy player on the bench or letting him go on loan.

I suspect this was completely the case. Nobody forced Barry out. The boss will have respectfully made it clear that league starts would be harder to come by and given him the option of staying as a squad player or finding a decent club.

Fernandinho - not García - has filled Barry's boots. García is a straight up holding player who will do a different job for us when called upon. He's also five years younger than Barry. There are a lot of people who think we should've kept GB and it's a reasonable argument; I just don't understand why Javi has to get a kicking as part of the argument.

There's room for improvement and he is improving. Fair play to him.

Fernandinho has done a better job of filling Barry's boots than Garcia, & covered more areas, but neither have successfully done Barry's job; Fern because he is more creative & doesn't cover like Barry, Garcia because he has missed all the signs of danger & failed to see situations building like Barry used to do.

Barry got loads of shit for the World Cup incident where he missed a challenge v Ozil & was left for dead. We didn't see Barry do that very often for City; usually he saw the situation coming & just stepped in & took the ball. Many people still to this day don't even realise he did these things because he did it so smoothly, the situation never happened, so to them; he didn't do anything. It wasn't flying into tackles in desperation, it was genius for reading the game. Half of it won't even be on camera on tv.

We have seen Garcia fail to do it in 95% of the games he has played for us & be left trailling, desperately running toward his own goal trying to catch a faster player, because he never saw the danger coming. Barry would just do a diagonal jog, & the ball would sail forward straight onto his chest as if it was passed to him deliberately. Garcia would be trying to nick it off someone, miss it, & leave a 20 yard hole in midfield.

In recent games, he has been sharper getting in challenges, & a bit more savvy at when to do it. He has also been dominant in the air, which Barry wasn't & tbf that gives us a different dimension.

Whether he can ever be the kind of smooth operator Barry was though, is yet to be seen.

Think this nostalgia for Gareth is sad.
The half they show on tv is enough.
Think if Javi had been given Gareths job to do he would get tackles in and cover space but that role has been given to Ferno.
And all this bolloxs that he has last week was his best game for us is bollox of the highest order.It's because he was playing well the boss has begun to trust him enough to play 90 mins.

He's playing because Yaya & Fernandinho need a rest.

[Alioune DVToure]

He's playing because Yaya & Fernandinho need a rest.

I disagree. I think he's playing because we've got a lot of away games against decent teams coming up, so Pellers wants to get him up to speed. If Barcelona begin to overrun us at the Camp Nou, we'll need JG to step in and do the job he did in Munich, when he changed the game.

As for Fernandinho filling Barry's shoes, I only meant as the most industrious midfielder. Obviously they're very different players.

[Ted Hughes]

He's playing because Yaya & Fernandinho need a rest.

I disagree. I think he's playing because we've got a lot of away games against decent teams coming up, so Pellers wants to get him up to speed. If Barcelona begin to overrun us at the Camp Nou, we'll need JG to step in and do the job he did in Munich, when he changed the game.

As for Fernandinho filling Barry's shoes, I only meant as the most industrious midfielder. Obviously they're very different players.

Fernandinho has been playing 'half' games when possible for a while now, often swapping with Yaya, who has a back injury.

Imo, Fern was badly in need of time off & shouldn't have been playing those half games. He has looked goosed at times in his last two & we have some big games coming up.

Wouldn't surprise me if he gives him a runout tonight, but again he should just keep it a short one imo.

[Slim]

Barry is a more intellegent footballer than garcia. Intellegence comes naturally.

That's too funny.

[Wonderwall]

He's playing because Yaya & Fernandinho need a rest.

I disagree. I think he's playing because we've got a lot of away games against decent teams coming up, so Pellers wants to get him up to speed. If Barcelona begin to overrun us at the Camp Nou, we'll need JG to step in and do the job he did in Munich, when he changed the game.

As for Fernandinho filling Barry's shoes, I only meant as the most industrious midfielder. Obviously they're very different players.

Fernandinho has been playing 'half' games when possible for a while now, often swapping with Yaya, who has a back injury.

Imo, Fern was badly in need of time off & shouldn't have been playing those half games. He has looked goosed at times in his last two & we have some big games coming up.

Wouldn't surprise me if he gives him a runout tonight, but again he should just keep it a short one imo.

Problem is we can only make 3 subs, I would give 45 to Jovetic, 45-60 to Aguero, 30 to Fernandinho, 45 to rodwell, Poss full game to Richards, 60 to Clichy etc...... we have so many games to play that we will pick up injuries and poor performances due to running out of juice. You cant stay at the top all the time, everyone needs to get some rest.

[Ted Hughes]

He's playing because Yaya & Fernandinho need a rest.

I disagree. I think he's playing because we've got a lot of away games against decent teams coming up, so Pellers wants to get him up to speed. If Barcelona begin to overrun us at the Camp Nou, we'll need JG to step in and do the job he did in Munich, when he changed the game.

As for Fernandinho filling Barry's shoes, I only meant as the most industrious midfielder. Obviously they're very different players.

Fernandinho has been playing 'half' games when possible for a while now, often swapping with Yaya, who has a back injury.

Imo, Fern was badly in need of time off & shouldn't have been playing those half games. He has looked goosed at times in his last two & we have some big games coming up.

Wouldn't surprise me if he gives him a runout tonight, but again he should just keep it a short one imo.

Problem is we can only make 3 subs, I would give 45 to Jovetic, 45-60 to Aguero, 30 to Fernandinho, 45 to rodwell, Poss full game to Richards, 60 to Clichy etc...... we have so many games to play that we will pick up injuries and poor performances due to running out of juice. You cant stay at the top all the time, everyone needs to get some rest.

Well when the PL FA etc (say) they are looking at ways to get more kids coming through, there is an easy enough method: for cup competitions allow 3 more extra spaces on the bench, if they are U20, uk qualified & have been at the academy for several years, & allow an extra substitution to be made from those players, two extra if you use one of them before the 60 min mark.

Make it that the last sub has to be introduced before the 70th minute if they are to be used so he can't just be thrown on to waste time/kick people. Then some 'homegrown' kids make it to the bench for every game & many will get on the pitch.